The Dawson County High School graduation rate has increased again, according to information released today by the Georgia Department of Education. The four-year cohort graduation rate for the Class of 2017 is 96.7%, up from 93.8% in 2016, which is the highest rate ever achieved by Dawson County Schools. The cohort graduation rate includes all students who graduate in four years after entering ninth grade.
The 2017 cohort graduation rate ties Dawson with two other systems, Union and Stewart Counties, for the 4th highest district graduation rate in Georgia. That comparison includes all 181 school districts across the state. In the top five, only Calhoun City Schools had a larger graduating class than DCHS. Only fifteen systems in Georgia graduated more than 95% of their senior class and the average rate across Georgia is 80.6%.
The school district’s graduation rate has improved each year for the past six years, increasing from 79.9 percent in 2012 to 96.7 percent in 2017. Increasing the school district’s graduation rate is a team effort by our administrators, teachers, counselors, graduation coach, social workers, nurses and all other support personnel who work with students and families on a daily basis.
"Graduating students college and career ready is our end goal and can only be accomplished through cooperative efforts between our K-12 faculty and staff and our community. This type of accomplishment is a team effort and we want to extend a special word of appreciation to each of our stakeholders". - Dr. Damon Gibbs, Superintendent