School district again beats state graduation average

State statistics released last week reveal that Crook County School District (CCSD) continued to maintain its record of higher-than-average graduation rates during the 2020-21 school year.

Across the county’s three high schools, the graduation rate was 87.2%. This compares favorably to the state average of 82.4%.

“We continue to be above the state average but our goal is always to have 100% of our students succeed. There is always room for improvement,” says Superintendent Mark Broderson.

“We strive to provide each student with the tools they need to be successful and we want all our students to enjoy their time in our schools and feel they are ready when they leave.”

This year’s graduation statistic is a small decrease from the two previous years, in which 91.6% and 92.1% of students graduated. However, Crook is a small county and, when dealing with relatively low numbers, says Broderson, small differences can make an outsized impact.

“With roughly 100 students per grade, it only takes a few students to change our percentage,” he explains.  

“The district strives to provide a rigorous education for all students to prepare them for any path they wish to take upon completing high school.” 

The effects of the pandemic may be partly responsible for the slight drop, he continues.

“As everyone knows, the last few years have been challenging and not necessarily the best fit for all students,” he says.

“We are also one of nine counties in Wyoming that experienced a population growth in the last few years and the district has had students move into the district that have decided not to stay enrolled for one reason or another.”   

Across the district, graduation rates differed very little. At Sundance High School, 88.9% of students graduated, while 91.7% graduated at Hulett School and 84.2% at Moorcroft High School.

At the statewide level, the Wyoming Department of Education announced that graduation rates improved for the eighth consecutive year. Each year has seen an improvement from the 2013 graduation rate of 77.6%.