Graduation rates holding steady

Graduation rates locally topped 90 percent for the class of 2014, in data recently released by the New York State Education Department.

The Seaford School District had a graduation rate of 93 percent for students who entered high school in 2010. That includes those who graduated in August. Wantagh had a four-year graduation rate of 97 percent, and Levittown, which has two high schools, was at 94 percent. All rates were consistent with previous years.

“There’s room for improvement there,” said Seaford School District Superintendent Brian Conboy. “Our mission here is to graduate every child. We don’t like students to drop out.”

Conboy said that a deeper look at the numbers is necessary. The remaining 7 percent of students who did not graduate are still enrolled in high school, excluding one drop out, according to data from the state.

The graduation rates, Conboy explained, include Seaford students who are placed in schools outside of the district. Some students with disabilities receive their education at specialized schools, and might take longer than four years to complete the high school requirements.

Conboy said that because of the size of the district, it takes just a few students to swing the numbers significantly. In 2010, 216 students entered their freshman year. “Seaford’s a small place,” Conboy said. “Three or four kids in a graduating class for us can be equal to 2 or 3 percent.”

Wantagh’s class of 2014 was 307 students. There, 1 percent of students who entered in 2010 were still enrolled, and 1 percent dropped out, according to the data.

“We are pleased with our results again this year,” Superintendent Maureen Goldberg said, “and, as always, work very hard with our students to succeed at the highest level.”

Levittown has 3 percent of students entering high school in 2010 still in the district, and a 1 percent drop-out rate. Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald said there is room for improvement in every category.

One area that McDonald would like to see better numbers is the percentage of students earning an Advanced Regents Diploma. That is awarded to students who pass a series of nine Regents exams. In Levittown, 60 percent of all graduates in the class of 2014 earned the advanced diploma.

Wantagh had 64 percent of students receive the Advanced Regents Diploma, and Seaford was at 60 percent. Goldberg also said that is one area she would like to see improvement. “As a district,” she said, “we continually strive to improve our performance, particularly for our percentage of students earning the advanced designation diplomas.”

Goldberg added that the high school graduation rates are just one of many numbers used to paint the overall picture of success at Wantagh High School.

The Levittown School District graduates more than 600 students per year, split between MacArthur and Division Avenue high schools. Information on graduation rates will be analyzed by district officials.

“Good data is essential to an informed, targeted educational program,” McDonald said. “We use data to determine if what we are doing is working toward our desired result, which is, as always, ‘Success for every Student’ in the Levittown schools.”