(upbeat music) - [Elizabeth] Previously on the "Class of 2025".

How you feeling?

- Actually pretty good and nervous too at the same time.

- The story of freshman year is starting off stumbling.

- [Josh] You know, they're gonna be pushing you a lot harder, a lot more, 'cause they want you to graduate.

(ball bounces) - If I can get one, not to be in the streets, I did my job.

- [Ava] Freshman year has been great.

I've made lots of new friends.

- A little bit of applause.

(claps hands) Celebration.

It's over.

You did it.

(students applauding) - [Elizabeth] That was freshman year.

Now the "Class of 2025" has finished sophomore year.

OPB has been there from the start.

- One, two, three, four, five, six corners.

Six corners, six sides.

It's a hexagon.

- [Student] And six people.

- [Teacher] And six people.

- [Elizabeth] In 2012, we set out to document the stories of 28 Oregon students.

- [Teacher] Will you go with me?

- [Elizabeth] Starting when they were in kindergarten, when the state set a goal to have 100% of Oregon students graduate from high school by the year 2025.

If successful, Oregon would catapult its rock bottom national ranking to the top.

I'm Elizabeth Miller, Education Reporter for OPB.

This is the "Class of 2025".

(inspirational music) (music fades) It's fall 2022.

The "Class of 2025" aren't newbies to high school anymore, but they've still got a long ways to go.

Sophomore year doesn't always get the spotlight, but I wanna know what 10th grade is like for these students because by the end of sophomore year, they'll be halfway through high school.

10th grade is a time when young people are learning who they are, what they wanna be, and what it will take to get there.

- [Student] I'm more of a hands-on learner.

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ - [Josh] I like my coach, I like my teammates.

You know, those are my guys and it's been great.

- [Osvlado] Baseball is my favorite sport.

(bat smacks) - [Elizabeth] The future feels like it's getting closer and that can be scary.

- [Kaylie] It makes me nervous because I'm really scared of not graduating.

(hammer taps) - [Student] I was like, "Huh, oh yeah."

- [Ava] There's definitely a lot of stress and pressure about my future.

(indistinct chattering) - [Elizabeth] The "Class of 2025" had extra support as freshmen especially after the pandemic.

10th grade is different.

- They're not getting their hand held as much I think.

We're trying to put more responsibility on their plate.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] Meet Anais.

She loves to crack jokes and sing.

- Mr. Silva, how could you?

You could've started that side.

- No, we gotta start with Metallica.

- I do like choir.

Choir is fun.

And I feel like even though it's an elective, I feel like it's more helps me with understanding myself and like where I'm placed at in kinda like the school.

- [Elizabeth] Anais has choir first thing in the morning.

♪ I don't belong ♪ ♪ In heaven ♪ - [Elizabeth] it's only 9:00 AM.

- I'm going through this way.

(upbeat music) - [Elizabeth] And there are still five and a half more hours left in the school day.

- [Teacher] Every stat from this (indistinct) - [Elizabeth] I lose Anais during lunch.

With nearly 2,500 kids at David Douglas High School, it's easy to get lost.

(music continues) We reconnect in math, her toughest class, at the end of the day.

- Math has been like pretty decent, like because I have math every day, so one of them is my attendance and the other is like my work.

And so, pretty much it's been pretty good.

Kinda recently, we found out that I'm anemic, so I'm like extremely tired because I can never manage to stay up in school.

What is the warmup?

Like the only thing that could probably keep me up is like fidgeting with something or having something in my mouth.

What really worked for me was like candy.

So depending on the class, I'll actually take a short little nap.

- [Elizabeth] It's on each student to show up for class and make it through the school day.

If they don't, the consequences are real.

- It's hard to graduate if you're not here.

(Kagan laughs) - [Elizabeth] Kagan Young is a counselor at David Douglas High School.

- Tie your shoes.

- Okay.

- I'll catch up with you later.

(laughs) We have students that are roaming the halls during the day and we're constantly trying to track them down and either encourage them to go to class or if that doesn't work, find a place for them to be.

I go out on a walk in the hall and maybe I run into 10 students that happen to be in the halls walking maybe with a pass, to with purpose, or wandering around.

And what I think it takes is the times that I see someone I know, it's the relationship, one.

And the second thing is it's me taking the time to say, "Where are you coming from and where are you going?"

And then walking with them all the way there through those next steps, right.

"Do you need to go to the attendance office first and check in?

Okay, let's go do that."

- Yes.

