ROCK SPRINGS – A gap in graduation rates is raising concern with the Parent Involvement Team (PIT) at Rock Springs High School, but members are concerned their worries are falling on deaf ears with Sweetwater County School District No. 1’s Board of Trustees.
According to data completed by PIT, RSHS has graduated 8% more girls than boys during the past five years and of the 15 4A schools within Wyoming, RSHS has the sixth highest girl to boy graduation gap. Additionally, PIT’s five-year data reveals there is a graduation gap for lunch-eligible students at RSHS, with lunch-eligible students having a graduation rate 14% less than those who are not.
A third piece of concerning information the five-year data PIT reviewed is the low graduation rates of students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The five-year average for IEP student graduation rates show it is 42% the normal graduation rate.
“Our IEP graduation rate is well below both the school graduation average, and the state IEP graduation rate,” PIT Co-chairs Natalie Powell and Kasey Damori wrote to school board members Dec. 11, 2023. “Our special education students are not faring well compared to their general education peers.
The email also expresses a willingness of PIT’s members to work with the district in correcting the issues they’ve discovered. Powell and Damori also note a combination of any of the three factors they’ve identified may exacerbate the challenges a student faces.
“While not true for all, imagine the uphill climb of being a male student who is lunch-eligible and on an IEP at RSHS,” the pair wrote.
While PIT communicated its concerns to the district’s board of trustees, Powell has expressed disappointment with the board in following up with PIT’s recommendations and communication. The five-year graduation data was presented during the December board meeting, with PIT seeking discussion about how to solve those problems. Additional information regarding what the district should look for in a new superintendent were also shared, but Powell says board members never replied to their emails.
“As a committee that was sought out and formed at the request of the school district and your consultants to help drive change … we are disappointed that we received no response,” Powell told the board Monday evening.
Powell said the team was told it would play a valuable role in shaping the future of the high school, saying concerned parents and teachers have since brought ideas and suggestions to PIT.
“And it is our duty to ensure that they don’t fall flat,” she said.
Stephanie Thompson, the vice-chairwoman of the district’s board of trustees, said discussing graduation rates is premature because the 2023 graduation numbers are embargoed until Jan. 24 and the five-year average presented won’t account for initiatives set up to improve the 2023 graduation rates. She said the district has brought on grant-funded graduation coaches and intervention specialists to help increase graduation numbers. While those are solely funded through grants, Thompson said the district is working on ways to fund to positions because they’re important roles in ensuring students will graduate from high school. Thompson said the district’s high school principals will present their graduation numbers during the Feb. 12 board meeting. Regardless of what those numbers are, Thompson knows there won’t be a quick fix to suddenly increase the district’s graduation percentages.
“It doesn’t change overnight,” she said.
Thompson said district’s graduation numbers over the past 30 years have been low compared to other districts, but said the district continues working to improve those rates. Thompson also said RSHS Principal Glen Suppes has shown a tremendous amount of commitment to the students and high school, saying he and the school’s graduation coaches and intervention specialists are doing a lot of work at the school.
As for the lack of communication with PIT, Thompson said she can’t speak for the other board members, but said December was a busy month for the board. She said PIT sent its email to board members the day of the board’s December meeting. The time stamp on the email show it was sent at 5:48 p.m. Additionally, between the search for a new superintendent and work the board in doing to lobby for a new high school building, she said board members had a number of initiatives they were working on. She said she read the email from PIT sent to the board members, but didn’t think it was the right time to comment as she wanted to see the 2023 graduation rates before discussing those numbers.
