Struggling Students Moved to Online Charters, Boosting District's Record Grad Rate

Charter schools that allow students to recover credits through online courses are serving as an escape hatch for high school students in San Diego Unified who are least likely to graduate.

Between 2014 and 2016, at least 891 students left San Diego Unified high schools for charter schools geared toward helping at-risk students recover credits, according to data from five local charter schools. Some students told Voice of San Diego that principals and teachers at traditional schools had recommended they leave for these charter schools.