Eunice High grad rate rises sharply

By Harlan Kirgan
Editor
The Eunice High School graduation rate for the class of 2017 was 82.9 percent, a sharp rise from 73.4 percent in 2016.
The 2016 graduation rates for the parish and individual high schools were reported in Thursday’s edition in conjunction with a state Department of Education report on 10-year graduation rates from 2006 to 2016.
St. Landry Parish had a 66.6 percent graduation rate for its 2016 class, which was the fourth lowest in the state.
The report prompted Eunice High Principal Mitch Fontenot to point out his school’s sharp improvement in 2017.
Eunice High School was the only St. Landry Parish School to show an increase from 2016 to 2017.
Beau Chene High school’s dropped to 64.9 percent in 2017 from 69.1 percent in 2016
The Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts in Opelousas had a 94.6 percent graduation rate in 2017, down from 95.2 percent in 2016.
North Central High’s 2017 graduation rate was 75 percent, down from 75.7 percent in 2016.
Northwest High’s 2017 graduation rate was 65.5 percent, down from 74.5 percent in 2016.
Opelousas High School’s 2017 graduation rate was 49 percent, down from 56.5 percent in 2016.
Port Barre High’s 2017 graduation rate was 70.2 percent, down from 73 percent in 2016.
The St. Landry Parish graduation rate in 2017 was 66.6 percent, down from 69.3 percent in 2016.
The state graduation rate was 77 percent in 2016.
Lousiana has set a goal of raising its high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2025.