Mat-Su leads Alaska's largest school districts in graduation rate

The Mat-Su Borough School District had the highest graduation rate among Alaska’s largest districts, according to statistics provided by the state.

The MSBSD boasted a four-year cohort spring of 2021 graduation rate of 84 percent. That’s also above the Alaska state average of 78 percent.

“It’s fantastic we have moved ahead of the other big four (districts) and the state average for graduation,” MSBSD Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani said in his presentation during the most recent school board meeting.

Trani lauded the jump in percentage points despite the challenges district staff and students have faced during the COVID era.

“That I attribute to all of the staff members who kept our building open last year,” Trani said. “It has paid dividends in the graduation rate.”

Among the largest districts in the state, Mat-Su now leads Anchorage (82 percent), Juneau (80 percent), Kenai Peninsula (79 percent) and Fairbanks (76 percent).

Trani applauded the data, but said the work is not done.

“Now we have 16 percent that we still need to take care of,” Trani said. “And I think we are, with the percentage of courses our students passed the first semester.”

School board member Tom Bergey asked for data that includes students who need a fifth, or even sixth year to graduate. This data includes only four-year students.

“It would be nice to get a real good feel for the number of students we are sending out into the population without a high school diploma,” Bergey said.

Bergey also cited students who are on individual education plans that may receive a certificate of participation.

School board member Jim Hart did a quick comparison to other states, including Virginia which is at about 90 percent, and asked about the recent trend in the MSBSD.

“It’s been trending up for a while,” Trani said. “I’m happy that we’ve moved up in the rankings. Personally I’d like to get it to 95 (percent). But the goal is 100. We will really start patting ourselves on the back when that rate goes over 95 percent.”

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.