Kristin Granaga, a high school curriculum coordinator for Sioux Falls School District 49-5, told the school board that the district’s on-time graduation rate has climbed steadily over six years, rising “from just under 85 percent to just slightly under 90 percent.”

Granaga said district students consistently outperform the state average and that the district also posts strong five-year completer rates, “again, stay around that 90%.” She cited the district’s Connections program and the Freshman Academy — offered since 2008 — as central to moving students from ninth to tenth grade and on to graduation.

“Since 2008, between 91% and 96% of freshmen in the Freshman Academy have advanced to tenth grade,” Granaga said, reading the figures as presented to the board. She also noted cohort growth, reporting the graduation cohort rose from 1,432 students in 2019–20 to 1,635 in the most recent year and that late-graduate counts for 2024–25 remain in progress.

Granaga described supports for students who fall behind, including recovery options, personalized counseling and intervention programs, and flexible pathways for students who need more time. She pointed out that some groups — special education (IEP) students and English language learners — make the district’s results especially noteworthy: RISE-program students account for about 2.5% of the population, and the district’s combined special-education and ELL populations would each rank among the larger districts in the state if counted separately.

Board members asked clarifying questions during discussion. Chair Kelly highlighted the district’s reported on-time rate of 88.7% compared with a state average of 85.7% and praised the Freshman Academy’s early-intervention emphasis. The board voted to acknowledge the graduation and freshman-transition report by voice vote; no roll-call counts were recorded.

The board did not take further action beyond acknowledging the report; directors said they would continue monitoring cohort progress and program impacts in future updates.