State of Harlem schools: District has closed the gap on graduation rates, but its leader wants more

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — Over the past five years, the Harlem School District has closed the gap between its graduation rate and the state average.

In 2016, 74.1% of Harlem students were graduating compared to the state average of 85.5%. Last year, Harlem’s rate stood at 83.1% compared to the state’s 86.6% average, reducing the gap from 9.5 percentage points to 3.5.

“Why stop at what the state is saying is an appropriate number,” Harlem School District Superintendent Terrell Yarbrough said. “Our goal is to make sure that every single student graduates from Harlem.”

The second-year superintendent made those remarks Wednesday during his first state of the schools speech before the Parks Chamber of Commerce. He told dozens of business and community leaders gathered at Forest Hills Country Club about the district’s early childhood initiatives, college and career readiness program, bilingual literacy work, efforts to integrate technology and plans to expand the high school campus with a career and technical education center.

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But the graduation rate, he said, would be a key measure of success.

He said the district would continue to work to improve that rate by focusing on what each individual student needs to graduate.

“If you focus on the people, the numbers will take care of themselves,” he said of the rate. “Through intentional interventions such as meeting with each senior who’s in danger of failing, to providing support that helps guide students through graduation, our ultimate goal is to continue to strive for excellence.”

Yarbrough was named superintendent of the district of nearly 6,200 students in July 2021 after a 20-year career in education that included eight years as the principal of Harlem High School. He took over the district at a precarious time as school leaders attempted to navigate a safe return to school after the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic created a multitude of issues in education, including staffing shortages that struck Harlem and other districts across the country.

But Yarbrough relished the opportunity to help wherever he could. For example, last year he filled in as a bus assistant, worked on the food truck and substitute taught in a kindergarten class.

“Just being able to help so many different kids and staff in this role, I love it,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to have that impact if I was in a different role.”

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Yarbrough told the Parks Chamber that he got into education to be a history teacher and basketball coach, but he’s proud of the direction of his career.

“I wanted to inspire kids, just like my middle school teacher and high school coach helped me to believe that I could be more than what was in front of me in the inner city of Milwaukee,” he said during his roughly half-hour speech.

He said he relied on his “super friends” — other district superintendents — for guidance when he first took over the role.

One of the next big projects the district will tackle is a multifaceted renovation and addition. That includes a new career and technical education addition, which includes space for automotive and welding classes that are currently held about 5 miles off campus.

“That is going to be huge for our kids because we’ve outgrown where we are now,” he said.

There is also a plan to have an on-site clinic designed to improve staff and student health,

“The hope is to be done within the next three years,” Yarbrough said of the upcoming additions, “but to break ground sometime this spring.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.