HERMISTON — The Oregon Department of Education released the 2023 graduation rate data on Thursday, Jan. 25, which offers some insight into how schools in Umatilla and Morrow counties are doing.

For example, statewide, the graduation rate was tied for second-highest ever, at 81.3%, but many districts in Eastern Oregon dropped below both the state threshold and their own rate from 2022.

School districts around the region are considering the factors that influenced the change. One of the most obvious is the coronavirus pandemic. The 2023 cohort faced the start of the pandemic during their freshman year, and only had a truly normal high school experience during their senior year, 2022-23.

A significant drop

Umatilla School District is unique in that it had a significantly higher four-year graduation rate in 2022 than 2023, dropping from 90.5% to 78.6%. Superintendent Heidi Sipe said in a press release this is because the district encouraged students to take the time they needed to meet the standards required to graduate, rather than adjusting those standards due to the pandemic.

“Students, especially those most impacted by COVID restrictions such as English Language Learners and students with disabilities, needed more time to learn and we worked to provide the additional time and resources,” Sipe said in the press release.

The press release also said that the graduation rate data fails to provide a full picture. Students who don’t graduate may start GED programs to get high school equivalency diplomas or they may continue for a fifth year in the district, which had a 90.5% graduation rate in 2023, up from 82.0% in 2022.

“While the state must have cut-off dates for reporting success,” Sipe said in the release, “the school does not stop serving students until they are 21 and their data continues to improve.”

Sipe also mentioned the pandemic had a drastic impact on the district’s students. The 2023 cohort only had one traditional year of high school — its final one.

“We are proud of the students who are persevering and continuing with their studies and we celebrate their dedication and look forward to seeing their commitment payoff with full diplomas.”

An outlier

At Morrow County School District, students graduated at a higher rate in 2023 than in 2022, an increase of 0.5% to 96.8%, which is higher than the statewide average by 15.5%.

“We are incredibly proud of the class of 2023,” the district said in a press release. “These students did not have a ‘real’ year of high school until their senior year and were able to maintain their focus on graduation.”

The release also mentioned that students in demographic groups that historically have had lower graduation rates, such as homeless students, Hispanic or Latino students, English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, migrant students, and students with disabilities, continue to graduate at rates of more than 90% in Morrow County School District.

Superintendent Matt Combe attributed the high success rate to the work of staff, families and educational partners.

In agreement with other superintendents in the area, in the press release, Combe said, “It takes everyone’s efforts to help our students achieve their goals and be ready to move on to their next goal.”

Struggling with attendance

In Pendleton, the district saw a dip of almost 5%, down to 76.7% of students graduating in four years. One of the big challenges that came out of the pandemic was getting students to even show up to school consistently, said Matt Yoshioka, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment.

“What we’re noticing is that the number of students who are not attending is growing,” he said. “It’s definitely much, much higher post-COVID. Trying to reengage them is a challenge.”

Counselors from Pendleton High School are making home visits now to try and encourage students to attend school again, Yoshioka said. The district is hoping this individualized effort will bring students back to the classroom.

Scott Depew, director of secondary education for Hermiston School District, echoed Yoshioka.

“Like other schools, we’re struggling with attendance and truancy,” Depew said. “It has definitely been a challenge, it’s a big investment by districts to try and get kids to attend regularly.”

The Hermiston School District’s graduation rate dipped by about 2%, down to 78.3%, in 2023.

“No one anticipated a pandemic and the fallout from that is getting our kids back in school on a regular basis,” Depew said.

He also pointed out that during the cohort’s freshmen year, the district saw a low percentage of students on track to graduate on time, meaning more students were behind than normal as they entered sophomore year.

Compared to prepandemic rates, Depew said, the impact of COVID-19 is clear.

“It just shows, for me,” he said, “when systems are in place and kids are in classrooms, we’re pretty good at what we do.”

Student demographic groups

The district had somewhat similar rates of graduation among Hispanic or Latino students, with 76.7% graduating in 2023, and white students, with 82.4%.

“With our graduation rate for Hispanic and white students, generally, we’re really close,” Depew said. “This year, there’s a little bit of a gap but some years it flip-flops, so we’re not too worried about that.”

Pendleton School District had an American Indian or Alaskan Native graduation rate of 80% in 2023, up by about 13% from 2022 and higher than the state average by more than 14%.

“Our staff have not stopped working to help all students graduate,” said Pendleton Superintendent Kevin Headings in a press release. “Although the district would like to see more students graduate, the results across the board are positive, especially with our Native American students.”

Similarly, Umatilla School District saw higher rates of four-year graduation among Hispanic or Latino students than white students, at 81.4% versus 71.4%. Even for its five-year graduation rate, in 2023, Umatilla saw higher percentages of Hispanic or Latino students graduating than white students.