There’s good news and bad news regarding the graduation rate for students in Mississippi public schools.

The good news is that the graduation rate increased for the fourth consecutive year — more than 4 percent — to 78.4 percent for the 2014-2015 school year. The bad news is that it is still well below the national average of 82 percent. There is no doubt we can do better as a state making sure our children graduate high school within four years.

As a community, it appears we are doing better than most in achieving this goal.

According to the State Department of Education, the graduation rate for Lafayette County Schools was 86.2 percent and 87 percent for the Oxford School District. That is above the national average and among the Top 30 school districts in the state. The dropout rate for the Lafayette County School District was 6.8 percent, while students in the Oxford School District dropped out at a rate of 7.8 percent. Both numbers are well below the state average of 12.8 percent, which also dropped one percentage point.

We commend our local educators for continuously producing outstanding students year after year. And we as parents and a community must continue to support our educators in this endeavor.