Mat-Su School Superintendent Targets Graduation Rates

Mat-Su School District Superintendent, Dr. Randy Trani, presented statistics regarding District high school graduation rates this month. The slideshow was shown to the Mat-Su School Board at their mid-October meeting. In his presentation, Trani stated that the overall graduation rate is his “Main Thing”, when it comes to priorities for the administration.  

According to Trani, the Mat-Su School District has a four-year graduation rate of 88%. The lowest rates of graduation in the District were found at alternative and homeschool programs. The lowest graduation rate recorded at a traditional brick and mortar school was Su-Valley at 81%.  

Dr. Trani noted that students enrolled in CTE (Career Technical Education) classes have graduated at higher rates than students enrolled in a traditional curriculum.

Currently Su-Valley offers a variety of CTE courses, including welding, construction, small engines and drafting. However, the college preparatory curriculum at Su-Valley is slim compared to District and national norms. The school is not offering Chemistry or Physics courses for students this school year.

Dr. Trani’s presentation did not include any data pertaining to participation in extracurricular activities, or athletics, and how those may be affecting graduation rates. However, according to a recent study, girls who participated in organized sports were about 7% more likely, and boys were almost 15% more likely, to graduate from high school.

Extracurricular activity offerings at Su-Valley have waned in recent years as the District has challenged the school with a slim budget.  Su-Valley once offered a vibrant “Battle of the Books” program and witnessed robust participation in the “Business Professionals of America” program. Those activities are no longer active at the school.

Su-Valley’s athletics programs are also under significant pressure to thrive. The school has increased sports fees this year for families. Working parents and coaches are regularly called on to support transportation to sporting events, instead of the District tackling long term transportation solutions.  

Dr. Trani concluded his presentation with a plan to provide more support for Correspondence Schools and for expanding CTE activities in the Lower Valley.  He did not mention any plans for supporting, or attempting to improve, graduation rates at Su-Valley.

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https://matsuk12.diligent.community/document/bb5bd15e-da96-463c-a064-ef0e7b7313a2

https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2025/01/16/organized-sports-can-lead-to-academic-success