Another school year has begun for Falcon School District 49; and, as students head back to class, The New Falcon Herald compiled updated facts about the district from the D 49 website and the Colorado Department of Educationís website to show D 49 ìby the numbers.îDistrict sizeAccording to the D 49 website, the district ìspans 133 square miles of urban and rural areas in Colorado, covering northeast Colorado Springs and the Falcon area of El Paso County.îStudent count for 2016-201720,834Number of schools24Teacher count for 2016-20171,035Administrator count for 2017-2018 (including school, zone and district level positions)78Average teacher salary for 2016-2017$42,567Graduation rates by school for 2015-2016
- Falcon High School ñ 94.0 percent
- GOAL Academy ñ 38.9 percent
- Patriot Learning Center ñ 47.2 percent
- Sand Creek High School ñ 85.5 percent
- Vista Ridge High School ñ 87.0 percent
Marie LaVere-Wright, D 49 Board of Education president, said that while the graduation rates at GOAL Academy and PLC look bleak, they are non-traditional schools that give students who did not succeed in a traditional high school another chance.ìMany of the students that attend those schools have dropped out of other districts,î she said. Those students typically do not complete high school within four years of their first day, which the CDE does not consider as a ìgraduateî in their numbers, LaVere-Wright said. The true district graduation rate is closer to 90 percent, which is higher than the state average, she said.ìOur goal is to provide a valuable education to all of our students, regardless of whether theyíre on the college path or career training path,î LaVere-Wright said. ìWe have been listening to our community and expanding our career and technical education programs. It is all about helping each kid find the right pathway to the career that is best for them, whether that entails college or not.î
