By Beth Cassidy
Enterprise Record

More than 83 percent of Davie students who began ninth grade in 2008 graduated in four years or less, according to the cohort graduation rate, recently reported by the State Board of Education.
The rate of 83.2 percent for the county (which includes Davie High and the Early College) is the highest since rates started being measured in 2005-06. The rate reported last year was 76.6 percent.
It is also higher than the state rate of 80.2 and higher than three surrounding counties, Davidson (82.5 percent), Winston-Salem Forsyth (80.9), and Yadkin (82.2). That stands in contrast to last year, when Davie’s rate was the lowest of surrounding counties.
The rate for the Early College was 92.5 and for Davie High it was 83.1.
Davie’s four year cohort graduation rate has increased over 10 percentage points in the last four years. The rate measures the percentage of students who enter school as ninth graders and graduate four years later. Transfer students not documented by a records request and students who leave high school to attend a community college GED or adult high school program are considered dropouts by the state.
The five year cohort rate dropped from 80.2 percent last year to 78.2 percent countywide.
Superintendent Dr. Darrin Hartness is pleased with the report and said, “The increase in graduation rate is a result of hard work and dedication. Our teachers, counselors, and administrators have implemented numerous strategies to address the graduation rate over the past several years, and those …