MVUSD Graduation Rate Climbs for Fifth Straight Year

MORENO VALLEY >> The Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) graduation rate has increased another 3.1 percent, according to preliminary data released by the Riverside County Office of Education, for a total 20.3 percent jump over the past five years, leading all Riverside County school districts. In addition, MVUSD’s drop-out rate has declined much faster than any other Riverside County districts’; it’s down 3.6 percent, for an impressive five-year decline of 14.2 percent. The new MVUSD graduation rate of 86 percent is cause for celebration, said School Board President Jesús M. Holguín. “We’ve worked very deliberately to achieve these results,” he said. “Our principals, teachers and counselors work together to identify and meet the needs of individual students at risk of not graduating and it’s making all the difference. We’re so proud of the work they do, the care and concern with which they do it, and the exceptionally positive results we’re seeing.” MVUSD’s new graduation rate continues to exceed both the state (81.5 percent) and national (82 percent) averages. Meanwhile, the district’s steeply declining drop-out rate is also raising cheers. “As long as we can keep students in school, we have a chance of helping them overcome whatever barriers they’re facing,” said Chief Academic Officer Dr. Martinrex Kedziora. “We’re thrilled to see so many more students staying and graduating. It’s transforming lives, and sometimes entire families.” Kedziora noted that in the process of increasing the graduation rate and decreasing the drop-out rate for all students, MVUSD has made remarkable progress in closing the so-called achievement gap between African-American and Latino students on one side and white and Asian students on the other. Latino and African-American students at MVUSD now graduate close to the overall district rate. The newly released graduation and drop-out rates reflect data compiled through the 2014-15 school year.