The Lawrence school district is shrinking the graduation rate gap among the highest and lowest achieving groups of students, thanks to an emphasis on fine-tuning classes and curricula so the needs of disadvantaged students and students of color are better met, Superintendent Rick Doll said.

The difference in graduation rates between the highest and lowest achieving groups of students — categorized by race, ethnicity and economic factors — in the Lawrence district is about three times narrower than in 2009.

According to the district’s numbers, within the highest and lowest achieving racial and ethnic subgroups of students, the graduation rate gap has shrunk from 41.6 percentage points in 2009 to 13.3 points in 2014.

Within socioeconomic groups — students who receive reduced-price lunches, are English language learners or have learning disabilities — the gap between the highest and lowest achieving subgroups has gone from 27.2 percent to 10.3 percent since 2009.

“I’m very, very proud of our school district,” Doll said. “This is one of those landmark improvements we’ve made. We certainly knew we had a lot of work to do in this area.”

Overall, the district posted a graduation rate of 90 percent, four points better than the statewide rate from the 2012-13 school year, the latest numbers available.

Graduation rates are measured by the number of students who enter grade 9 in the same calendar year and graduate four years later. The numbers also take into account the students who transfer to another district. A student’s transfer that goes unconfirmed by another district is categorized as a “non-legitimate transfer” and counts against a district’s graduation rate.

Of the racial and ethnic subgroups in Lawrence, African Americans posted the lowest 2014 graduation rate, at 86.7 percent, up from 81.7 in 2013. All other groups scored at least 90 percent.

Doll said the gap closure is a direct result of his district’s equity work on classes and curricula to meet all students’ needs.

“(The data) affirms the work that you do and that’s what makes it worth it,” said Angelique Kobler, who has worked extensively for the equity initiative for seven years as the district’s assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. “It’s very exciting and there’s still work to do.”

Apart from advancements made in the classroom, the initiative has also spawned after-school clubs and programs for students to engage in discussions on race, cultures and other topics at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

“Our goal is to make sure the color of a child’s skin or their income level does not predict their achievement,” Doll said. “The progress we’ve made is exceptional.”

More specific Lawrence numbers also reveal where there is greater room for improvement. Males in several subgroups were notably behind their female peers. The graduation rate for black males is 74.1 compared to 97 for females; 75.5 to 90.1 for students who receive free or reduced-price meals; and 79 to 93.3 for students with disabilities.

In all, 95.3 percent of females graduated in 2014 in Lawrence, compared to 88.2 percent of males.

The numbers do not include data from the Lawrence Virtual High School, which until this year was run by a private company. The district took over management this year after the school posted a graduation rate of 26.3 percent, which dragged the district’s overall rate slightly below state averages in 2013.

Doll said that because the district took over management of the school, it is considered to be a new school by the Kansas State Department of Education. And since the “new” school hasn’t been around long enough to see students move from freshmen to graduates, it has no data to contribute.