NEWS RELEASE -- Graduation Rate Rise, Dropout Rate Decline Continues Four-Year Trend in San Diego Unified

NEWS RELEASE from the San Diego Unified School District, April 28, 2014

GRADUATION RATE RISE, DROPOUT RATE DECLINE CONTINUES FOUR-YEAR TREND IN
SAN DIEGO UNIFIED

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Unified again has the lowest dropout rate among the
state's largest districts, while the overall graduation rate has risen
more than five percentage points in four years according to statistics
released today by the California Department of Education.

For the Class of 2013, the dropout rate continued its decline, to 5.2
percent in 2013 from 6.2 percent in 2012, for the lowest rate among large
California districts. Other rates ranged from second-place Sacramento with
5.9 percent, to Oakland, with 21.6 percent.

San Diego Unified is still the district with the second-highest graduation
rate among large, urban school districts in California with 87.8 percent
of seniors graduating among the 7,282 students in 2013 cohort -- students
who began together in ninth grade. Only Garden Grove Unified School
District had a higher rate, with 89 percent of its 3,879-student cohort
graduating. Sacramento, with 85.4 percent of its 2,826-student cohort was
third. Other districts' rates ranged from Oakland's 62.7 to Long Beach's
80.6.

"I want to salute our hard-working students for realizing that staying in
school is one of the most important decisions that they can make," said
Board of Education President Kevin Beiser. "Creating an environment where
our students are challenged and can thrive is one of our goals in Vision
2020."

Graduation rates between ethnic groups continued to tighten, although
there is still a gap. For example, in 2010, the Hispanic graduation rate
was 73.8 percent, compared with the White rate, which was 92.7, a
difference of 16.6 points. In 2013, the difference had narrowed to 12.5
points. For the Class of 2013, the graduation rate among African Americans
was 82.8; Filipino, 96.8; and Asian, 92.9. District wide, it was 87.8. The
dropout rate for the largest ethnic groups: Filipino, 1.0; White, 2.4
percent; Asian, 3.3; African American, 6.7; Hispanic, 8.2.

San Diego Unified has made reducing the dropout rate a top priority since
2007.

³This is a tremendous success and a great celebration for San Diego
Unified. I am especially proud of our students," said Superintendent Cindy
Marten. "We are well on our way to our Vision 2020 goal of having a
quality school in every neighborhood.²

The superintendent made special mention of four programs that have been
successful and she hopes to expand in future years: the Check and Connect
pilot program, graduation coaches at many high schools, the Linked
Learning Initiative schools, and the district-wide College Career and
Technical Education program.
The results have meant more high school graduates from San Diego Unified's
campuses. For specific school results, go to the California Department of
Education website, cde.ca.gov.

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Linda Zintz | Communications Director | San Diego Unified School District
| (619) 725-5568 (Desk)

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