(Photo: Shaun Penner / EverythingGP, staff)

By Abby Zieverink

graduation rates increasing

GPPSD high school completion rate seeing consistent increase over past decade

Dec 30, 2021 | 6:00 AM

The high school graduation rate for students in the Grande Prairie Public School Division has been seeing a continual upward trend over the past decade.

The 2021 GPPSD highlight report showed the division’s three-year high school completion rate sitting at 77.7 per cent. This is a significant increase from the previous year’s result of 70.6 per cent, as well as the previous three-year average of 68.8 per cent.

Kimberly Frykas, Director of System Planning for the GPPSD believes the continual increase in the graduation rate amongst the three schools is from the divisions’ efforts to create specific targeted strategies to support each student with their high school completion.

She says these strategies as well as priorities each year, are decided based on evidence and data from previous years.

“We do a three-year plan, and then we reevaluate and update that throughout the year, so part of our focus in our three-year plan is ensuring that our students are prepared academically, socially, and emotionally to complete high school. That’s been a focus of ours based on our previous evidence,” she explained.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

“Seeing that increase in those completion rates, we are very pleased with that, because it’s representing that the strategies that our three high schools are putting in place are making an impact on student completion.”

One of the focuses the three high schools have been working on is the different pathways to graduation, Frykas says this has shown success.

“Offering programming like off-campus programming work experience RAP (Registered Apprenticeship Program) programming, is one way is one pathway that some students have full academic course loads is another pathway,” she explained.

“Our bridge network, high school has really flexible programming for students.”

“And because of the flexibility with a bridge network, they’re able to work with those students, even if they are working part-time, full time, (just) to be able to get those high school credits so that they can complete,” added Frykas.

The provincial high school graduation rate is sitting 83.4 per cent. This shows a slight increase from the previous year’s result of 85.3 per cent provincially, as well as the previous three-year average of 79.6 per cent.

Despite GPPSD’s continual increase in graduation rates, it is currently sitting at nearly six per cent below the provincial average. However, Frykas says their goal is to reach and exceed the provincial graduation rate.

“The upward trend is what we’re focusing on and then evaluating if those strategies that we’re putting in place are making a difference is part of that,” she added.

“Planning and using our evidence that we have to see if those strategies are working, or if we need to look at different strategies, whether it’s for large groups of students or smaller groups of students and segments of the population.”