Waynesboro High School graduated 91.5% of Class of 2021 on time

More students in the 2020-2021 school year who entered the ninth grade during the 2017-2018 school year earned a diploma and graduated from Waynesboro High School within four years compared to previous years.

Of the 197 students in the Class of 2021, 91.5 percent earned a Board of Education-approved diploma, compared with the 85.9 percent of the 2020 cohort.

The dropout rate for the class of 2021 was 2.2 percent, compared with 4.3 percent for the entire state of Virginia.

“These results are indicative of the hard work of the Waynesboro High School staff. The administration and faculty worked tirelessly to ensure that they did not lose touch with students during the pandemic. They were doing home-visits, dropping off assignments and whatever it took to reach students. The high school staff also put several opportunities in place to help students recover credits and not fall behind,” said Tim Teachey, executive director of instruction at Waynesboro Public Schools.

Of the students who entered high school as first-time ninth graders in 2017:

• 33.9 percent earned an Advanced Studies Diploma.
• 53 percent earned a Standard Diploma.
• 4.6 percent earned an Applied Studies Diploma.
• 6.3 percent earned a GED.
• 2.2 percent dropped out.

Applied Studies Diplomas are available only to students with disabilities.

The graduation rates and dropout rates for the various demographic groups are as follows:

• 82.5 percent of Black students graduated; 2.5 percent dropped out.
• 89.4 percent of economically disadvantaged students graduated; 1.5 percent dropped out.
• 90 percent of Hispanic students graduated; 0 percent dropped out.
• 100 percent of students with disabilities graduated; 0 percent dropped out.
• 100 percent of students of multiple races graduated; 0 percent dropped out.
• 93.2 percent of white students graduated; 3.0 percent dropped out.

“We are very proud of our students, faculty and staff. These are challenging times and their staying power and hard work is reflected in this data. We are also very grateful for the state Board of Education and their emergency guidance that helped ensure students were not prevented from graduating due to circumstances caused by the pandemic and out of their control,” Teachey said.