Bartholomew County’s high school graduation rate for 2022 declined overall, the Indiana Department of Education reported this week, though there were issues with at least some of the numbers.
The biggest decline reported came from Hauser Jr./Sr. High School, which the department said had a graduation rate of just over 75%. But Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. Superintendent Shawn Price suggested the state needed to check its math. He said the graduation rate for the school last year was 87.6%. In either case, the numbers are down. Hauser’s rate was an impressive 93.4% in 2021.
Likewise, the graduation rate at Columbus East High School plunged from 85.8 to 78.1%. At North, the rate also was lower, but to a lesser degree, falling from just over 84% last year to just over 83% this year.
In a year when the statewide graduation rate stayed steady at about 86.6%, local school leaders need to take a deep dive into these numbers and redouble their efforts to ensure that every student is on a path toward graduation and gets as much help as possible to achieve that goal.
Paid tabs a good start to new year
In a fine recent example of paying it forward, the Bull Dog Pantry at Columbus North High School actually paid it backward. That is, through acts of community generosity, no student at Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. began the new year with a negative lunch account balance.
As The Republic’s Jana Wiersema reported, food pantry coordinator Tonya Cruser launched a social media fundraiser last month that soon met the goal of collecting enough to cover student meal debts — about $6,000 in all. Cruser did something similar in 2019, and though this was her idea, she said the community deserves the credit.
“It wasn’t a sole effort,” she said. “I mean, I’m the one who threw the idea out there and I’m the one who runs the pantry, but people donating and people sharing my post even if they couldn’t donate — that’s what really brought it all together.”
Students and parents who are struggling to make ends meet have enough worries without the burden of debt from school lunches. The community should feel good about this, but we also should be grateful to Cruser for sparking the effort to make it happen.
Day of Service a chance to give back
Speaking of doing some good for the community, the United Way of Bartholomew County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is just around the corner.
On Jan. 16, volunteers from workplaces and individual volunteers will fan out on a mission to help others, in the memory of and in tribute to the slain civil rights leader.
The beneficiaries will be institutions in our community that rely on volunteer help. And as The Republic’s Brian Blair reported, the Day of Service will come as some nonprofits that receive United Way funding are having economic trouble meeting the needs of those they serve.
So there are a couple of ways to help. To donate to the United Way of Bartholomew County’s campaign, visit uwbarthco.org. To sign up for one of many Day of Service Opportunities, go to uwbarthco.org and click the MLK Day of Service link.
