Lori Benton, Director of Assessment for Lewis-Palmer School District 38, is not at all surprised that the District has the second-highest graduation rate of any district in El Paso County.
“We believe that graduation doesn’t start in high school,” Benton said. “It’s pre-kindergarten all the way through.
“We don’t wait until a kid falls off course before we intervene.”
According to the Colorado Department of Education’s most recent information, District 38 had a 96 percent graduation rate in 2014. The only district higher was Peyton, which is much smaller. Cheyenne Mountain was third at 95.9 percent.
According to Benton, 501 out of 522 kids that began as freshmen graduated in four years from one of the two District 38 high schools; Lewis-Palmer and Palmer Ridge.
Interestingly, the graduation rate is calculated differently than the dropout rate.
“The dropout rate is calculated from seventh grade on,” Benton said.
CDE website figures show that District 38 had a 0.3 percent dropout rate in 2013-14. That is tied for best in the County with Academy School District 20 and Cheyenne Mountain School District 12.
“Not all students finish in four years,” Benton said. “Students may disenroll and come back. They have the ability to take the courses they need to graduate.
“Once the clock starts they can take up to seven years to graduate, or until they are 21.
County wide the on-time graduation rate rose slightly in 2013-14 from 76.9 percent the prior year to 77.3 percent.
District 20 had a 89.8 percent on-time graduation rate in 2013-14, down 1.6 percent from the prior year.
The 2013-14 dropout rate in the County was 2.4 percent, down 0.1 percent from the previous year.
District 38 sets bar high on graduation
District had 96 percent graduation rate in 2014
