The number of college graduates in a community can boost its economic bottom line.

Sometime in December the Florida Department of Education will release the state’s highly anticipated 2015 high school graduation rates.

Federal and state graduation rates have been calculated for decades, but for the most part, nobody paid much attention when they were released.

Today, the high school graduation rate is used as a barometer of the health of a community and the skill level of its future workforce.

From that standpoint, the City of Milton should be feeling pretty good right now.

In 2014, nearly 90 percent of seniors at Milton High School graduated in four years, an increase of 10 percentage points over five years.

Milton's graduation rate at 89.5 percent is higher than the Santa Rosa School District ((82.2 percent) the state (76.1 percent) and the nation (81 percent).

In Escambia County, 66.1 percent of high school students graduate on time in four years.

Milton High school leaders are especially proud of the work they’ve done to help disadvantaged students get their diplomas.

The school’s at-risk student graduation rate rose nearly 15 percentage points from 69.8 percent in 2010 to 84.5 in 2014.

Principal Tim Short knows why Milton’s graduation rates are on the rise.

“It’s all about relationships,” says Short, in his first full year at the helm. “It’s about finding kids who are struggling and trying to figure out how to serve them individually.”

The high school graduation rate is one of 16 benchmark metrics that the Studer Community Institute measures in the Pensacola Metro Dashboard. Developed with the University of West Florida, the dashboard is a snapshot of the educational, economic and social well-being of the community.

High school graduation is widely valued because it usually leads to higher earnings for individuals, and also because studies show that communities with more-educated citizens have greater productivity and economic growth.

There is evidence that graduating high school provides an additional boost to earnings above and beyond the earnings of individuals with the same number of years of schooling but no diploma.

That’s one of the reason schools like Milton put so much importance on sustaining and improving graduation rates.

Improvement plan

When Short took over at Milton last April, the school already was riding high on an academic whirlwind.

Former Principal Michael Thorpe, who had put in place an improvement plan that saw the schools statewide grade rise from a D to an A in one year, was moved up the ranks in Santa Rosa County School District.

Thorpe’s departure didn’t stop Milton’s momentum of academic achievement, and the graduation rate remains a top priority.

The student achievement and academic success at Milton come in spite of the fact that Milton is among the poorest schools in Santa Rosa. Half of the some 1,700 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which means their families fall below the federal poverty level.

“These kids bring so many issues to school,” Short says. “But we don’t make excuses. We really let them know where they are and where they’re going.”

To find out where students are and where they need to be, Short says administrators compile reams of data and information on the strengths and weaknesses of students, especially those who are struggling and considered at risk of failing.

The school’s leadership team identified at-risk students and compile academic information in a data book. This year the school found 42 students who needed special attention. They’re called the “42 Milton High Story,” based on the baseball great Jackie Robinson’s movie and jersey number.

Short divided the students among an eight-member team — four principals, two deans, a guidance counselor and the athletic director — who pored over their files to find areas to improve.

If the students needed credits to graduate, they were directed to Credit Recovery. If they needed to pass the FCAT, they got extra help on taking the exam. If attendance or behavior was a problem, they delved into their lives to pinpoint problems, met with their parents and searched for solutions to keep them in school and quell disciplinary issues.

So far, 19 of the 42 students have met requirements for graduation, meaning they have passed the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test and the End of Course exams, have a 2.0 or greater grade point average and are on course to earn the 24 credits required to receive a diploma.

“We really let them know where they are and where they’re going,” Short says. “It’s all about overcoming barriers.”

Milton school leaders give extra effort to ensure that no student at Milton is left behind. But they give as much attention to freshmen as they do seniors.

“If you lose them as freshmen, a lot of times they drop out,” Short says.

Start with freshmen

Researchers target ninth grade as the make or break year for completing high school.

During the ninth grade many students for the first time have to earn a passing grade in core courses, and oftentimes these core courses typically are some of the toughest and most rigorous academic classes those students have taken in school.

The number of students who leave school without a diploma is still far too high. That’s even more reason to spotlight the success of schools and states that are making dramatic gains in graduation rates by implementing such programs as early identification of struggling students and graduation coaches.

Milton’s work with freshmen students is similar to what’s taking place at George Washington High School on Chicago’s southeast side.

Years ago, researchers at the University of Chicago discovered that student performance during their freshman year is the best predictor of whether they would graduate — better than their previous grades or attendance or their family’s income.

That led Chicago public schools to start compiling a steady stream of data on grades, course credits and attendance. If the data reveal a student is struggling in a certain area, a faculty member steps in right away.

At Chicago’s Washington High, mentors are assigned to students at risk.

When Kathleen Valente became an assistant principal at the school three years ago, “we had security guards being mentors, coaches being mentors,” Valente says in Market Place, a website that writes about education and economic issues. “We saw increases for those students, just that little touch.”

Before, only 65 percent of students graduated in four years. Last year, nearly 83 percent graduated on time, and about 88 percent of freshmen were considered on-track to graduate, school officials say.

Washington High School focus students at risk of dropping out and incoming freshmen is similar to the efforts at Milton High School — and the results have paid huge dividends in terms of graduating students from school on time.

“We try to do a lot of little things to let the kids know we care,” Milton High’s Short said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding.