For the 12^th consecutive year, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) reached record levels with respect to the On-Time Graduation (OTG) rate, which stands at 94.2% for the 2020 cohort year, and the lowest recorded dropout rate of 2.9%. VBCPS also outperformed Virginia's rates of 92.3% for OTG and 5.1% for dropouts.

"Even a global health pandemic cannot stop our division's progress. Our educators and support staff are committed to meeting our students' educational and social-emotional needs so they walk off that graduation stage fully prepared for college, the military or a career," said VBCPS Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. "This continued improvement would not be possible without the additional support of our families, who became first-year teachers overnight when schools closed in the spring, and they managed it with grace and patience. Virginia Beach is truly a village devoted to its future citizens."

During Dr. Spence's tenure, which began in June 2014, the division's graduation rate has increased by 5.7% and the dropout rate has decreased by 1.9%.

On-time graduation and dropout rates for the Class of 2020 were released Sept. 30 by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), which has been tracking this information since 2008.

The on-time graduation rate is based on the percentage of students in a graduation cohort who earned a Board of Education-approved diploma within four years of entering high school. In addition to these new overall records, a closer look at VBCPS data reveals impressive gains in key areas:

• The division’s OTG has increased steadily from 84.2% in 2008 to 94.2% in 2020 and the dropout rate has decreased from 7% in 2008 to 2.9% in 2020.
• Since 2018, the graduation rate for African-American students increased by 1.3% and the dropout rate decreased by 1.4%.
• Students with disabilities as a group maintained their graduation rate, which stands at 91.7%.

These records add to the division's string of recent successes in achievement, including VBCPS being recognized by VDOE as one of only 15 "School Divisions of Innovation" for designing and implementing alternatives to traditional instructional practices that improve student learning and promote college and career readiness, and good citizenship.

Learn more about graduation, dropout rates and Divisions of Innovation by visiting the VDOE's website.

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Department of Communications and Community Engagement, [email protected]

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