Mat-Su to graduate 1,175 students

MAT-SU — By the end of this week, 1,175 Mat-Su students will leave the Mat-Su Borough School District for good, diplomas in hand. Between May 9 and May 17, seniors will bask in the pomp and circumstance at 13 separate ceremonies scheduled for borough schools.

“I am proud of you — our graduates — and know that you will continue to achieve success and forge high personal accomplishments,” MSBSD Superintendent Deena Paramo wrote in a message to graduating seniors.

She notes that 72 percent of Mat-Su students graduate on time, with 25 percent finishing up later and 3 percent dropping out altogether.

That’s partially why that 1,175 number is more of an estimate than an exact figure. Over the course of the next week, it might go up or down as students rush to complete work before the last day of classes.

So which class is the largest and which is the smallest? School district spokeswoman Catherine Esary said she didn’t have those numbers, but would assume Wasilla, being the largest school, would have the largest graduating class.

It seems likely Glacier View wins in the category for smallest graduating class, at least judging by school board member Debby Retherford’s Facebook page:

“Fabulous graduation tonight. One of their biggest classes ever — 6 graduating seniors. Seemed like great kids ... ready to go change the world,” she wrote after attending the Glacier View ceremony May 9.

In the run up to graduation, the various schools held ceremonies to honor students who had received scholarships for further education. Esary said that with so many organizations offering them, scholarships are a complicated system seniors navigate as their high school careers come to a close.

Colony High School set a school record this year with seniors pulling in $3.2 million in scholarships.

Palmer High School’s scholarship money was closer to $1 million, Esary said, and she had no figures for Wasilla High School.

Local organizations awarding scholarships include the Valley Board of Realtors, the Palmer Lions Club and the Mat-Su Health Foundation, local Realtor Kristan Cole, and the local Masons and Kiwanis organizations.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or

andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.