High schools in Morrow, Umatilla counties tout good graduation numbers

Published 5:00 am Tuesday, June 21, 2022

HERMISTON — Local high schools have reported preliminary stats show promising graduation numbers for the Class of 2022.

Local school officials and graduates said the Class of 2022 was unique for enduring the coronavirus pandemic, a subject that became a common theme in several graduation speeches. This class adapted through lockdowns with online learning and returned to classrooms to complete their schoolwork.

Hermiston High School had 355 students graduate on time, according to Hermiston School District communications officer Briana Cortaberria. The school had 382 seniors, plus eight students from the district’s Next Steps program. The Pendleton School District saw 223 students from Pendleton High School and Hawthorne Alternative High School earn diplomas, and another five earned a GED diploma.

Matt Yoshioka, director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Pendleton School District, explained the state of Oregon bases graduation rates on the number of students who enter a freshman class and then finish as seniors. But it does appear the PHS Class of 2022 is going to finish with a very high graduation rate.

Dirk Dirksen is retiring as Morrow County School District superintendent after 11 years. During that span, he said, the district increased its graduation rate.

“We’ve always stayed above the state average, but we are well above it now,” he said.

The Oregon Department of Education reports graduation rates statewide hover above 80%.

Dirksen said Morrow County schools are looking pretty good by comparison. He said 157 of 163 students in the 2022 cohort group were set to graduate on time, giving the district a graduation rate above 96%.

But this is an estimate, he added. No graduation rate is official until the ODE says so.

According to Dirksen, Irrigon High had 47 graduates. Heppner High had 32, Riverside, 71 and Morrow Education, seven. The class also earned around $2.5 million in scholarships.

“You really have to congratulate the students themselves for their dedication, their parents, teachers, administrators, all the people working hard to make sure (students) were able to get across the stage with a diploma,” Dirksen said.

Plans beyond high school

Pendleton School District Superintendent Chris Fritsch reported 197 students took part in the high school’s graduation survey of where graduates are headed next:

• 3.5% are enlisting in the military.

• 5% heading to trade or career school.

• 11% are undecided.

• 18% are entering the workforce.

• 63% are bound for college or university, with 68 students going to a four-year school (31 staying in state, 37 going out of state).

PHS Class of 2022 also earned more than $4.4 million in scholarships, and 80 students graduated with college credits.

Stanfield Secondary School graduated 38 students — 37 seniors and one junior, who managed to graduate early.

Beth Burton, Stanfield School District superintendent, praised the graduates.

“I am sincerely happy for the Class of 2022,” she said. “They completed high school during one of the most interesting and unique times in our country, and I think each of these students is stronger for it.”

All of the school’s seniors made it through this year, she said.

Burton boasted, 52% of this class has college plans for the fall. Nine students are going into the workforce, two students are entering the military and four students are going to trade school, she said.

Echo High School graduated 15 seniors, administrative secretary Mandy Palmateer, said, and each has plans to further their education with college. She said this is pretty common for Echo.

“We’re obviously super proud of them,” she said. “It’s a big accomplishment. They’ve made it this far, and we’re excited to see where they go in the future.”

Normalcy returning

Umatilla High School graduated 90 of its 92 seniors on time, according to Heidi Sipe, Umatilla School District superintendent.

“We’d be happier if it was 92,” she said. “I think that it’s really important to recognize that the kids who graduated worked really hard to walk across that stage.”

Two students worked especially hard, she said, as they earned their associate of arts transfer degrees. Marisol Santa Cruz and Thalia Trujillo are planning to continue their education in the fall at Portland State University.

And a number of graduates earned their biliteracy seal from the Oregon Department of Education. The biliteracy seal indicates that a student has completed rigorous language testing in English and Spanish.

Dee Lorence, UHS counselor, shared yet another accomplishment of this class. She said scholarship and grant totals “should be between $767,000-$800,000 over two to four years.”

Pilot Rock High School for the last two years held its graduation on the football field to meet pandemic restrictions. School District Administrator Annie Tester is retiring and said it felt good to have the graduation ceremony return to the school gym. Better still, she said, was having all 22 seniors graduate June 4 and one junior finish early.

“I have never, ever seen that happen,” she said.

Pilot Rock enacted an alternative education program to help a few students. Online studies and an attentive teacher assisted them to the finish line, Tester said.

“We put in some safeguards,” she said, and those safeguards made it possible for everyone to graduate on time.

Nine of the students combined received scholarship offers exceeding $300,000, she said, with more still to come. And one student alone received options on $181,000. The funding is available depending on the student’s choice of school.

— East Oregonian news editor Phil Wright contributed to this article.

“I am sincerely happy for the Class of 2022. They completed high school during one of the most interesting and unique times in our country, and I think each of these students is stronger for it.”

— Beth Burton, Stanfield School District superintendent