Graduation rates have been released for the Class of 2018 by state education officials about six months earlier than in the past. And while the statewide rate is near an all-time high, at 83-percent, it’s down about a-point in the Nevada Joint Union High School District, although still at around 89-percent. But Assistant District Superintendent Dan Frisella says the rate doesn’t mean that much, since the data continues to be skewed…

click to listen to Dan Frisella

Meanwhile, suspension and expulsion rates are also out. And the numbers show Nevada Joint Union suspended 568 students during the 2017-2018 school year, compared to 350 the previous year…

click to listen to Dan Frisella

Statewide, the suspension rate has declined for the sixth straight year. Frisella says efforts have been stepped up to reduce the number, in the last year or so. That includes the development of an intervention program this school year at Nevada Union and Bear River High Schools. They’ve also invested in a social and emotional learning curriculum. Nevada Joint Union also expelled 15 students last year which Frisella says is a fairly typical number. But the expulsion rate is at point-51 percent, compared to only point-08 percent statewide.