We spoke with 11 current and recent Ballou teachers and four recent Ballou graduates, and we reviewed hundreds of attendance documents, class rosters and emails that show many students graduated despite chronic absenteeism. Six months ago, we reported that for the first time, 100 percent of seniors who graduated from Ballou High School had applied and were accepted to college. This project is a collaboration between NPR's Ed Team and WAMU's Kate McGee, an education reporter covering education in our nation's capital. "You saw kids walking across the stage, who, they're nice young people, but they don't deserve to be walking across the stage," Butcher says. How did all these students graduate from high school? For months, the school received national media attention, including from NPR, celebrating the achievement.īut all the excitement and accomplishment couldn't shake one question from Butcher's mind: The school is located in one of Washington, D.C.'s poorest neighborhoods and has struggled academically for years with a low graduation rate. It was a triumphant moment for the students: For the first time, every graduate had applied and been accepted to college.
It was a clear, warm night and he was surrounded by screaming family and friends snapping photos and cheering. An investigation by WAMU and NPR has found that the school's administration graduated dozens of students despite high rates of unexcused absences.īrian Butcher, a history teacher at Ballou High School, sat in the bleachers of the school's brand-new football field last June watching 164 seniors receive diplomas. Ballou High School, in Washington, D.C.'s Southeast quadrant, is located in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods and has struggled academically for years.
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