District 6 reports 87.3% on-time graduation rate; outlines freshmen supports, alternative programs and credit-recovery steps

GREELEY, Colo. — Greeley Evans School District 6 officials told the board Monday that the district’s on-time graduation rate for the class of 2024 was 87.3 percent and described school- and district-level steps aimed at increasing on-time completion further.

Anthony Alspice, assistant superintendent of secondary and K–8 leadership, said the district’s rate “was 87.3 percent,” and noted the increase is part of a longer trend. “In the last 10 years, we have increased the on time graduation rate by over 10% under her leadership,” Alspice said, referring to the district’s strategic leadership.

The presentation framed the success as the result of multiple coordinated efforts under the Innovation 2030 strategic plan. District staff highlighted three major action steps: expanding career-pathway engagement and concurrent-enrollment access, creating systematic supports so every high-school student has a personalized graduation plan, and strengthening freshman transition supports.

Alspice said the district now has more than 1,000 students enrolled in concurrent-enrollment classes and more than 3,000 students participating in an identified career pathway. He also presented subgroup figures the district tracks: the class of 2024 overall on-time rate of 87.3 percent compared with a state average of 84.2 percent; an all-time high of 85.9 percent for economically disadvantaged students (who make up 67.2 percent of the district’s enrollment); an on-time rate of 80.4 percent for students with disabilities (a 5 percentage-point increase from the prior year); and a 78.8 percent on-time rate for students classified as limited English proficient. The district reported a dropout rate of 1.9 percent, a six‑year completion rate of 89.8 percent and a seven‑year completion rate above 90 percent.

Counselors from two high schools described operational steps taken at the school level. Bethany Lee, a counselor at Northridge High School, said Northridge uses an advisory period to teach ninth graders explicit skills — time management, organization, study habits and self-advocacy — and to monitor ‘on-track’ metrics multiple times per year so interventions can begin earlier.

Claudia Kessler, counselor at Greeley Central High School, described a cohort model that keeps ninth-grade students with a stable set of core teachers and a three-tiered meeting structure (whole-ninth-grade team, cohort MTSS tier‑2 meetings, and weekly tier‑3 support team meetings) to identify and respond to academic, attendance and behavior concerns. Kessler described summer “jump start” transition programs and a peer-mentor (Link Crew) model pairing upperclass students with freshmen.

Meredith Allen, administrator for the district’s alternative programs (GAP and Jefferson), said those programs focus on rebuilding students’ academic efficacy before accelerating course completion. “If we are having a hard time finding the win, then we go back to the drawing board and figure out what the students really need,” Allen said, describing counseling, daily contacts and flexible scheduling the programs use to keep students engaged.

District staff identified remaining gaps and next steps. The district reported a freshman failure rate around 20 percent and set a target to reduce that to 10 percent or less through sustained cohorting, timely data reviews, stronger eighth‑to‑ninth-grade transitions and refined on‑site credit recovery. Alspice summarized the implementation intent as “enhance our monthly meetings to identify support for each student so every single student in this district has a plan to graduate on time.”

Board members and student representatives praised the district’s work. Several trustees and students credited the community’s investments and district programs — including facilities and alternative pathways — for the gains in subgroup outcomes. Trustees did not take formal action on the presentation; the board received the update and discussed next steps for ongoing implementation and monitoring.