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Bloomington Public Schools reports higher graduation rates; Hispanic-Latino students post large gains
Summary
At an April 27 board recap, district leaders said both four- and seven-year graduation rates rose in 2025, with the seven-year rate exceeding the state average and Hispanic-Latino students seeing roughly an eight-point four-year gain and a five-point seven-year gain.
District leaders reported improvements in graduation outcomes at an April 27 Bloomington Public Schools meeting, saying both four-year and seven-year graduation rates rose in 2025 and that the district's seven-year rate is now higher than the state average.
"We're thrilled to report Bloomington Public Schools has seen great success in improving graduation outcomes," Tom Bennett, school board chair, and Superintendent Eric Melbye said during the meeting recap. They said the district uses the seven-year rate as a strategic measure of whether students are graduating prepared for college and careers.
Board leaders highlighted particularly strong gains among Hispanic-Latino students: the meeting reported a nearly eight-point increase in the four-year graduation rate for that group and more than a five-point increase in the seven-year rate in 2025. The district did not provide a single districtwide percentage for the overall four- or seven-year rates during these remarks.
Speakers placed the progress in the context of continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying schools and students are still working to rebound from the pandemic's educational impacts and that the improvements should be viewed as steps in that recovery.
The board also used the recap to recognize staff and community partners. Leaders noted upcoming national appreciation observances for teachers, school nurses, administrative professionals and volunteers and said district leadership would present special reports highlighting those groups.
The meeting included a brief celebration of the Bloomington high school robotics program: leaders congratulated Team BJORG on winning the 2026 Granite City Regional in St. Cloud, the program's first regional victory since 2009, and said team members brought an award-winning robot to the meeting.
The recap concluded with leaders thanking staff and noting the board would meet again in May. No motions or formal votes were recorded in the April 27 recap included in the remarks.
