The School District of Manatee County’s overall graduation rate has increased 5.3 percentage points since the 2014-2015 school year, according to graduation data released today by the Florida Department of Education. While the district’s overall graduation rate dipped slightly from a year ago (from 85.4% in 2017-2018, to 83.2% in 2018-2019), the long-term trend reflects improvement – not only overall, but for different demographic subgroups. For example:

• The graduation rate for Students with Disabilities in Manatee County has increased 26.9 percentage points since 2014-2015.

• The graduation rate for Hispanic or Latino students in Manatee County has increased 11 percentage points since 2014-2015.

• The graduation rate for Black or African American students in Manatee County has increased 6.2 percentage points since 2014-2015

• The graduation rate for White students in Manatee County has increased 5.1 percentage points since 2014-2015.

“While yearly graduation rates in our school district have shown some fluctuations over the last several years, the overall trend is one of sustained progress, especially when you look at the different demographic subgroups of students we serve,” said Deputy Superintendent of Instructional Services Genelle Zoratti-Yost. “While we know we have work to do to continue to improve, we feel like the direction we are heading in terms of graduating our students reflects a positive upswing.”