St. Mary graduation rate ranks high in La.

St. Mary Parish’s graduation rates in 2019 fell slightly, just as the state’s graduate rate did, but the district still ranked in the top 15 in Louisiana.
St. Mary Parish’s 92.7% graduation rate topped the state rate by about 13 percentage points and was higher than all surrounding districts except Lafourche Parish. From a year ago, St. Mary Parish’s rate fell 2% from 94.7, while the state’s fell from 81.4 to 80.1
Individually, all St. Mary Parish schools exceeded the state’s graduation rate, with Centerville keeping a 100% graduation rate. Patterson High School showed an increase from 95.1% to 95.7%. Patterson had the district’s second-highest graduate rate in 2019, followed by West St. Mary at 93.3%, Morgan City and Berwick High schools at 93.2% apiece and Franklin High at 86.1%.
All other district schools’ graduation rates fell from 2018 to 2019, with Berwick experiencing the biggest drop from 96.8% to 93.2%, while Franklin High was right behind, falling from 89.5% to 86.1%. West St. Mary had the lowest smallest drop, falling to 93.3 from 93.7 in 2018.
Also, the state announced credential rates for schools and districts, and St. Mary Parish’s rate jumped nearly 20 percentage points from 61.1 in 2018 to 80.8 in 2019. Students can earn Advanced, Basic and Basic Jumpstart credentials.