Albuquerque Journal

Graduation Goal May Be Too High
By Zsombor Peter
Journal Staff Writer

    The new Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent echoed a board member's frustration with the district's "unacceptable" graduation rate, saying Thursday he is committed to raising it.
    But Superintendent Winston Brooks said board member Marty Esquivel's goals might be a little too ambitious.
    Brooks starts July 1.
    The district has posted graduation rates between 52 percent and 53 percent three straight years after measuring the number of ninth-graders who earn a diploma within four years.
    Esquivel has proposed setting a target of 65 percent by 2011.
    "That's going to be tough— maybe a tad bit unrealistic," Brooks said during an interview Thursday with the Journal.
    Brooks welcomed the idea of setting a graduation target for the district, but urged the community to take a long-term perspective on getting there.
    While he helped raise graduation rates for Wichita Public Schools 8.1 percent between 1999 and 2007, Brooks admits the district took a rocky road, occasionally watching its gains slip away.
    "You got to work your tail off to hit that target," he said, adding that the community should be prepared for the occasional miss.
    Esquivel said he was open to revising the target.
    Hitting a 65 percent graduation rate by 2011 would mean more than a 4 percent increase per year for APS. Brooks said 2 percent to 3 percent was more realistic, judging by experience and national data.
    Brooks also said APS' 52 percent graduation rate is a little misleading because it doesn't include students who leave the district and graduate on time from other school systems. The U.S. Department of Education reported a national graduation rate of 70 percent.
    Esquivel wants Brooks to come up with the plan for achieving whatever target the board settles on. However, Esquivel didn't want specific graduation numbers to be written into Brooks' contract.
    "I don't think we want to fight over those kinds of details," he said.