Redlands Unified's Graduations Rates Rise

While the state had a good showing in the number of high school graduates last year, Redlands Unified School District was impressive at about 90 percent of perfect last year.

According to statistics released April 9 by the California Department of Education, Redlands Unified, which serves Redlands and most of Loma Linda, had a 90.5 percent graduation rate, a slight increase over last year’s reported 86.7 percent. The district’s total dropout rate stood at 4.9 percent according to the data, down from 7.5.

The district breakdown ethnically for 2011-12 was:

• Hispanic or Latino - Graduates, 88.7 percent; Dropouts, 5.1 percent
• American Indian or Alaska Native - Graduates, 93.8 percent; Dropouts, 6.3 percent
• Asian - Graduates, 96.3 percent; Dropouts, 2.5 percent
• Pacific Islander - Graduates, 76.9 percent; Dropouts, 7.7 percent
• Filipino, Not Hispanic - Graduates, 95.4 percent; Dropout, 2.3 percent
• African American - Graduates, 84.7 percent; Dropouts, 8.3 percent
• White, Not Hispanic - Graduates, 93.1 percent; Dropouts, 4.3 percent

Overall, across the state graduation rates, rose while dropout rates declined.

The state superintendent's office reported 78.5 percent of students who started high school in 2008-09 graduated last year. That was up 1.5 percentage points from the year before.

Among African-American students, 65.7 percent graduated with their class in 2012, up 2.9 points from the year before.

Among Hispanic students, 73.2 percent graduated in 2012, up 1.8 points from the year before.

There was a corresponding drop in the state's dropout rate.

The superintendent's office reported 13.5 percent of students who began high school in 2008-2009 dropped out. That was down 1.5 points from the year before.

The dropout rate among African-American students dropped 3.1 points to 22.2 percent. Among Hispanic students, the dropout rate fell 2.1 points to 16.2 percent.

Another 8.3 percent of students were labeled as neither dropouts or graduate. They include special education students, students who passed the GED exam and those who are still in school.

State Superintendent Tom Torlakson said while the trend is positive, California schools still need to do more. He said he'd like to see the graduation rate top 80 percent in the near future and then reach 90 percent by 2020.

He commended local school officials for improving education despite budget cuts the past few years and the fact California is 49th in the nation in education funding.

"As I travel up and down the state, I see great things happening in California schools every day," said Torlakson.

The California Department of Education broke down the data by school as follows:

Redlands High School

• 2011-12 – Graduates, 93.9 percent; Dropout, 3.1 percent
• 2010-11 – Graduates, 88.8 percent; Dropouts, 6.7 percent

Redlands East Valley High School

• 2011-12 – Graduates, 93.9 percent; Dropouts, 4.4 percent
• 2011-10 – Graduates, 95.0 percent; Dropouts, 3.8 percent

Citrus Valley High School

• 2011-12 – Graduates, 94.4, Dropouts, 3.4
• 2010-11 – Graduates, No graduating class