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Manatee schools: senior class posts highest five‑year GPA, 3,200 graduates and global diversity
Summary
District presenters said the Class of 2025 graduated roughly 3,200 students, the senior cohort speaks at least 45 languages, includes students born in 47 states and 66 countries/territories, and recorded the highest average GPA the district has seen in five years.
At the School Board meeting May 20, district staff presented a “senior stats” summary for the Class of 2025 that highlighted academic and extracurricular achievements across Manatee County high schools.
Evan McCarthy, the district’s director of research and accountability, and Sharon Scarborough, executive director of secondary schools, told the board the cohort includes students born in 47 U.S. states and 66 countries or territories and that staff identified at least 45 languages spoken at home among seniors. McCarthy said the class produced the district’s highest average GPA in five years and that students logged more than 171,000 hours of community service this year.
“On average for one of those students that has been here since pre‑K, they’ve had 70 to 75 different teachers that have impacted them,” McCarthy said, noting dual-enrollment, advanced-credit and early-graduation pathways. Scarborough and other administrators credited in-person instruction for part of the GPA gains, saying this graduating class spent four consecutive years in person after pandemic-era disruptions.
The district reported roughly 3,200 graduates and estimated about 29,000 handshakes across all commencements during graduation week; staff explained the handshake estimate as a count that included board members, district leaders and principals. The presentation also showed 269 early graduates and appointments to five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and four service academies (Air Force, Naval Academy, West Point and Merchant Marine) this year.
Board members praised staff for coordinating the graduations and noted the presentation’s lighthearted elements (a map of where seniors were born, lists of colleges they will attend, and common baby names). The board said the data pack will be useful for public reporting and for celebrating student accomplishments.
Ending: Staff said they will post the senior-stats summary on the district website and use the findings to support outreach to families and community partners.