- [Elizabeth] The teacher student relationship is huge when it comes to whether a kid graduates.

- [Kagan] All right, you're in.

- Thank you.

- Yep.

See you later.

- [Elizabeth] It's one of the key factors in overcoming absenteeism.

(gentle music) This is Osvaldo.

He's always been kind of a popular kid and into sports.

(energetic band music) - [Cheerleaders] SCOTS!

(crowd cheering) - [Elizabeth] It's October.

Homecoming.

(students chanting) (whistle blows) - [Osvaldo] The football game was fun, it was crazy.

(cheerleaders chanting) The best part of coming to school for me is I like to see my friends.

I should have dressed up better.

This is Mr. G, my baseball coach.

I don't know what he's wearing though.

He's gotta good (indistinct).

- Hey, I'm proud of it.

- [Mr. G] You going to the dance?

- [Osvlado] It's kinda fly.

It's kinda fly.

- You going to dance?

- Yeah, I'm going to the dance.

Are you going to the dance?

- Yeah, I'm probably wearing this.

I'm probably wearing this, Ossy.

- We ended up losing.

I thought we were gonna win.

That sucks.

(drums beating) - [Announcer] First and ten.

(school cheers) - I do think the story of sophomore year is finding a sense of belonging and purpose, that finding yourself and then regaining some strength and steam to move through the other two years of high school.

- [Elizabeth] High school isn't only about getting good grades.

(students cheering) (drums beating) Being part of a team or a club helps kids gain a sense of belonging and learn about accountability.

(band trumpeting) - [Cheerleaders] Let's go!

(cheerleaders cheering) (feet shuffling) (ball thuds) - I don't miss that much school, especially in baseball season.

(indistinct chattering) My goal right now is to, I wanna hit a home run and I think I'm around that level where I can.

(bat smack) Sports do play a big role 'cause you have to have a certain grade point average and attendance to play.

If your grades were to drop, you wouldn't play.

And if your attendance drops, you can't play either.

And the coaches really ride you about that.

(ball thuds) And it sucks watching your team play and you just having to watch.

You don't wanna be in that position.

- I think all of the extracurricular activities that we and other schools offer, I think that helps engage them.

But I think more than anything, what helps students come to school and be there on time and stay there is that they feel comfortable with the adults in the building.

- I'm feeling really good about my coaches and I'm happy that they're here to help me through this process of high school.

- [Elizabeth] Osvaldo ended up missing about 13 days of his sophomore year.

An attendance rate of about 92%.

That's good.

(indistinct chattering) (gentle music) Meet Josh.

He's upbeat and wants to be a leader at his school.

- Sophomore year, you know, it's more of like, "You know what to do now, do not make the same mistakes."

So, I'm just more focused in, more locked in.

You know, it's all about school first and then basketball 'cause you know you're playing for the school and if you're gonna play for the school then you have to do the work.

You have to come to class, you have to be responsible, you can't get in trouble.

(net swishes) - [Elizabeth] Being involved in school and sports has paid off for Josh.

He won an attendance award his sophomore year.

- As soon as the season starts, we see a dramatic increase in attendance rates across the board in our whole program.

And in the fall we tell the students in our workouts that when you try out for the team, we will look at your attendance.

Being here, making the effort to get outta bed and get to class is an important thing.

(car hums) - Josh is great and his mom Sharnissa, I really got to know during the pandemic because when schools closed I wasn't seeing all the students at school like I used to.

Instead, I was calling their parents, some of whom I had never met or talked to before.

Josh is fourth out of five siblings.

He's got a younger sister, they've got a dog.

(crows cawing) (door clicks) - Hi.

- Hey, Sharnissa.

How's it going?

I know.

- Good, thank you.

Welcome, welcome.

- Yeah.

- [Sister`] Yeah, I'm super Josh.

(Elizabeth chuckles) - So, we're here at your house.

Tell me how your parents and how your your family kind of influences you.

- Yeah, yeah, they are very encouraging people.

They all want me to do very well and growing up around that environment is what I live for.

- [Elizabeth] But Sharnissa says that wasn't always the environment Josh experienced at school.

- He was seen as a Black boy with behavior problems and not this amazing kid who is very bubbly and very energetic.

Especially in elementary, there was so much focus on his behaviors that it just took away from who he was.

Now I think that there is this independence there.

He's being his beautiful Black young self.

There we go.

- [Elizabeth] Josh has the benefit of strong family support at home to help him succeed in school.

- [Josh] Being a leader for my little sister, being supportive for my parents.

