Stanwood High principal says targeted interventions cut seniors off track from 46 to about 6

Principal Mike Washington told the Stanwood-Camano School District Board on May 5 that focused interventions at Stanwood High School have substantially reduced the number of seniors who are off track to graduate.

Washington said the school began the year with 46 seniors off track and had reduced that number to eight at the time of his presentation; he later said the current count was "around 6." He described the district’s "90% plan," more frequent counselor check-ins and structured-period blocks as central to the work: "we have ... counselors and administrators meeting directly with seniors who are off track to create completion plans, and we continue to check-in with them monthly, sometimes twice a month, and now we're with them weekly," Washington said.

Why it matters: Graduation on-time rates affect students’ postsecondary opportunities and drive district accountability. Washington framed the work as a combination of classroom supports, credit-retrieval options and engagement strategies aimed at both individual seniors and earlier grades to prevent future gaps.

Washington listed specific tactics the school has used: credit-retrieval days and interventions (including a half-day "journey to graduation" that helped some students recover credits), an on-campus adult support schedule for seniors who are off track, and monthly "e-completes" sessions providing tutoring and coursework support. He reported that math averages at the high school were about 87% and language-arts about 84%, and said some seniors are at or above 90% and on track to graduate.

Board members asked for details about who attends credit-retrieval and e-completes sessions; Washington said teachers identify students who need help and the sessions are also advertised for students to self-enroll, and that attendance at e-completes has varied by time of year ("as many as 30–31" at peak periods).

District context: Superintendent Overnell and board members framed the high-school interventions as part of a districtwide, "not if but when" approach to on-time graduation, citing transition work for sixth-graders and programs such as Graduation Alliance to provide alternate pathways.

Platform change: CT Director Ross Short explained the district is moving to a statewide "high school and beyond" platform mandated by the state legislature to standardize student planning and transferability across districts. He said grades 7–11 are using the new platform this year, while seniors stayed on the previous system to avoid restarting their work. "The goal is to make, for equitable access across the state," Short said, adding that the platform also improves data transfer when students change districts.

What’s next: Washington said the school will continue weekly check-ins and targeted supports through the end of the school year and into next year, and the board thanked staff for the report. The principal also received recognition from the board for a recent leadership award.