The class of 2014’s graduation rate recognized Wakefield High School for having the highest graduation rate in our school’s history and in the county. A remarkable 87.9% of last year’s seniors graduated; greater than the overall rate of WCPSS High School’s graduation rates, at 82.9%. This all happened under the leadership of Tripp Crayton, who has been the principal of Wakefield since January 2010.

“Essentially, I want our graduation rate to be as high as possible,” said Crayton. “A high graduation rate shows the community that we are doing everything that’s possible to get our students out of here on time. We have to show the community that we have a lot of pride. Unfortunately, the community sees the numbers, like test scores, suspension rates, etc., but when our graduation rate looks good, it makes us look good.”

The record-breaking graduation rate was achieved not only by the student’s hard work, but also by the WHS staff and their endless support and efforts. While Mr. Crayton and Dr. Laura Inscoe, Dean of Students, site several programs in place to account for the increased graduation rate, two programs are credited for securing the new graduation rates. The Ladders Program and the Eight Plus Program aim to target students who need additional support to graduate high school.

The Ladders Program is a collaboration between teachers including Mr. Calabria, Mr. Chumley, and Mr. Williams. The purpose of the Ladders Program is to provide support for students who are struggling in classes for various reasons.

“We figure out the obstacles that are preventing them from doing well in school and help provide that support for them,” said Williams. “We have had kids who were on the verge of dropping out, and it seems insurmountable to know that they’re sixteen and have two credits to their name. They’re just not understanding school, and [they] want to drop out.”

The Ladders Program meets at a church’s recreation building. The first part of the session is tutorial-based, participants are fed, and then the students and teachers play basketball or some other physical activity. Teachers help students with problems they have and develop close relationships with the students.

“It’s an awesome program, and it’s one of the things I look forward to every single year as a teacher,” said Williams.

Another program instrumental in the improved graduation rate is the Eight Plus Program. The Eight Plus Program began last year and was designed by Dr. Inscoe and fellow counselors.  Dr. Inscoe saw and recognized the opportunity to help the large number of students who needed eight or more credits to graduate.

“It’s really important because this group of students needs to graduate on time,” said Dr. Inscoe. “They need to graduate with their class in order to help with our graduation rate and meet personal goals and success.”

Students in the Eight Plus Program have mentors who help and support the students, and maintain and check the students’ academic progress. Once a month, the school provides lunch for the students and their mentors so they can get to know each other on a more personal level, not just academic.  Counselors plan to bring former NCSU basketball stand-out Chris Corchiani to the Eight Plus meeting this month talk about overcoming obstacles to be successful.

“What we found was that the relationships really matter,” said Dr. Inscoe. “All of the data, research, and statistics show that relationships improve morale at a school, but also improve academic success.”

Both the Ladders Program and the Eight Plus Program have significantly helped students achieve success and build strong bonds with teachers. According to Dr. Inscoe, 67% of the students on the Eight Plus list graduated on time, not including the additional ten students who graduated over the summer.

“We’re definitely going to keep the Eight Plus program,” said Dr. Inscoe. “I feel like it has opened doors to many students who may not have had the support otherwise.”

Dr. Inscoe believes the Eight Plus program is responsible for the increased graduation rate, but also sites Ms. Vincent’s work with students in the Alternative Learning Center.  Vincent is able to pull Eight Plus students and work with them in this unique environment.  Additionally, based on the success of the Eight Plus program, repeating freshmen who need one or more credits to be promoted to tenth grade have mentors and support.  These programs work under the umbrella known as Graduating Together On Time (GTO).

The staff, including counselors, administration, and teachers have worked over the past years to  pour their resources into determining what can help improve the graduation rates and the numbers tell the story.

“I’m really proud with the staff, they’re utmost professionals,” said Crayton. “Our staff works very close together, we do a great job with building positive relationships. Though it’s not just the teachers, it’s the bus drivers, the cafeteria staff, the custodians; it’s an entire team. This is teamwork and if we’re not doing it together, it’s just not going to work. To see the we had the highest graduation rate just shows that we keep getting better and it makes me feel good.”