TheWorldJournal.com

Graduation Rate Increasing for Hagerstown Schools
By Jessica Davis, TheWorldJournal.com

Gary Sturniolo, a representative of the Statistical Assessment and Training department of the Washington County Board of Education, cites increased public awareness as the main factor in the rising graduation rate for Hagerstown schools.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 1990 and 2000, the percentage of students who did not receive a diploma from either North Hagerstown High School or South Hagerstown High School decreased from 35% to 27% over the decade.

South Hagerstown High School boasted a 15.5% graduation rate increase from 1991 to 2002, according to WCBOE records, while North Hagerstown High School's graduation rate jumped from 70.4% in 1991 to 80% in 2002.

The effect of this news on Hagerstown's economy should be positive, Sturniolo said.

"It [the increased graduation rate] can only help," he said. "If it was decreasing, parent's would want their children to switch schools and that might lead to Hagerstown residents relocating to the bigger cities."

Sturniolo said that teachers in the Hagerstown school system are continually putting an increased emphasis on the post-high school job market. They want to get the message across that students need to obtain a diploma to be able to compete in today's economy and support themselves and their families.

Cathy Fant, an associate professor of nursing at Hagerstown Community College, thinks that the increasing graduation rate will be beneficial to the community's higher education goals.

"Here at HCC we now have dual enrollment, which means that high school seniors can take college level classes jointly with high school classes. I would like to think that the rise in graduation is at least partially attribute to this program and that it will help to interest kids in furthering their education," Fant said.

Hagerstown resident Ronald Banzhoff hopes that the positive trend continues as his two daughters, now freshmen, go through high school.

"I dropped out of school in tenth grade to get a job and support my family. Kids these days seem to be a lot smarter than we were so I'm not surprised that the majority are graduating now", Banzhoff said.

© April 16, 2003