At a Northshore School District study session, district leaders presented the Goal 5 monitoring report on readiness for lifelong success after graduation, saying overall on-time graduation remains strong while some student groups continue to lag.

Dr. Craig Foster, director of research and evaluation, told the board the district’s overall graduation rate is “right in line” with neighboring districts and above the state average. “This table to me happily is one where we can say, hey, we’re doing fine here,” Foster said, adding that small year‑to‑year differences appear likely to reflect sampling variation rather than a systemic failure.

The report grouped measures into three buckets: moving students to graduation, acquisition of practical skills and dispositions, and supports for life after high school. Executive Director Heather Miller described school‑level strategies that underpin the rates: leadership learning walks focused on high‑leverage instructional practices, individualized student planning and counseling meetings, expanded dual‑credit and CTE offerings, co‑teaching models and a tiered MTSS approach to identify and support students who are off track.

Presenters and board members acknowledged, however, that aggregated success masks persistent disproportionalities. Foster highlighted patterns by ethnicity and other subgroups that the district is tracking and said these warrant continued attention. A special‑education presenter noted that adult‑transition students — nearly 80 students currently enrolled who may remain beyond typical timelines — can affect on‑time percentages, and the team agreed such cohort composition and past pandemic‑era GRU waivers should factor into comparisons across years.

The district also reported progress and next steps on measures tied to postsecondary readiness. Staff described universal use of School Links for High School and Beyond plans, minimum meetings with career and college specialists, expanded outreach for FAFSA/WASFA completion and use of Senate Bill 5408 dual‑credit provisions to increase access to college credit in high school. A board member said some families express hesitancy about completing financial aid paperwork that requests personal information; staff said they plan multilingual outreach and more gentle assistance.

On course alignment, Dr. Dunham and staff discussed work to map local courses to college academic distribution requirements (CATER) so students are less likely to need remedial classes in college. The team described intent to expand dual‑credit, AP and IB offerings and to review whether locally offered CTE courses could be designated to meet CATER requirements.

Board members also weighed language and framing, with several urging the district to emphasize “higher education” or “continuing education” rather than only “college,” and to prioritize keeping postsecondary options open so students retain agency in choosing their paths.

The study session was discussion‑focused: presenters answered board questions about statistical significance, subgroup interactions, program capacity limits for some CTE offerings and the timeline for seeing CATER‑related changes in metrics. No motions or formal votes were recorded. The session ended as the board prepared to convene its regular meeting in roughly 33 minutes.