Over 93% of Hamilton County’s class of 2024 graduated on time, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Education.
That’s up almost 4 percentage points compared to the class of 2023 and surpasses the state average.
Statewide, the graduation rate hit 92.1%, breaking the Tennessee record and marking the second year in a row where the state’s rate exceeded 90%.
Hamilton County’s graduation rate has steadily increased for the past few years after it dipped slightly during the pandemic. Since 2021, the district’s graduation rate has increased by almost 8 percentage points.
Graduation rate by school
– Sale Creek Middle/High School: 98.7%
– STEM School Chattanooga: 98.4%
– Sequoyah High School: 98.1%
– Red Bank High School: 97.7%
– Tyner Academy: 96.9%
– Lookout Valley Middle/High School: 96.3%
– Signal Mountain Middle/High School: 95.1%
– Ivy Academy: 95.1%
– East Hamilton High School: 94.4%
– Soddy Daisy High School: 93.7%
– Hamilton County Virtual School: 93%
– East Ridge High School: 92.9%
– Ooltewah High School: 92.8%
– Hixson High School: 91.9%
– The Howard School: 91.8%
– Central High School: 87.8%
– Brainerd High School: 76.6%
Under its strategic plan, the school system aimed to have 93% of students graduate on time by 2030. The district is thrilled to have already met that goal with this year’s graduation rate at 93.2%, Chief Strategy Officer Shannon Moody said.
Moving forward, she said, the district intends to at least maintain that rate and then increase it. If the upward trend continues, it may reset its goal for 2030.
Moody said the district’s focus on both academic achievement and personalization contributed to the rising graduation rate.
“Our leaders and our teachers have also just worked incredibly hard, not only to prepare students for the rigor that they’re going to see in their classes, but to really connect with students and make sure that their courses and this graduation is meaningful,” she said by phone. “I really think we can talk about all the systems and structures all day long, but graduation rates increase as our staff really connects, pulls kids in and meets them where they’re at to make sure that they’re meeting this milestone in their life.”
The majority of district high schools exceeded the state’s average graduation rate with eight schools graduating at least 95% of their students on time. The Howard School and Tyner Academy had the district’s largest graduation rate increases from the year prior, rising by 16.2 and 11.3 percentage points respectively.
Several other school districts in Southeast Tennessee also graduated students at a rate higher than the state’s, including three districts that graduated more than 95% of their students: Bradley County Schools, McMinn County Schools and Meigs County Schools.
In Hamilton County, students with disabilities or in foster care graduated on time at the lowest rate. Students in foster care had a graduation rate of 59.5%, which is more than 12 percentage points higher than the year before and surpasses the statewide rate for foster children.
Of the 360 students with disabilities in the class of 2024, 79.7% graduated on time. While that lags about a percentage point behind the state’s graduation rate for students with disabilities, it is almost 7 percentage points higher than the year before.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.