Release Date: 6/8/2012 Contact: Charles Herndon, 410-887-6111 Phyllis T. Reese, 410-887-5908

Baltimore County Public Schools again achieves fourth highest graduation rate in the nation

TOWSON, MD. – For the second year in a row, Baltimore County Public Schools has achieved the fourth highest graduation rate among the nation’s 50 largest school districts, according to a report released June 7 by Education Week. The BCPS graduation rate was 81.2 percent for the Class of 2009, according to the Diplomas Count 2012 report titled Trailing Behind, Moving Forward: Latino Students in U.S. Schools. The 2011 report also ranked the school system in fourth place nationwide, based on its 2008 graduation rate of 77.8 percent. “This achievement is reflective of the stability of the work that we have been doing for the past 12 years," said Superintendent Dr. Joe A. Hairston. “When you think about how this was accomplished, you think of the standards established in the Blueprint for Progress – standards we have followed and standards that our students have achieved. This shows that it pays dividends when you have stability and consistency and great community support; we’re able to do great things together as a result." The 2009 BCPS graduation rate of 81.2 percent is higher than the rate for the state of Maryland (77.9 percent) and significantly higher than the rate for the nation (73.4 percent). Since 2006 when Education Week first published its annual Diplomas Count report, BCPS has consistently ranked near the top among those large school systems nationwide having the highest overall graduation rate.

Visit the BCPS News Center and BCPS News Archive to explore more BCPS news!