For the second year in a row, Natomas Unified has topped every Sacramento County school district in the percentage of students completing college entrance requirements for the UC and CSU systems, newly released state data shows.
The data shows that NUSD continues to make progress in its key goals of connecting students to schools and preparing them for college, for example:
· Since 2012, the number of students completing courses required for admission to California colleges and universities, known as the a-g rate, has climbed from 42% to 62% — an increase of 20 percentage points in five years.
· Last year, NUSD redesignated nearly one of every five English Learner students to English proficient. Our district rate of 18.3% ranked third in Sacramento County and exceeded the state average by nearly 4 percentage points. Five NUSD schools topped the district’s average: Leroy Greene Academy, 37%; Witter Ranch Elementary, 25%; Two Rivers Elementary, 22%; Inderkum High, 21%; and Heron, 19%.
The newly released data reflects the hard work of Natomas teachers, counselors, classified staff and leaders, who are pushing each day to increase access and improve the college readiness of our students, beginning in elementary school.
Three of every five NUSD graduates can choose to attend a four-year California college or university. Natomas High School achieved a 6% increase in its college access rate last year. Inderkum High’s percentage rose by 2% — to 62% overall. Every Leroy Greene Academy graduate last year, 100%, completed minimum courses required for UC or CSU admission.
Among NUSD student groups, the college access rate for Hispanic students jumped by 15% last year and has risen by nearly 28% over five years. African American students increased their a-g rate by 3% last year and 18% since 2012. Six of every 10 socioeconomically disadvantaged students completed minimum college course requirements last year, about a 4% rise in one year. Their five-year increase was 23%.
NUSD has Sacramento County’s highest percentage of college-eligible students in five student groups tracked by the state: African American students, Hispanic, White, Two or more Races, and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged.
We’re proud of these NUSD successes, which represent solid progress toward NUSD’s Board-approved Vision that, “All NUSD students graduate as college and career ready, productive, responsible, and engaged global citizens.”
