BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
Florida high school graduation rates were released this month and nearly 93% of students graduated on time in Clay County.
While the percentage was slightly down from 2020, Clay County schools still had one of the highest average graduation rates in the area.
At 95.6%, Columbia County had the second highest graduation rate in the state, following Lafayette’s 97.5%.
Union County High School achieved the highest percentage increase in the state, rising 8.7% to 88.3%
Alachua was up slightly to 90.1%, while Baker fell to 86.6%
Bradford High school was also down in 2021 to 85%, according to the Florida Department of Education. This was the lowest average of the surrounding counties.
Recall, Bradford County School District was previously investigated by DOE’s Office of Inspector General for a change in its pupil progression plan that allowed the district to classify withdrawing students — including those leaving for a GED or other adult education program — as homeschool students whether they ever participated in homeschool or not. Doing so allowed those students to be removed from school rolls without being categorized as dropouts, which falsely inflated the district’s graduation rate.
While not the lowest in the state, Bradford’s graduation rate is among the lowest. Only nine other counties out of 67 reported a lower graduation rate.
