News Update

Stockton Unified credits summer programming for increased graduation rates

Stockton Unified is seeing an uptick in its graduation rate, and district officials say summer school programming deserves some of the credit for the increase.

The district graduated 85% of its seniors last year, up from 76.6% in 2020, according to The Record. Brian Biedermann, the district’s director of Educational Services, told the district’s board of trustees that 117 seniors who were at risk of not graduating were able to get their diplomas last year because they took their final high school classes over the summer.

“We’re lucky to have adults that believe in this program willing to work extreme hours over the summer and during intersession,” Biedermann said, according to The Record. “They’re connecting with the kids, I have adults going to houses literally dragging them out of bed to complete coursework, because we don’t want them to be five or 10 credits away and just give up.”