Graduation Rates Going Up

Area schools are doing better than the rest of the state when it comes to graduating students in four years. The Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information has released the figures for the 2011-12 school year, showing a statewide rate of 76.24%, which is up nearly 2% from the previous year. Locally, Lakeshore Schools have an impressive 94.39% graduation rate, up by roughly 2.5%. St. Joseph's rate is 93%, while Benton Harbor is at 78.8% and South Haven stands at 78.31%. All of those schools noted an increase in graduation rates, and had steady to declining numbers of dropouts.