Gainesville, Hall County seniors surpass Georgia graduation rate

Despite the challenges of a pandemic year, Georgia public schools maintained a 83% high school graduation rate, and both the Gainesville City School System and the Hall County School District surpassed the statewide rate. 

 

The overall rate for high school graduation for Georgia in 2021 was 83.7% compared to 83.8% in 2020.

 

"Given the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am pleased to see Georgia’s graduation rate holding steady," State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a prepared statement. "Combined with the class of 2021’s increases in ACT and SAT scores, this is an encouraging indicator about the work being done in public schools. Teachers and students have continued to succeed in the face of challenging circumstances."

 

Woods said there's still work to do to improve the graduation rate.

 

"We will continue our efforts to ensure every student sees the relevance of their high-school education and receives a diploma that directly prepares them for their future," Woods said.

The state graduation rate has increased by 14 percentage points since 2012.

The Gainesville City School System, which has just one high school - Gainesville High School - posted a graduation rate of 87%; 460 students among 529 earned diplomas.

"The efforts made by our students, teachers, support staff and administrators over the last 18 months have been phenomenal," said Dr. Jeremy Williams, Superintendent of Gainesville City Schools. "The 2021 graduation rate is another example of our success during Covid. I am extremely proud of the individual attention our students received so we could attain the 87% rate."

The Hall County graduation rate for 2021 was 87.3%. Four of the county's nine schools recorded graduation rates of 90% or higher. Those included Flowery Branch (95.4%), Cherokee Bluff (94.4%), North Hall (93%) and East Hall (91.1%).

Superintendent Will Schofield said the numbers are encouraging.

"In spite of a pandemic, our students continue to graduate at significantly higher levels than the state average," Schofield said. "Couple this with high achievement and career-ready programming, and our students and the entire K-12 team is to be commended."

A total of 102 Georgia school districts and 223 schools recorded graduation rates at or above 90%.

In the immediate region, the school districts in Barrow County, Dawson County, Forsyth County, Habersham County, Jackson County, Lumpkin County and White County all graduated more than 90% of seniors. In addition, school systems in Buford City, Commerce City and Jefferson City had graduation rates that surpassed 95%. 

To see a complete list of graduation rates for school districts and individual schools, follow this link.