Educators credited for higher grad rates

In the wake of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez recently announcing the state’s Class of 2016 established an all-time high graduation rate, local reaction attributes the feat to due diligence of educators.

Martinez revealed earlier this week more students are graduating high school in the state than ever before, with the graduation rate for 2016 reaching 71 percent — representing an 8 percent rise since 2011, officials said.

“I think it’s amazing that we have finally seen the proof of the reforms we have implemented are showing that these work,” Martinez said. “They just needed the time to be implemented and to show the grad rates are going to go up and that we have also raised the bar.”

According to figures released by state officials, Portales Municipal Schools garnered a 2016 graduation rate of 74 percent while Clovis Municipal Schools attained a 70 percent graduation rate.

“Our percentage is up from the state rate and this particular class had a fairly high mobility rate,” Portales Municipal Schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain said. “That’s where the calculations can grow fuzzy. If students leave us and go to another school (district), we are held to a portion on those kids. There are a number of factors involved with mobility, such as the economy and the high stakes testing also weighs heavily.”

Cain said he believes the Portales 2016 graduation rate is a rarity and credits educators for keeping the district in lockstep with and above state graduation levels.

“We were down from what we are used to,” he said. “Over the past few years, we were at 81 to 82 percent. We have 200 seniors this year, so we believe we will return to those numbers. Our teachers work diligently to give the kids what they need and so do our counselors and ancillary staff. We work really hard with the kids and provide alternatives to build their portfolios. We’re not trying to forget anybody. We’re doing what we can to help them graduate.”

Mark Gormley serves as Portales High School principal.

“We’re working with our seniors on a daily basis to keep them on track,” he said. “We’re in a continuous cycle focusing on the graduation requirements.”

Clovis Municipal Schools officials did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.

The nation’s high school graduation rate reached a record 83.2 percent according to federal data released during the fourth quarter of 2016 — with the gains coming against a backdrop of decreasing scores on national math and reading tests.