The class of 2031

The Class of 2031 is currently in middle school, but the world waiting for them is already taking shape. By the time they graduate, 72% of jobs will require education beyond a high school diploma.

That’s according to a study by Georgetown University. Now, post-secondary education can mean a lot of things. It’s not just about attending a two- or four-year college or university anymore. It can be a vocational or trade school, apprenticeship, or military service.

School Board Director John Manning said there are many ways for high school graduates to make themselves marketable so that they can earn a living wage and find the work they’re wired to do. 

“I'm a trade school kind of person,” he said. “It is okay to get out of high school and go to work for Boeing or Toray Composites or any other place that you can find a job where you're happy.”

Our graduation rates here in Bethel are strong. Over 90% of our students graduate on time. And that number increases when you look at our five and six year rates. But we don't have strong numbers when it comes to meaningful post-graduation learning. In 2025 we saw only 45% of our graduates enroll in a two- or four-year college. That is lower than the state average.

That means 55% of those graduates are doing something else, including employment right out of high school. This is where the district wants to focus, to make sure that “something else” is an intentional choice, not a default.

"'Employed’ for me … I've had to kind of change my thinking on that,” said Superintendent Brian Lowney. “It's employed in a way where there's room to grow in a career, so that they're not bottomed out in a way that they won't have a family-earning wage.”

Even if a graduate doesn't see college in their future, that doesn't mean we don't need to push them to try hard classes while they’re in high school.

“Every piece of data out there right now shows that the skills it takes to be successful taking an academic course load are the same skills they're going to need in an apprenticeship, to advance and become a journeyman,” Lowney said.

Along with the academic rigor, Board President Marcus Young said part of the responsibility is with our staff developing relationships with students to help guide them through their formative years. “Developing relationships with them early so that we can get them thinking about what ‘next’ looks like. That it's not too early at seventh grade to be thinking about what next is,” he said.

Building those relationships is key and its importance was echoed by one of our graduating seniors, Autumn Humbert. “Most of our students, they don't feel that sense of accomplishment because they don't have the relationship with either the ‘higher-ups,’ or the teachers, or have that sense of knowledge that they can push forward, or that they can do greater things. So that accountability on the higher-ups of people thinking of what to do next starts with that relationship,” she said.

Board Director Roseanna Camacho said staff are a key piece of the puzzle. “Whenever I see interviews of adults being asked, ‘What got you to where you are today? What was that spark?’ You always hear it go back to a teacher,” she said. “Someone in third grade, kindergarten, high school, that just really understood them, really connected with them on a different level that maybe no other adult person in their life had.”

The Class of 2031 is still in middle school. But building student success skills and challenging them to increase their academic intensity is already well underway. And their "High School and Beyond" plan, which is used for career exploration, actually begins in seventh grade.

Though there’s work to be done, senior Autumn Humbert said Bethel is already a step above other districts. “For my cousins in my family, they live on the East Coast; they don't have the other opportunities that we have. I mention Running Start … ‘What's that?’ I mention Skills Center … ‘What's that?’”

For the Class of 2031, and all the classes that come before them, our commitment is clear: to ensure that when our students cross the graduation stage, that day is truly a beginning, not an ending. That they stand proudly, knowing that they are prepared with the confidence and skills to find the fulfilling work that will fuel a lifetime of success.