Park County School District 1 is seeing more of its students off to graduation than just about any sizable district in the state. 

The Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) released graduation rates for 2024-2025 in late January, and the numbers at the state and local levels show a class of students that experienced all of high school post Covid and the virtual schooling that students experienced in the second half of the spring, 2020 semester. 

“We kind of saw a little dip there following Covid, but it’s climbed back up,” Powell High School Principal Tim Wormald said. “And we’re pretty proud of that. A lot of people, including the students, obviously, are working hard to make that happen. And we’ve got a great staff here that works really, really hard, and that’s everybody from the teachers to the custodians to the office staff. I mean, everybody is working hard to support kids.”

The Park 1 rate (including the virtual school, high school and Shoshone Learning Center) for the 2024-2025 cohort year was 94%, up from 90.6% the year before. That rate, which amounts to 141 of 150 students graduating, is well above the state average of 83.1% in 2024-25, in itself a 1.5 percent age point increase from 2023-24. Statewide 6,385 students graduated in 2024-25, with 7,683 in the four-year on-time cohort — the largest class since the inception of the federal cohort rate in 2009-10.

“Today, we celebrate the increase in statewide graduation rates. Wyoming is back to where we were before the pandemic, and while there is more work to do, it shows what is possible when we keep our priorities where they belong. Thank you to the students, educators, and families who believed in Wyoming and never lowered expectations. This didn’t happen by accident; it happened because we respected local control, stayed focused on students, and honored parental rights. We are proud of this progress, and we aren’t slowing down,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. 

Wormald said the graduation rate is a reflection of the entire school district. 

“That really starts in kindergarten,” he said. “So those teachers in the elementary schools are working hard to make sure kids can read and write and are there at grade level with their skills. And then they pass them on to the middle school and all sorts of challenges that those middle school teachers face and they do a great job of engaging those students and helping them learn those skills and be prepared for high school. 

“And then our staff meets them here as freshmen, and really works with them to support them to be prepared for graduation one but then life after graduation as well. So it’s definitely a districtwide effort.”

The results also show the success PHS has had in getting most of its students a good amount of career and technical training. 

Of last year’s graduates, 92.7% earned an Industry Recognized Credential (IRC). When students take a series of three CTE courses, such as welding 1, 2, and 3, they take a test that grants a credential, such as the OSHA 10 workplace safety test, the ParaPro exam given to educational paraprofessionals, and Guest Service Gold (a general service industry standard test). 

“We’ve seen our percentage of students earning these credentials go from 11.49% five years ago to 92.7% last year,” Wormald said. 

Comparing districts in the Big Horn Basin and others nearby or similarly sized, Powell’s rate is near the top. Of Park County districts it’s only topped by the three graduates of Park 16 in Meeteetse (accounting for the entire class), while slightly larger Park 6 in Cody raised its average substantially to just under 91%. That includes the high school and the alternative Heart Mountain Academy. 

Cody High School increased the graduation rate by 7.1% percentage points, going from 85.1% to 92.2%.

“We are very proud of our students and staff for this increase in our graduation rate! Our teachers, counselors, and support staff dedicate hours to ensure students cross that finish line! Our motto at CHS is “unbroken spirit, unbridled pride,” and that attitude is reflected in the graduation rate growth,” said Mitch Espeland, Cody High School principal, in a WDE release. 

Park 1 graduation rates compared to regional and similarly sized districts

Park 16 (Meeteetse)  — 100%

Park 1 (Powell)  — 94%

Big Horn 2 (Lovell)  — 92.7%

Park 6 (Cody)  — 90.9%

Johnson 1 (Buffalo)  — 89.2%

Fremont 1 (Lander)  — 88.2%

Washakie 1 (Worland)  — 88.1%

Sheridan 2 (Sheridan)  — 84.1%

Fremont 25 (Riverton)  — 69.9%