The Hudson Public Schools administration building sits at the corner of Apsley St. and Lake St. in Hudson. Administrators are cautiously optimistic about new graduation rate data.
By Laura Hayes, Contributing Writer
HUDSON – More Hudson High School students graduated after four years of high school in the 2019-2020 school year than did in previous years, data shows.
A presentation to the Hudson School Committee April 6 detailed how, of the 192 seniors enrolled at HHS last year, 90.1 percent graduated without having repeated a grade in high school. That was an increase from 87.5 percent in 2019 and 88.8 percent in 2018.
Hudson Superintendent Marco Rodrigues also noticed that the number of students graduating within five years had increased while the number of students dropping out had decreased.
“Certainly, those are good signs,” Rodrigues said.
Graduation rates typically get segmented according to how long a student spends in high school. The majority of students do graduate in four years. Others, though, need to repeat grades due to a variety of reasons.
Rodrigues said this new data indicates that Hudson’s supports and services are paying off.
He added, though, that the district is also still examining the students who are falling behind seeking opportunities for credit recovery.
“We’ll make sure that not only did they meet the finish line, but they reached the finish line with all the credentials and the learning that they need,” he said.
Graduation rate among students with disabilities falls
Amid the good news, School Committee Chair Steven Smith did caution that the number of students with disabilities graduating within four years has decreased recently.
According to Hudson’s data, in 2018, 80.8 percent of those students graduated within four years. That number decreased to 66.7 percent in 2020.
Rodrigues said some of those students may be at the high school until they turn 22 and offered optimism on the topic.
“But we look at also [that] they’re not dropping out,” he said. “They’re staying with us.”
