The School District of Lee County saw an increase of 2.6 percentage points in its graduation rate, compared to an increase of .7 percentage points for Florida for the class of 2023.

“Our 2.6% increase from 2022 is the largest gain among the Top 10 largest school districts in Florida and our neighbors in Charlotte and Collier County,” School District of Lee County Spokesperson Rob Spicker said.

The class of 2023 rose to 85.1% which, according to the district, tied the mark set two years ago for the second highest graduation rate in district history. Last year the graduation rate was 82.5%. According to the district, the only other higher graduation rate was in 2019-2020 at 88.5% when the graduating classes were exempt from statewide, standardized assessment requirements.

Neighboring school districts, such as Collier County had a 91.5% graduation rate, the same as the previous year, and Charlotte County had a 85.9% graduation rate, a decrease from 87.9% the previous year.

The Florida graduation rate was 88%, a jump from 87.3% the prior year.

“Most importantly it means we are setting up our students for success after graduation. Whether they are entering the workforce, the military or college, we have prepared them to succeed. Second, it means our systems are working. We credit our principals for aligning to this vision and putting in the hard work to implement a systemic change,” Spicker said.

Among the schools that had the highest increase include East Lee County High School with a 9.1% increase taking its graduation rate to 95.1% for the class of 2023. A 5% jump to 88% was achieved at Island Coast High School and Lee Virtual School jumped to a 98.9% graduation rate, an increase of 8.1 points.

The district had 10 district schools, and Lee Virtual with graduation rates above 90%

There were also significant increases among the different populations of students:

• Black student graduation rate increased 3.9%

• Hispanic student graduation rate increased by 3.7%

• Students with disabilities graduation rate increased by 6.7%

• English Language Learners graduation rate increased by 7.2%

“Our students rose to the challenge to set the second highest graduation rate ever and improve on the pre-pandemic rate set by the Class of 2020,” Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said in a prepared statement. “Their success is a testament to the collective effort and hard work of our teachers, support staff and school administrators to help each student focus on their graduation needs so they could earn their diploma. We are proud of their accomplishments, and they should celebrate their success.”

The achievement rested on putting a focus on each and every student, as a way to help students reach graduation.

“Every student had a plan and everyday school staff was checking to make sure every student was following their plan,” Spicker said. “This entails where they are at, what interventions are we offering and are the students taking advantage of them and making any necessary adjustments.”

Work also took place behind the scenes, as district administrators also did daily checks to verify the data, as well as quarterly meetings with principals to monitor their progress, he said.

In order to keep the positive momentum with graduation rates going, Spicker said they begin tracking students for graduation before they enter high school for the first day of class.

“Ninth grade success is one of the best indicators of earning a diploma. Freshman also have a plan to reach graduation and schools continuously track their progress, offer interventions, and make sure they are being used,” he said. “Second, we are making this student-by-student approach systemic. Every school is following the same process to ensure success and continuity through any leadership changes.”

Spicker said the increase in the graduation rate is truly a collaborative effort across the district.

“Thank you to our administrators, teachers and supporting staff for their hard work and focus on student success and thank you to our parents for supporting their students through high school,” he said.