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Duluth Public Schools posts modest district gains; Denfeld shows strongest improvement
Summary
District officials presented preliminary four‑year graduation results showing an overall district rate around 80.4%, a Denfeld increase to 84.8% (N=197), and continuing disparities for some subgroups; staff stressed tracking continuing/5–7‑year cohorts and follow‑up with counselors.
District leaders briefed the Committee of the Whole on the newly released four‑year graduation data and subgroup breakdowns.
Director Lara said the state labeled the dataset the 2025 analysis year and the results were embargoed briefly before release. The district’s overall four‑year graduation rate was reported near 80.4%, a 1.3 percentage-point improvement over the prior year. Denfeld showed a notable gain — 84.8% (N=197), up about 7.9 points — while East High School remained high (about 95.9% with N=366). Alternative Learning Center (ALC) and care‑and‑treatment programs produced lower rates and were identified as areas for targeted supports.
Lara and staff explained state reporting categories: graduated (within four years), continuing (students working toward five/six/seven‑year plans), dropout (officially left school), and unknown (no enrollment record in Minnesota). District totals showed 619 graduates of the 770‑student cohort; continuing students comprised a meaningful share (approximately 12.6%), and unknowns and dropouts made up the remainder. The district noted that including continuing students raises the longer-term completion picture substantially.
The presentation highlighted subgroup volatility driven by small cell sizes: Hispanic students (N=23) and Black students (N=35) have rates that can swing with small absolute changes; Lara stressed the need for site-level follow-up and family engagement strategies. The district combined traditional seat‑based sites (Denfeld and East) and calculated a combined seat-based graduation rate of about 92%, underscoring the disparity between results for students who remain in traditional high‑school settings and those who move to alternative placements.
Board members pressed for the downloadable student-level file that staff said is available for counselors and principals to use for outreach. No formal action was taken; staff committed to provide school-level pivot reports and to follow up with principals and counselors on continuing students and subgroup supports.
