Kosciusko County Educational Development recognized contributors this morning.
Recognized were Patricia Coy, United Way director; Jamie Prescott, Instru-Med; Tammy O’Dell and Dave Whalen, both of Shoop Sports & Youth Foundation; Dr. Dane and Mary Louise Miller Foundation; Rinker Family Foundation; and John Sullivan, Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club.
Started in July 2009, KCED has funded graduation coaches at Warsaw Community, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley high schools for the past two years.
A mentoring program at the elementary and middle school levels encourages younger students in stay in school. There are now more than 200 mentors for first through eighth grade throughout the county.
KCED has a budget of more than $100,000.
In 2009, the graduation rates at Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley were 74.9, 83.4 and 75.4 percent respectively.
Those rates led to a group of community and school officials forming the Dropout Prevention Committee. The committee later changed its name to Kosciusko County Education Development, and developed objectives to impact dropout rates.
The Indiana Department of Education released the 2011 graduation rates Tuesday. The rates for Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley were announced as 88.8, 91.7 and 84.4 percent respectively. It is the second consecutive year since KCED was formed that the graduation rates have increased.
