The Colorado Department of Education released 2018 graduation rate data Wednesday morning, and Montezuma County schools exceeded the state average.
Of the three districts, Mancos School District RE-6 had the highest four-year graduation rate, at 88.9 percent, although RE-6 also had the smallest cohort, with a graduating class of 24, according to the state data.
Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 saw 129 students graduate in 2018, an 83.8 percent graduation rate, while the Dolores RE-4A district had an 85.4 percent rate, with 35 students graduating.
Overall, Colorado saw a graduation rate of 80.7 percent in 2018, up from 79 percent the year before.
“The continued improvement of our graduation rate is a testament to all the hard work being done in schools across the state by students, parents and teachers,” said Katy Anthes, the state’s education commissioner.
The Mancos rate was down from the prior year, when 31 of the 32 base cohort graduated, giving the district a 2017 graduation rate of 96.9 percent. In 2016, 24 out of 26 Mancos High School students graduated, for a 92.3 percent rate.
The Dolores rate increased from 80 percent in 2017, when 24 out of the initial base cohort of 30 students graduated, although it was down from 89.1 percent in 2016 when 49 out 55 students graduated.
And in the larger Montezuma-Cortez district, the 2018 rate rose one percentage point from 2017, but was lower than the 86.4 percent graduation rate in 2016.
At the state level, Colorado had 53,240 graduates in 2018.
ealvero@the-journal.com