Houston County School District sets new graduation rate record for second consecutive year

The district’s 2025 graduation rate was 93.3%, well above the state average of 87.2%.

HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – After being unsatisfied with its 2023 graduation rate, the Houston County School District launched the Operation Graduation Initiative, which has led to record high rates in consecutive years.

“In a culture of continuous improvement, we’re always trying to get better,” said Dr. Lazunia Frierson, Assistant Superintendent of District and School Effectiveness.

The district surpassed a 90% graduation rate for the first time in 2024, achieving 91.2%. The district set a new record, reaching 93.3% in 2025. Frierson says one of the three pillars that make up the Operation Graduation Initiative is tracking and communicating with students planning to withdraw from school in an effort to lower dropout rates.

“We show them their options, and we try to re-engage them,” Frierson said. “We try to emphasize to them the importance of having the diploma.” 

Frierson says the other two pillars include a shift in the district’s grading system to foster hope and growth and placing a greater emphasis on attendance by increasing engagement.

Ike Thompson is an eleventh-grade literature and composition teacher at Veterans High School. He says he’s noticed increased engagement through Warhawk Workshops, when students are allowed an hour each Tuesday to get enrichment in any subject of their choice.

“You add up those hours across the semester and across the year and it’s got to be a recipe for success, right?” Thompson said. “It has to be.” 

Along with higher graduation rates, Thompson says the initiative has led to greater student success on day-to-day basis, helping students gain transferable skills, such as accountability, that they can take with them through life.

“It’s such a great thing to be such a small part of what are no doubt going to be great lives lived,” Thompson said. 

While high school staff members get their deserved credit, Dr. Frierson says high graduation rates begin with forming good habits in Pre-K.

“When we set the foundation for high levels of learning early on, when we set the foundation for strong student teacher relationships, family involvement, then we know that we’re setting our students up for success,” Frierson said. 

Frierson says the district is looking to avoid complacency, with the goal of achieving a 95% graduation rate in 2026.