Are High School Graduation Rates Declining?

It has been the unofficial summer since last week, and I hope everyone took some time to enjoy a good barbecue and the outdoors with friends and family during the Memorial Weekend. This summer, we'll be working on some things here at Coffee Fiix, and we want to shake up one component of how we curate the news. As you know, we try to capture three significant education, newsworthy stories across the U.S. What we will try here with our last item is to focus on one state where we provide three newsworthy stories from the previous week. You'll see what we mean below. Of course, we'd like to know your thoughts, so be sure to complete the poll at the end. It would be much appreciated!

Also, this coming week, we will be taking some time off with the family. Don't worry! We'll have a special, quick bite piece highlighting some exciting facts about teachers, second jobs, and summer jobs.

For those who help us grow our community, we have some exciting rewards in the pipeline. Stay tuned for more information!

Anyway, this is probably the longest introduction we've written, and we'll do our best to ensure it never gets as long as this again.

We appreciate you taking time out of your day to get your Coffee Fiix. Cheers to your morning brew ☕

U.S. High School Graduation Rates

To start off with the good news, on a percentage basis, high school graduation rates have gone up since the 1960s. During that time, the graduation rate was at a meager 41.1%. In about two decades, that percentage nearly doubled in 1993 to 80%. By the 2000s, it was up to 84%; as of 2022, it is sitting above 90%. According to the National Education for Statistics (NCES), in the 2019-2020 school year, that is roughly 3.4 million high school graduates. That raw number of graduates has increased yearly in the past 100 years. Unfortunately, due to declining birth rates in the U.S., that number will begin to decline beginning in 2026, according to Cognia’s statistical models.

Whether the total number of graduates starts to decline or if we can sustain the graduation rate where it is, that would be considered a win.

There are certainly wider implications on what that can exactly mean for the wider society at large, legitimate reasons for why people are choosing to have less kids or no kids at all across many countries. This is beyond our purview of what we discuss here, so here is a video by The Economist that might provide valid reasons why this is the case across wealthier countries: Is it worth having kids?

God and Graduation

To speak at your high school commencement is undoubtedly an honor. You are one of the few who will get to say something significant and profound about “Your” graduating class, and your words can leave an imprint on your peers in ways that can certainly be positive. For Micah Price, a graduating senior at Campbell County High School certainly left an impression not only with his graduating class but has reignited the conversation about the separation of church and state and what that means within a public school campus.

At the beginning of his speech, Micah praised his Lord and Savior as many people do, from winning an award, a race, football games, and so on. This is not something unexpected that someone would do, especially during one of the most significant moments in their lives - graduating from high school. Because of what he said, his diploma was witheld. Campbell County Superintendent Shelli Wilson said thanking God was not why they withheld his diploma, but what he said afterward as it was not approved for him to say.

This story gained a lot of steam from various outlets, and Micah posted a response to everything that is going on.

@priceproduction

Blud needs to graduate

Micah did state he was in the wrong, “technically,” and that the Principal was only doing his job. He elaborated on his message and how he did not expect things to escalate the way he did. He reassured people that he would still be getting his diploma but would have to meet with the Superintendent. What do you think? Was the school justified in withholding his diploma?

What’s happening in Alabama?

When it comes to teacher pay, Alabama ranks near the bottom when it comes to teacher’s salaries. As of this past year, the annual mean salary for a teacher in Alabama is $55,050, with only eight states paying teachers less than Alabama. It is usually a political hot potato regarding teacher salaries, and arguments can be made on all sides for whether teachers should get paid more, are getting paid enough, or are not getting paid enough. Yet, whether kids are eating enough should never be a point of contention.

Kids are food insecure

In Alabama, 884,270 people are considered food insecure. That is 17.4% of the state’s population, with children at a higher percentage at 23.3%. As they did the previous year, their school districts will offer summer feeding programs, partly thanks to federal funding. Unfortunately, the funding will only be enough to cover 12 school districts in Alabama.

Alabama has a total of 140 school districts.

The goal is to cover 44 million meals throughout the summer. If you have the means, let’s do our part and do what we can by dropping off some food items at our local food banks.

Safety and Discipline, a top priority for 2024-2025 school year

The Alabama state legislature passed bills this past year that address school safety and discipline and are set to go into effect this coming school year.

When it comes to school safety, the School Security Bill aims to mandate periodic inspections every five years to ensure schools are enacting the proper measures unique to their needs. The bill aims to address the inspections with an impartial group of evaluators who will determine what schools specifically need. This bill was created in part to address school shootings but also to address buildings that are up to fire code.

Regarding student discipline, Senate Bill 157 was dubbed the “Teacher’s Bill of Rights.” The bill was crafted in response to teachers voicing their frustration in the classroom due to the lack of support in their classrooms. Under the bill,

Teachers can also take a series of steps if a student is a repeat offender that can help make it less challenging to recommend student suspension and, in extreme cases, mandate a transfer to an alternative school.

There was some friction at the district level because, as this is a statewide standard, it bypasses any procedures those districts had in place, which challenges the districts’ autonomy.

School discipline is not easy, and wouldn't it be wonderful if teachers could focus on…you know…teaching?

Blast off!

Students at Tharptown High School, located in Russellville, Alabama, competed at the American Rocketry Challenge and took home first place. It was a record-setting year in its 22nd year with 922 teams competing.

This is Tharpton High School’s first time winning since initially competing in 2018. Last year in 2023, they took home 2nd place. In winning first place, they are not only take home a cash prize of $20,000 but will represent the United States in the International Rocketry Challenge taking place in July at the Farnborough Air Show in England.

After winning the competition, The team Captain said in a release:

They have a challenging road ahead of them, but these kids are going to be fine. Come July, let’s be sure to cheer them on!

Closing Bell

On this day in 1935…

George Herman “Babe” Ruth retired from America’s favored pastime. The Babe began his career in 1914 with the Boston Red Sox, where he played for several years until he was signed by the New York Yankees, where he went on to solidify his legendary status. During his career, he pitched for ten years while simultaneously batting. He amassed a 94-46 career win/loss record. As a slugger, The Sultan of Swat hit a record 59 home runs in 1921 and broke that record in 1927 with 60, the first to do so in MLB history. He finished his career with 714 home runs. Only three other players have hit 700-plus home runs in their careers: Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, and Barry Bonds.

On August 18, 1948, at 8:01 pm, The Great Bambino trascended from a mortal human being to the immortal legend he is now.