Wake High Schools Recognized for Graduation Rate
September 9, 2008 - Two Wake County Public School System high schools were recognized yesterday by Dr. June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Education, for achieving some of the top graduation rates for high schools in the state.The state awards ceremony marking Graduation Awareness Week featured key leaders representing education associations, community groups, business and industry and the faith-based community who signed a Call to Action and pledged to work throughout North Carolina to raise awareness of the importance of high school graduation.
Dr. Atkinson congratulated Apex High principal Matt Wight and Green Hope High principal Jim Hedrick for their school’s graduation rates. Students from the two schools joined in the state celebration by signing pledges to stay in school and graduate.
Apex High had the second highest graduation rate of North Carolina schools with 500 or more students in its cohort size. The school’s graduation rate for the Class of 2008 was 90.1.
“The recognition our school received is due to our teachers, students and parents working together,” said Matt Wight. “It was a great recognition for our entire school community.”
Green Hope High had the second highest graduation rate of North Carolina schools having 400-499 students in its cohort. The school’s graduation rate for the Class of 2008 was 92.6.
"The successes that we have at Green Hope High School can be directly attributed to our great student body and our great faculty,” said Hedrick. “They both value the educational process and they are committed to excellence. I applaud them for this commitment and their successes."
The Wake County Board of Education joined Gov. Mike Easley in calling for recognition of Sept. 7-13 as Graduation Awareness Week. The school board approved a resolution at its Sept. 2 meeting recognizing Graduation Awareness Week in Wake County. Gov. Easley issued a proclamation making this week Graduation Awareness Week in North Carolina.
“The students who entered kindergarten this year will be our Class of 2021,” said Wake school board chair Rosa Gill. “From elementary school to high school, every teacher plays a critical role in preparing each of our children to graduate. The mission of our school system is to prepare all students to graduate on time and prepared for the future.”
Gill offered her congratulations to Matt Wight and Apex High and Jim Hedrick and Green Hope High for the recognition they earned from the state.
The overall WCPSS graduation rate for 2007-08 was 78.8 percent, meaning that about four out of every five students who enrolled in ninth grade for the first time in the fall of 2004 had graduated four years later.
The Wake County Public School System awarded diplomas to 7,684 students at 19 different high schools last year. The class of 2008 earned more than $46.78 million in scholarships, had more than 964 graduates qualifying for the North Carolina Scholars program and more than 1,200 Honor Society graduates.
-wcpss-