WEST HOLLYWOOD—The Los Angeles Unified School District is continuing to see an increase in the percentage of high school students graduating, with graduation rates up nearly 5 percent since last year.

“In L.A. Unified, we once again affirm that our ‘All Hands on Deck’ approach has resulted in a graduation rate increase of 4.8 percentage points – inclusive of A-G requirements – and a decrease of 3.1 percentage points in our cohort dropout rate. In addition, our English Learners graduation rate increased by 6.3 percentage points and our African-American students graduation rate increased by 6.2 percentage points,” said LAUSD Superintendent, Michelle King in a statement.

The “All Hands on Deck” approach was a strategy implemented by Superintendent King when she was appointed in 2016. The “All Hands On Deck” approach is an idea where every employee on every level of education is committed into putting in the work for each student. Every employee has “all hands on deck” starting at preschool. Data reports show improvement within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“I am proud of the heroic efforts by our teachers, counselors, parents, administrators and classified staff who rally around our students every day. We also thank our education leaders and partners who work with us to understand our challenges and celebrate our gains year after year,” said Superintendent King. “This data shows we are closing opportunity gaps and preparing more L.A. Unified students for college and careers, but we still have work to do. I expect these numbers to keep rising until we reach our goal of 100 percent graduation.”

All reports are listed on the California Department of Education website. According to the CDE website, in 2016, the increase of graduates was up to 83.2 percent. The data indicates the graduation rates were above the national average of high school graduation rates.

This is great news for our students and families,” Torlakson said. “Graduation rates have gone up seven years in a row, reflecting renewed optimism and increased investments in our schools that have helped reduce class sizes; bring back classes in music, theater, art, dance, and science; and expand career technical education programs that engage our students with hands-on, minds-on learning.

“The increasing rates show that the positive changes in California schools are taking us in the right direction. These changes, which I call the California Way, include teaching more rigorous and relevant academic standards, which provides more local control over spending and more resources to those with the greatest needs.”