The following is from a press release by the Beauregard Parish School Board:
DeRIDDER, La. -- Beauregard Parish School District is among the top 20 districts state-wide for high graduation rates --maintaining a rate above 90 percent for six consecutive years, according to 2018 cohort data from the Louisiana Department of Education.
The 2018 graduating class in Beauregard Parish has a 93.5 percent graduation rate. This places Beauregard Parish as one of 24 districts among the 70 reported districts in Louisiana to have a graduation rate above 90 percent.
"This is the thirteenth year that the state has issued graduation rate data, and Beauregard Parish has been among the top twenty school districts in the state each of the twelve years and among the top ten highest scores each of the twelve years," said Timothy J. Cooley, Superintendent of Beauregard Parish schools.
Fort Polk Progress Chairman Michael Reese expressed his appreciation to the Beauregard Parish School District for all their efforts in ensuring students--both military and civilian--excel academically and graduate high school.
"This high graduation rating really shows the quality of education offered in Beauregard Parish," Reese said. "It also demonstrates all the hard work of the teachers, administrators and staff in making sure their students complete all the coursework necessary to graduate."
The Department of Education has set a goal of all districts achieving a 90 percent graduation rate or higher by 2025. Louisiana uses a Cohort Completion Rate analysis that tracks students entering the ninth grade through graduation. For the current standings, information was compiled over a four-year period beginning with the 2014-2015 school year and ending in the spring of 2018.
Students who entered high school as first-time freshmen in the fall of 2014 were tracked through the time of graduation. A graduate is defined as a student who received a high school diploma in four years.
Graduation rates are used in the Department of Education's evaluation of high schools, counting for 25 percent of the School Performance Score. The overall graduation rate for the state was 81.4 percent.
Cooley stressed that the goal of the Beauregard Parish school system is to provide excellence in education with a mission to graduate students who are prepared to meet the challenges of post-secondary education or careers.
"Graduation is the ultimate goal of our school system and the result of persistence on the part of students, teachers, parents, and administrators," Cooley said. "We will continue to provide every opportunity to help Beauregard Parish students attain their high school diploma and prepare them for a successful future."
