The Umatilla School District is proud to announce that the Umatilla High School (UHS) Class of 2025 has once again demonstrated academic excellence, with the "All Students" group and nearly every student demographic exceeding the State of Oregon’s graduation averages.
Despite a slight decrease in the overall graduation rate this year to 87% from 89.5% for the class of 2024, Umatilla High School continues to significantly outperform the state average of 83%. This trend of excellence is visible across various student groups, most notably within our Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, where both "Participants" and "Concentrators" achieved a graduation rate of over 95%.
While the district celebrates these broad successes, we remain deeply committed to the success of our smallest cohorts. This year’s graduating class included 44 former English Language Learners (ELL) and 14 migrant students. While these numbers are small in scale and impact percentages accordingly, the district emphasizes that they represent individual lives and futures that matter immensely.
The 2025 data showed a former ELL graduation rate of 88.6% and a migrant student graduation rate of 78.6%. While competitive, the district recognizes there is room for growth in these categories- the only student groups that did not out-perform the state averages.
"Every student who walks through our doors is a priority," said the Umatilla School District Superintendent Heidi Sipe. "While our numbers often exceed state benchmarks, we are not satisfied if even one student does not experience success. We are already looking toward the future by initiating conversations with partner districts to learn from their successes with former ELL and migrant populations.” The Umatilla School District remains committed to bilingual education and evidence for the success of that program is found in the seventeen students who earned the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy, demonstrating high-level proficiency in both English and Spanish.
In addition to high school completion, the Class of 2025 demonstrated significant college readiness. Collectively, the graduating class earned a staggering 3,171 college credits through dual enrollment programs which are fully paid for by the district. Seventeen earned both their high school diploma and an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT) degree from Blue Mountain Community College simultaneously. This achievement saves these families thousands in tuition costs and places these students two years ahead as they enter the university system or the workforce.
“While we are always striving for improvement, we are proud of the student successes evident in the Class of 2025 graduation data. I am thankful for the dedication of our staff across the district to support students in reaching this important milestone and helping them launch into successful futures,” said Superintendent Heidi Sipe.