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Duluth Public Schools reports rising graduation rates; student leaders urge clearer schedule changes
Summary
The Duluth Public Schools board heard that four‑year graduation rates improved across most student groups and discussed student concerns about rushed schedule changes and new required classes, including freshman futures, 10th‑grade computer science, and 11th‑grade college/career readiness.
The Duluth Public Schools board on a May regular meeting heard district leaders report broad gains in four‑year graduation rates for the Class of 2024 while a student representative described frustration among peers over how new required classes were added to next year’s schedules.
Superintendent Magus told the board that the district saw increases districtwide and especially among historically underserved students, citing improvements of 10 percent or more for Hispanic students and nearly 9‑10 percent for other groups. Magus said the Duluth Area Learning Center saw the largest percentage‑point gain and called the trend “really outstanding.”
Student representative Kate Dean of East High School told the board students appreciated some changes but described how spring rollouts of new requirements felt rushed. Dean said the district introduced freshman futures for ninth graders, a computer science requirement for 10th graders and a college‑career‑life‑readiness (CCLR) requirement for 11th graders, then gave students only about 20 minutes to choose which class to drop to make room in their schedules. “The way that the new requirements were implemented caused a lot of issues,” Dean said, adding students reported feeling the decisions were an afterthought and that some required courses did not align with assessments or student interest.
Board members and administrators discussed follow‑up. Superintendent Magus and Director Jen Larva said they had met with student leaders to develop a proposed intercity student council to give more student voice to scheduling and curriculum decisions. Larva and others said district leaders plan additional meetings before the end of the school year and more student involvement in fall planning.
Magus credited several factors for the rise in graduation rates, including a return from pandemic conditions, greater focus on engagement and relationships, and investments in curriculum and support systems. He gave numeric examples: districtwide four‑year graduation rates rose 4.2 percentage points overall, and specific subgroups showed larger gains — the transcript lists increases of 12.4 points for students of two or more races, 10.2 for Hispanic students and 9.1 for Black students, among others. Magus emphasized these are four‑year rates and that continuing and seven‑year graduations remain important to track.
Board members probed categories the state uses for reporting. Member Banks and Director Larva discussed the “continuing,” “dropout,” and “unknown” classifications used by the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS). Larva explained “dropout” often reflects a 15‑day nonenrollment and that “unknown” frequently includes students who leave the state temporarily (for care and treatment placements such as Amber Wing) and therefore no longer appear in Minnesota enrollment records.
The board agreed to keep listening to student feedback about schedule design and to pursue greater student representation in planning. Superintendent Magus and board members said they will promote the graduation improvements publicly and consider a board‑level celebration, while continuing focused efforts for groups whose rates remain low.
The board did not take a formal policy vote on schedule requirements during this meeting.
