State Superintendent, June Atkinson, wants to ensure that everyone gets the message:  graduate from high school and prepare for success in life.  That was the theme for Graduation Awareness Week.

Graduation Awareness Week is intended to honor school districts that graduate a large percentage of their students, and to show students the importance of a high school education.

Atkinson said she believes high school graduation is a minimum goad that is a basic level of education that adults need.  Atkinson said, “but too many of our young people are not getting that minimum.”

According to Public Schools of North Carolina, many students in the Ashe County School District are receiving that minimum, as Ashe County Schools graduated just under 90% of it’s 2004 freshman class this year.  Ashe County ranks 10th on a list of graduation percentages for public school districts.  Other nearby districts included in the top 10 include Alleghany County Schools, Catawba County Schools, and Newton-Conover City Schools.

The state is averaging a graduation rate of 70%, and that percentage has increased slightly over the past two years.