Richmond Public Schools had the worst dropout rate in Virginia last year for the fifth time in the last decade, according to newly released data from the state’s Department of Education.
In an analysis of the data, ABC 8News reported Wednesday night that Richmond also had the second-highest dropout rate of any public school district in four of the past 10 years.
“Our dropout rate is unacceptable,” Superintendent Jason Kamras told the station.
However, Mr. Kamras added that the dropout rate “improved rather significantly last year.”
Richmond’s public school dropout rate last year was 15% for high school students, down from 23% in 2020 and a record high of 24% in 2019.
But last year’s rate was just 3 percentage points less than Richmond’s 18% dropout rate a decade before.
Richmond’s public schools also have struggled with a surge in chronic absenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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