Graduation jump — District tops state average after sharp year-to-year increase

Weston County School District No. 1 posted a sharp increase in its high school graduation rate in 2024-25, rising to 90.9%, up from 75.4% the year before and surpassing the statewide rate of 83.1%, according to data released by the Wyoming Department of Education.

According to the department, the graduation rate is the percentage of students in a defined graduation cohort who earn a regular high school diploma within four years. Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, states must calculate the Federal Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate, which tracks students who enter high school as first-time ninth graders in the same school year. 

The cohort is adjusted by adding verified transfer students and removing students who transfer out, move out of the country, or die, with proper documentation. Students who do not earn a diploma within four years are counted as non-on-time graduates, including those who drop out, leave without confirmed transfers, remain enrolled without graduating, or leave school to participate in a non-regular Wyoming high school diploma-granting educational or trade school program, including pursuit of a high school equivalency certificate.

Sonya Tysdal, the district’s curriculum director, noted that the calculation method for four-year, on-time graduation changed a little in 2024-25.

“In many cases, the change prevents the transfer of students to virtual school and home school from being coded as district dropouts,” she told the News Letter Journal. “When students transfer out, they can go to an ESA-approved program or an “other” online setting. Class size and family educational decisions also impact the overall graduation rate; fluctuating the rate up and down.”

The increase follows a year in which the district’s graduation rate lagged behind the state average and reflects a combination of student supports, career-focused coursework and the return to more stable, in-person schooling after the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One factor that was definitely unique for the class of 2024 was that they entered high school in the fall of 2020,” Newcastle High School Principal Bryce Hoffman said. “I think that was a challenging time for all of us and may have been particularly hard on some of those students who were less interested in the school setting.”

Hoffman also cautioned that graduation class sizes in Weston County are small, meaning that individual students can have an outsized impact on year-to-year percentages.

“With graduating classes of these sizes, one student is about 2% of the graduation rate,” he said.

Gains across student groups

Beyond the overall increase, graduation rates rose in 2024-25 for several student groups, including students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, students with individualized education programs and both male and female students, according to the state data.

Hoffman said subgroup percentages can fluctuate widely from year to year in small cohorts and should be interpreted carefully.

“When we look at subgroups, some of them have large swings because of small numbers in that subgroup,” he said. “We don’t intentionally do a lot of tracking of those small subgroups in small amounts.”

For students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Hoffman pointed to strong community support that helps cover classroom and project fees, lowering financial barriers to participation in elective and career-focused courses.

“That (support) helps lower that financial bar to entry into CTE and elective programs that provide hands-on learning,” he said.

Hoffman said special education staff also play a key role by providing individualized instruction and advocating for students’ needs.

“They are an advocate and an extra set of eyes on those students to ensure they receive the necessary supports to be successful,” he said.

CTE students continue to outperform

Career and technical education remained closely associated with student success in 2024-25, with CTE concentrators again graduating at higher rates than the overall student population.

In 2024-25, 50 of 51 CTE concentrators graduated, compared with 50 of 55 students overall. A similar pattern was seen the year before, when 47 of 48 CTE concentrators graduated, compared with 49 of 65 students overall.

CTE concentrators complete multiple courses within a single career pathway and often earn an industry-recognized credential, Hoffman said.

Hoffman said Newcastle High School is fortunate to have four CTE teachers, allowing students to pursue sustained, hands-on coursework tied to real-world skills.

“When they are successful down a pathway, it supports both goals of learning a trade or skill while also earning multiple credits toward graduation,” he said.

NHS’s funding model only allows the district 0.6 full-time CTE positions, as Tysdal pointed out.

“The flexibility of the block grant is essential and allows district boards to make decisions that are best for the district/community by providing programs and opportunities for students,” Tysdal said.

Tysdal said NHS continues to offer a variety of classes, aligned to Wyoming Content and Performance Standards. She said students can take concurrent courses throughout high school with Eastern Wyoming College.

Attendance, recovery and engagement

Hoffman said students who graduate on time typically share several traits, including strong attendance, consistent assignment completion and involvement in at least one extracurricular activity.

To support students who struggle academically, the district places students into enrichment/recovery blocks based on classroom performance, providing additional instructional time each week. When a student fails a course, the district works to place them into credit recovery as early as possible, whether through online coursework, targeted reassignment of standards-based work or retaking the course in person.

“The graduation data affects planning and decision making on a semester basis of getting students into the proper recoveries in a timely manner for them to make up credits,” Hoffman said. “On a weekly basis, we adjust those ER blocks to move kids to the areas (where) teachers feel they need support.”

Early warning signs include attendance patterns and the number of credits earned during ninth grade, Hoffman said. Addressing missed credits early can help students regain confidence and stay on track for graduation.

Turning things around

Students who struggle early in high school do not always stay off track, Hoffman said, noting that improvement often comes from a mix of academic, social and developmental factors.

“There are a variety of different scenarios that result in better attendance and assignment completion,” he said.

Some students begin to turn things around after forming positive connections with adults in the building or becoming more engaged with their coursework. Others benefit from increased parental involvement or by surrounding themselves with peers who place a high value on graduating. In other cases, progress comes with time.

“Sometimes they simply mature and begin to take school more seriously,” Hoffman said.

Recognizing those turning points — and supporting students when they occur — can be critical in helping students persist to graduation, according to Hoffman.

Graduation data in context

Superintendent Brad LaCroix urged caution in how graduation rates are interpreted and used for accountability.

“The graduation rate is what it is,” LaCroix said. “How the state gets at that number has always been sort of a sh**show, in my opinion.”

LaCroix said accountability measures often fail to account for individual student circumstances, such as students who may need more than four years to complete high school.

“That shouldn’t come against the district,” he said. “A lot of this accountability has been set up to design failure, which is a harsh mark against public schools. We have our issues — I’m not arguing that — but the way that data is being used for children and children’s growth and school growth and the amount of money we’re throwing towards that, I think it’s criminal.”

By the numbers: Graduation rates

Weston County School District No. 1 (2024-25) 90.9%

Weston County School District No. 1 (2023-24) 75.4%

Wyoming statewide (2024-25) 83.1%

Wyoming statewide (2023-24) 81.6%

Source: Wyoming Department of Education

A deeper dive

CTE and graduation

Career and technical education continues to be strongly associated with student success at Newcastle High School. CTE students continued to graduate at higher rates than the overall student body, with nearly all concentrators finishing on time in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, a trend district leaders attribute to sustained, hands-on learning within a defined career pathway that helps keep students engaged and on track for graduation.

In addition to the uptick in the graduation rate for the overall student body, graduation rates increased from 2023-24 to 2024-25 for

Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch

Students with individualized education programs

Both male and female students

District officials caution that subgroup percentages in Weston County can fluctuate sharply from year to year because of small class sizes. In cohorts of 20 to 30 students, a single student can shift subgroup rates by several percentage points. School leaders say they focus less on short-term subgroup swings and more on long-term trends, attendance patterns and credit accumulation.

A staff-driven career and trade fair is one way Newcastle High School is connecting classroom learning with future career options.

Now in its third year, the event brings local employers and community members into the school to talk with students about career pathways and training requirements.

The next career and trade fair is Feb. 18. Principal Bryce Hoffman credited NHS science teacher Zach Beam and librarian Maggie Unterseher, along with other staff members, for helping grow the event. He said those connections can help keep students engaged through graduation.