First-Ever DMPS Summer Graduation Ceremony to be Held Wednesday

A district-wide graduation ceremony will be held for 30 Des Moines Public Schools students who completed graduation requirements over the summer. The ceremony will be held:

Wednesday, Aug. 3
6:00 p.m.
Hoyt Sherman Place
1501 Woodland Ave.

Seniors from every comprehensive high school and Scavo Alternative High School will be graduating Wednesday. Students completed credit requirements over the summer at academic support labs at each high school, which are funded by a Destination Graduation grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Des Moines Public Schools is finishing its first year of Destination Graduation grant funding — the district’s high school grant initiative designed to improve graduation and dropout rates. The grant funds an academic support lab at every high school, credit recovery programs, and additional school reform efforts.

Des Moines Public Schools will receive $1.2 million each year for five years to support Destination Graduation. The five-year goal for DMPS is to raise the graduation rate to 95 percent and lower the dropout rate to below state average.

School board members, Superintendent Dr. Nancy Sebring, and other administrators will be in attendance at the graduation ceremony. Hoover High School Principal Doug Wheeler will give the address.

“We are excited to hold our inaugural summer graduation for DMPS students,” said Lois Brass, district coordinator for the Destination Graduation grant. “The extra effort by these students, their families, dedicated teachers, and school staff has enabled 30 students to complete graduation requirements to become part of the class of 2011. The graduation ceremony is a culminating activity that marks a new beginning for these students. Their diploma opens doors to postsecondary education options as well as employment opportunities that do not exist for students who have dropped out of school.”