Harvest High is the alternative education site of Ripon Unified.

At the Sept. 9 school board meeting, Principal Kathy Diederich provided some impressive numbers in her “Year in Review” report.

She praised both the graduation rate and attendance from the 2023-2024 school year.

Harvest High had a 96.93 percent overall attendance average while twice earning RUSD prestigious Best Monthly Attendance banner – the Attendance Matters program kicked off a year ago as part of the district-wide “School Attendance Improvement Strategies.”

Those numbers marked a big improvement from the chronic absenteeism numbers of previous years, Diederich noted.

According to her enrollment data, Harvest High had 30 students from a year ago. Included were 19 seniors, 10 juniors, and one sophomore.

More impressive was the graduation rate, which, she said, was 100 percent.

As for this year, Harvest High currently has nine seniors and seven juniors. “Seven are lined up to graduate in December,” Diederich added.

She also provided the testing scores in ELA, Math, and Science, with students scoring good numbers in those subjects.

“A continuation school is an alternative place to learn, not an alternative to learning,” according to the RUSD website, in reference to Harvest High.

Plans for this school year calls for monthly artists in the classroom, post-secondary speakers, and a senior fun celebration involving staff, coupled with some community involvement (RUSD Fun Run, Halloween Scarecrow contest, Bethany Home Christmas, and Almond Blossom baking contest), and field trips consisting of Camp Taylor, Durham Ferry, Gallo, and junior college tours, to name a few, Diederich said.