District officials highlight CTE, AVID and options programs as drivers of rising graduation rates

Gresham-Burlow School District staff presented an update Feb. 28 tracing how programs from middle school through high school are intended to increase on-time graduation. Presenters said participation in career and technical education (CTE) and targeted programs such as AVID and district-run alternatives is strongly correlated with higher graduation rates.

At the work session, Dr. Tim Collins and Carla Geddon said district data show about 925 students in the three comprehensive high schools were in the 4-year cohort referenced for the class of 2024. Of those, roughly 700 students participated in at least one CTE course during high school; students who were “concentrators” (three or more courses in a single program of study) numbered about 250. Collins said the graduation rate for students who participated in at least one CTE course was about 90 percent, and the district’s data show especially strong graduation outcomes for students who concentrated in CTE.

The administrators also highlighted AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). Collins reported 173 students in the class of 2024 had participated in AVID at some point, with 60 in AVID all four years; students who had been in AVID at any point also graduated at roughly a 90 percent rate. Speakers said AVID has expanded at middle schools but capacity constraints mean some site teams must choose which applicants they can accept.

Officials described an array of in-district “options” programs intended to keep students on track: flexible learning programs (Flex/eFlex), Twilight and Summer Scholar credit-recovery courses, Rea (for students needing a different schedule) and newcomer supports for recently arrived EML (emerging multilingual) students. The district also runs a “Jumpstart” two-week summer program for incoming ninth-graders that provides CTE exposure and academic/social supports; participants can earn a half high-school credit.

Collins emphasized the compounding effect of multiple supports. He told board members that students who are on track at the end of their freshman year are far more likely to graduate on time — he cited a 91 percent on-time graduation rate for students who were “on track” (at least six credits) at the end of freshman year — and that CTE participation, AVID, and ninth-grade “on-track” status together form layered supports that boost graduation.

District officials acknowledged several equity and technical issues: students who are highly mobile or who enroll late in the district are harder to bring to graduation, and GED completions do not count toward the 4-year graduation rate even though they do appear in five-year completion statistics. The presenters also noted that some out-of-district or contracted alternative placements may yield graduation outcomes that are recorded back to the student’s home high school and that the data include those arrangements.

Board members asked about capacity, whether district-sponsored online programs were being used to move credit-deficient students out of their home high schools, and how AVID could be scaled as a schoolwide strategy rather than a limited elective. Speakers said they are working with site teams to expand AVID strategies across more classrooms and to use the district’s CTE and credit-recovery options to retain students who otherwise would enroll in virtual options.

Ending: District administrators said the district will return to the board in the spring with more data broken down by school and by program so trustees can track how the programs affect specific subgroups and high schools.