Every Student All The Time: 100% Graduation Rates | Connected Principals

Every Student All The Time: 100% Graduation Rates | Connected Principals:

Every Student All The Time: 100% Graduation Rates

November 28, 2013

By Johnny Bevacqua

Originally posted (February 2011) by Johnny Bevacqua  on  Figuring It Out

For the past 15 years our school has had a 100% graduation rate. I am extremely proud of our students and teachers for making this happen.    I have been asked, on several occasions, how the school has come to achieve this. In part, the answer lies within the culture and tradition of “hard work” that the community has embraced. One of my favorite school archives is a newspaper advertisement from 1932 which declares: “St. Patrick School….built and equipped without debt by the pennies of the working class.”  However, to attribute this successful graduation rate only to “hard work” would be grossly inadequate. 

A deeper look would show that the school has adopted some systemic (rooted in best educational practice) and strategic initiatives that have enabled the success of all our students. Before I list a few of these initiatives, let tell you some important information about our school and community:

We are a Catholic high school of 500 students. Enrollment into the school is entirely based on belonging to a Catholic denomination (we also enroll and small percentage of non-Catholic students). The school does not administer an “entrance exam” nor does it screen for academic ability. Recent demographic information provided 
by Statistic Canada puts the average wage of families in our catchment at $58,000 annually. Further demographic data indicates that over 50% of parent community does not have English as their first language.

Now on to a summary of our