This month the Mississippi Department of Education released the high school graduation rates and dropout rates for the 2020-2021 school year.  

These rates reflect the highest statewide graduation rate of 88.4%.  New Albany School District’s (NASD) graduation rate was 95.2% which places the NASD as #6 in the Top 10 Districts with the Highest Graduation Rate in Mississippi.  NASD has seen an upward trend in its graduation rate since the 2018-2019 school year when it was 84.3%. 

The state’s dropout rate fell to a historic low of 8.5%.  NASD’s dropout rate was 4.1% for the 2020-2021 school year.  This was a significant decrease from the 2019-2020 rate of 7.3%  

Additionally, the state’s graduation rate for students with disabilities is 59.9 percent.   NASD was significantly above the state average as far as graduating students who have disabilities with a 69.2% graduation rate.  

NASD is committed to their vision of “Preparing ALL for Success”.  

“One of the goals in our five-year strategic plan is to increase student achievement,” explained Lance Evans, Superintendent.  “We are excited that we are among the top districts in the state with the highest graduation rate.”

Another goal of the strategic plan is to provide equity in education.  “The improvement in raising the achievement of students with disabilities is an accomplishment of which I am very proud,” Evans added.