Beech Tree News Network

Graduations are popular events this month. Graduation happens when a student successfully completes an academic program, such as high school or college. Students and their families usually celebrate graduation from high school, college, training programs, and sometimes even kindergarten.

A report published in December 2010 (Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2008, National Center for Educational Statistics) stated that the high school completion rate for the South, which includes Kentucky, is 89.1 percent. In Kentucky, the average freshman graduation rate (the percentage of entering freshmen graduating in four years) in public high schools for 2007-2008 was 74.4%. This number fluctuates from year to year, but in recent years has been in the 70’s. Like most of you, I would like to see all students graduate within four years; but, whenever a student graduates, that’s a success story.

A government report estimated  that over an adult's working life, high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; those with a bachelor's degree, $2.1 million; and people with a master's degree, $2.5 million (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000). These figures make it easy to understand why graduations, or completions, are important.

My late husband took pictures of our daughters as they graduated. He managed to capture the spirit of the day as well as the joy and pride they felt at that moment in their lives. Their graduations were times of celebration for our family. Our daughters had endured; they had met the requirements.

Now, my grandchildren are celebrating graduations. Recently, one granddaughter graduated from kindergarten and another graduated from high school. These are the good times.

Graduation is a time of celebration – a time for family and friends to honor their graduate’s accomplishment. So, congratulations, graduates!