Lawrence High School grad rates soar

When Dr. Vicki Karant took over as District 15's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in early 2006 one of her chief goals was to improve the graduation rate at Lawrence High School. Four years later this goal was been accomplished in a major way with now nearly every Lawrence student earning a diploma.

In the last four years Lawrence's graduation rate has surged from 76 percent to 90 percent for the 2008/2009 school year, according to numbers that District 15 officials will be releasing to the New York State Department of Education this month. For those who took five years to graduate, the rate is 98.7 percent.

Lawrence's graduation-rate increase comes despite the school seeing more students from low income households and English language learners. Karant attributed the improved numbers to her staff conducting a thorough analysis of students who did not pass assessments to determine who needed the most extra help. An increased emphasis was also placed on having students take their Regents exams on time so they would not have to use a fifth year of school to graduate.

“The leadership dedicated themselves to carefully monitoring every single student,” said Dr. Karant. “We have been very, very cognizant that students be tested on time.”

The graduation rate “has always been a target and something we look at as the bottom line,” said Lawrence High School principal Geoffrey Touretz. “We're really proud.”

Touretz credited the increased graduation rate to the hard work of Karant, his assistant principal Dr. Jennifer Lagnado and Rina Beach, Lawrence High School's former curriculum director for English and Social Studies, who is house master for grades five and six at Lawrence Middle School. “A lot of this was very tedious work,” said Touretz.

Touretz also attributes much credit for the graduation- rate rise to the support of the Lawrence Board of Education, which set up an Academic Excellence Committee two years ago. “We've been aided in this effort by the board and their support,” said Touretz.

The improved graduation rates was welcome news to the Lawrence High School PTA, who lauded the hard work of the administrators and teachers for the accomplishment. “The PTA is thrilled by this improvement,” said Penny Schuster, Lawrence High School co PTA president. “Congratulations to Mr. Touretz, the teachers and the entire administration in the high school.”