Thanks to a variety of programs in place at local high schools, Plant City students are one step closer to graduation than many of their peers.
The annual graduation rates for the state of Florida, released by the Florida Department of Education, showed Hillsborough County public schools increased its graduation rates to 82.9%, an all-time record for the district. All three high schools in Plant City — Durant, Plant City High and Strawberry Crest — have graduation rates above 90% and it is the only area in the district to do so.
“Our high schools continue to show great successes. These three schools are now all above a 90% graduation rate. Our teachers, administrators, school staff and district employees never lost sight of our goal of putting students first. Now these students have more opportunities for better jobs with higher wages, which creates a positive economic impact on our community,” said Superintendent Jeff Eakins.
Students who graduate with a high school diploma earn an average of $380,000 more during their lifetimes than those who don’t graduate, according to the district. The financial benefits alone have the potential to reshape local economies.
Each of the local high schools say an intentional and interactive method is used for students they realize are
slipping into dangerous territory. If a student begins to fall behind, they are immediately highlighted and encouraged in a unique way at each location.
At Strawberry Crest, Principal David Brown said his students will have a personal mentorship with one of his six assistant principals if they see they are falling behind. His school has a 95% graduation rate and he said while there isn’t one thing they do differently the fact that his students know that somebody cares about them plays a key role in encouraging them to success.
“It’s culture,” Brown said. “We really stress the fact that you’re here to graduate. We’re gonna have athletics and extracurriculars but you really are only here for one reason and that’s to graduate. We have that culture where everything really comes back to academics and graduation.”
Brown said his staff looks at the school’s data daily and will monitor major checkpoints to make sure the students are meeting the requirements they need to graduate. If they begin to fall behind or if a teacher notices concerning behavior, the student will be pulled in to chat with an assistant principal where they will be offered tutoring or pinpoint what it is that is causing the student to fall behind.
A similar tactic is utilized at Durant, which has a 92.3% graduation rate. Principal Pamela Bowden says the key to her students’ success is a four step process. First, they emphasize the importance of attendance and will offer some incentives for attendance. Then they begin to encourage all of their students to get involved in a club or sport.
The next step involves ensuring each student has a mentor on campus, whether that be a teacher, coach or staff member. Those mentors and other staff members will then monitor to ensure the student meets the checkpoints needed, like testing well on the ACT and SAT, to have a successful graduation.
On the wall in a conference room at Durant are the names of all of the students that are falling behind. Underneath each name are the requirements, the check-points still needed to allow the student to graduate.
All staff come in and read the list of names. If they know one of the students or have a bond with one of the students they are encouraged to take them under their wing and help them begin to check off requirements. If Bowden sees one of the students in the halls she will stop and ask how they are doing with their struggling subject or test.
“So many of our kids don’t have anybody who cares or people are just busy with their lives and the academic piece, when people are struggling to get by, that kind of falls back,” Bowden said. “If we can build a relationship with the kids and emphasize how important it is to graduate because it opens so many more doors, then well, that’s why we’re here.”
Bowden is the longest serving principal in Hillsborough County. In her time at the helm she has seen three boundary shifts for her school. She learned that what works for one group of kids is not guaranteed to work the next year for a different group. Her staff is constantly revitalizing and reworking strategies to make sure each student feels loved and encouraged along the way.
The process appears to be working. As of January, Bowden said they are down to the smallest group of bottom-quartile students they’ve had. There are only approximately 12 students left that haven’t passed the reading FSA or have a concordance score. In her years at Durant, this is the lowest the school has ever been at this point in the year.
Plant City High School also values building relationships between teachers and students. However, it is taking a more long-term approach to encourage students to graduate.
Susan Sullivan, the principal at PCHS, said her students need hope. Those who don’t plan to pursue a college degree or enter the military need to know what options are realistically available to them. In response, the school created a Career Academy where students will learn a trade and be connected to local employment opportunities.
Each year, the Career Academy students go on a field trip to local businesses where they learn exactly what
benefits, salaries and opportunities are available in their own backyard. This is the second year with the new program and students have already been hired due to the classes. Several students in the auto-tech program have been offered jobs at Stingray Chevrolet.
Making those connections helps those without a plan become focused and eager to graduate. Sullivan said her teachers and staff also work hard to coach and encourage those who come through their doors. The school has a 91.2% graduation rate and uses tactics like free tutoring before and after school, offering virtual school and aiding students in preparation for the tests needed to graduate to ensure all of their students are taken care of.
She said many of her teachers will come early or stay late to help struggling students while others will aid in networking for those who seek careers straight out of graduation.
“For us, it’s looking past graduation,” Sullivan said. “We really focus on community partnership here at Plant City. We spent a lot of time helping students understand what employment opportunities here in town are and offer an employment fair at the end of the year. I think our field trip, just seeing what great opportunities are available right here, was a real motivator for our kids.”