State Superintendent Juneau Celebrates New Record Graduation Rate During Missoula Visit

State Superintendent of Schools Denise Juneau was at Sentinel High School in Missoula Wednesday to commemorate a new record graduation rate for Montana at 86 percent.

"We've yet again reached an historic high graduation rate of 86 percent across Montana," Juneau said. "It's been really fantastic to watch high schools across the state work on graduating more students than ever. Even though Graduation Matters began in Missoula, it has spread all over the state. We have 53 communities of Graduation Matters dotting the landscape all over Montana in every corner of the state, including small schools, large schools and small rural communities working together."

Juneau said the benefits of the higher graduation rate affects the entire state population.

"We're seeing the benefit of all that work," she said. "To have this historic high of 86 percent graduation rate really is great news for our state. Not just for individuals, but for the economy, for the money they'll be putting back into the economy. It's not just going to benefit this generation, but future generations, and it's all due to the hard work going on on the ground in all these Graduation Matters communities."

Missoula's Sentinel High School leads the state with a 92 percent graduation rate.