John Marshall High School buzzed with excitement Friday morning as Richmond Public Schools officials and students gathered to celebrate the division’s record-high graduation rates.

“I feel like this senior year has not disappointed me at all,” John Marshall High senior ShaNiya Carter said during a news conference on the school’s front lawn, “and I feel like it will not disappoint me in the end either.” 

John Marshall High is one of four Richmond Public Schools to achieve a 100% on-time graduation rate for the 2024-25 school year, according to data presented at a recent School Board meeting. It’s also the first comprehensive high school in the division to reach that milestone, joining Open High School, Richmond Community High School and Richmond Virtual Academy. 

The graduation rates, along with rising or steady numbers from other schools, pushed Richmond Public Schools to an 80.1% overall on-time graduation rate in 2025 — the division’s highest in eight years. 

RPS also reported on-time graduation rates of 88% for Black students, 84% for economically disadvantaged students and 83% for students with disabilities. According to the division, the rates for Black and economically disadvantaged students are the highest since the Virginia Department of Education began tracking the data in 2008. 

Superintendent Jason Kamras credited the division’s investments in alternative education programs, higher teacher salaries over the years and support from city funding as key factors behind the rising graduation rates. 

He said those efforts have also helped more RPS students prepare for life after graduation, whether through college, work or military service. 

“It’s sustained investment, building these programs over time that we’re now beginning to see the fruit of all those labors,” Kamras said. 

Areas of improvement remain. Graduation rates for multilingual and Hispanic/Latino students fell in 2025 while dropouts increased, and Kamras said work is underway to expand the number of alternative programs, bilingual staff and support systems. 

Kamras also acknowledged ongoing challenges for RPS, including the impact of recent federal immigration policies on student and family mental health, decades of state-level disinvestment in education and the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Despite those concerns, optimism ran high at Friday’s event. 

“I 110% believe that we will have a 100% graduation rate here at John Marshall High School and honestly at every Richmond public school,” said senior Eva Lorenzo, president of the class. “We are on the rise.”