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The statewide rate for students who finished high school and earned their diploma in four years or less rose to 87 percent, up 5 percentage points since 2010.
“In the last five years, only five states have raised spending on education,” Malloy said, referencing the more than $250 million spent in Connecticut on Alliance District Schools over the last three years. “Only one has seen more success.”
The Alliance School Districts represent the 30 lowest-performing districts in the state. Through the program, these districts are provided with increased state funding while also being held more accountable for their students' performance.
Warde, which hosted the event, and neighboring Ludlowe boast a 93.8 percent graduation rate, a different story is told in a neighboring town.
The Bridgeport School District, classified as an Educational Reform District, now has a 71.5 percent graduation rate. The Educational Reform Districts are a subset of the Alliance School’s, defined as the 10 lowest-performing districts in Connecticut.
However, despite the Park City’s lower graduation rate, in the five years since the advent of the Alliance District Program, Bridgeport has seen the largest growth of all Educational Reform Districts, jumping 16.1 percentage points from 55.5 percent in 2010 to 71.5 percent in 2014.
The next best, the New Haven School District -- whose New Haven Academy also earned a visit from the governor -- has seen a rise of 13 percent in its graduation rate in four years.
Districts that have had greater hardships in increasing their graduation rates have a larger percentage of students who are also facing their own hardships, whether they be a “disadvantaged background, financial hardships, or learning English for the first time,” Malloy said.
When asked what obstacles these districts face as the “fight against ignorance” continues, according to Fairfield Warde Headmaster James Coyne, he said it is those hardships.
“You have to count your victories,” Malloy said. “We look at the places where we’re making real progress and trying to duplicate it.”
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