Northfield tied East for the highest four-year graduation rate in 2022 – 95.1% — among the city’s 10 comprehensive high schools.
Northfield, however, outdid all others, with 100% of its 28 Black seniors graduating on time, while 94.1% of its 44 Hispanic students graduated on time.
East graduated 91.7% of its 84 Black students with a 94.9% rate for its 136 Hispanic students.
Denver Public Schools posted an overall graduation rate of 76.5%, up from 74% in 2021. The Colorado Department of Education released the graduation data earlier in January.
The DPS rate was 73.6% for Hispanics and 73.4% for Black students. Statewide, 82.3% of the class of 2022 graduated on time, up from 81.7% in 2021.
Leaders at Northfield credit the success to identifying struggling seniors for interventions early and devoting several staff members to analyzing data and working regularly with individual students in class and after hours.
“On a weekly basis, we check in with the students and collaborate with them, check on their status with grades, attendance, and other factors,’’ said Assistant Principal Adam Creapo, who specializes in preparing students for next steps after graduation.
Northfield has also started a Saturday School this year. It meets for three hours, and students have access to course work, quizzes and proctored assessments. Two adult tutors do small group and one-on-one assistance for students. So far, 92 students out of nearly 300 in the class of 2023 are slated for Saturday School to recover credits.
But they do not wait until senior year to act. Typically, a good percentage of students arrive behind in ninth grade. To address that, Northfield has added a Math Lab and Advisory peer-tutoring program for freshmen and sophomores.
“We do what it takes to get them across the line so we do not look back later and say, ‘I wish we would have done this instead,’ ” Creapo said.
The disruption to learning in the second semester of 2020 and the 2020-21 school year took a toll.
“Many of our students missed opportunities for social and academic engagement,” Creapo said. “Some students have transitioned well into high school, and some students need extra support.”
Northfield has been a leader in DPS since its first class in 2019 had a 95.2% graduation rate. In 2020 it was 96% and 95.5% in 2021.
NHS Graduation Rates by Race
Class of 2022
Black Students – 100%
Hispanic Students – 94.1%
White Students – 96%
Class of 2021
Black Students- 88.6%
Hispanic Students- 96.8%
White Students – 98.3%
Class of 2020-
Black Students- 97%
Hispanic Students- 90.7%
White Students – 94%
Class of 2019 (inaugural class)
Black Students- 79.5%
Hispanic Students- 88.1%
White Students – 98.1%
NHS Demographics
Northfield High School 2022-23 enrollment: 1864
46.24% White
30.47% Hispanic
and 14.06% Black
Free and reduced lunch: 31%
DPS High Schools 2022 Graduation Rates
Northfield: 95.1%
East: 95.1%
North: 91.4%
South: 91%
Thomas Jefferson: 86.4%
West: 83.9%
George Washington: 81.1%
Manual: 73.4%
Kennedy: 73.2%
Lincoln: 70.3%
For more information on graduation rates go to the Colorado Department of Education site: https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/gradratecurrent