I'm making sure my grades are set when I go home and they have nothing to worry about.

- [Elizabeth] Students with parents who are engaged in their education are more likely to graduate.

- [Josh] She doesn't ever win.

Like she'll never win against us.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] This is Ava.

As a little girl, she loved singing.

♪ Maybe we can find a way ♪ ♪ There's got to be a solution ♪ ♪ How to make a brighter day ♪ ♪ What do we do ♪ ♪ We got to give a little love ♪ ♪ Have a little hope ♪ ♪ Make this world a little better ♪ - You wanna try again?

- [Elizabeth] And she still loves to perform.

♪ We love you, Conrad ♪ ♪ Oh yes we do ♪ ♪ We love you, Conrad ♪ ♪ And we'll be true ♪ - [Elizabeth] In sophomore year, Ava was cast for three roles in the musical "Bye Bye Birdie".

- Lots of faces.

- I'm playing the mayor's wife, reporter, a parent.

I'm playing a bunch of different things and it's kind of a small role, but I like having a bunch of different costumes and not just sticking to one character.

(cast members singing) - Make sure you put the arms, you guys.

I need this, "Yeah, yeah, yeah".

- [Elizabeth] Michael Givler teaches theater at David Douglas.

- They build relationships within a group and within like a job role.

That's huge.

"How do I rely on you, not just as a friend but as a coworker?"

They learn how to manage themselves in a stressful situation.

- [Ava] When I'm on stage, I try my best to focus.

It's on the scene itself.

We're about to go, we're about to go.

(cast members screaming) I'd say focusing is a skill.

It definitely takes practice.

I've had a lot of trouble focusing this year, but I just try my best to surround myself with people that I feel comfortable with.

- Kids want to achieve and they also want to follow through with everything everybody else wants them to do.

What keeps kids from graduating?

(cast members singing) Life keeps kids from graduating.

School is part of society and society has lots and lots of problems and our society is not fair.

And school happens inside of that.

And so I think schools then must reflect what's happening in the rest of society.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] Meet Kaylie.

She's creative, soft spoken and loves her puppy.

(show music) (audience applauds) Sophomore year, Kaylie built on the technical skills she learned in stagecraft class as a freshman.

Now she's running the rails backstage for "Bye Bye Birdie".

- I'm doing run crew and I'm doing the fly line and that's just like flying the curtain out and like everything that you see going up in the air is what I'm doing backstage.

(show music) One thing that I think about and that like puts a lot of pressure on me is like if I am not quick with my scene change, it affects everybody else, more than if somebody else messed up.

It is sort of scary.

- [Cast Member] Me on the Ed Sullivan show.

- I feel like it makes me feel better because I know that I'm not just like going to school, going home and like doing nothing.

I'm like putting work into the school that I go to.

(audience applauds) The vibe at the end of the show is usually excited, but then a lot of people cry at the end of it.

I'm one of those people.

(chuckles) (audience cheering) (indistinct chattering) - [Elizabeth] A few weeks after putting on the school play, Kaylie went to the winter formal.

I'm here with my friends over here.

(slow dance music) I think winter formal, it was one of my favorite parts of sophomore year.

I was mostly really excited to dress up.

At first, I thought that I was gonna hate wearing a dress and heels, but I really liked it.

(students cheering) - [Elizabeth] High school dances are a rite of passage, a night for students to make memories with friends and staff strengthening their bond with the school community.

(music continues) (students cheering) (gentle piano music) Ava says sophomore year was really busy for her, from being part of an elite choir and the musical to a full schedule of classes.

Sometimes her attendance took a hit.

♪ Allelujah ♪ ♪ Allelujah ♪ ♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪ - [Elizabeth] Part way through sophomore year, Ava lost her grandmother.

They were really close.

- I've been through a lot this year, so it's kind of harder for me to kinda keep that motivation, to get myself up in the morning.

So there's high days and there's low days.

- [Elizabeth] But through connections at school, she was able to find support and comfort.

- I'm kinda letting loose more with theater and making new friends.

(choir singing) (indistinct chattering) - [Elizabeth] By January, sophomores are a third of the way through the school year, with so much more on the horizon.

But here's the thing.

Sports, choir, clubs, school dances, do a lot to keep students engaged but not every kid gets involved.

And sometimes, students don't show up to school.

- Especially if it's a student that's had attendance challenges in elementary and middle school.

It just compounds in high school, where you're not there to get that extra help to maybe get you across the line to graduation.

- Anais missed a lot of school sophomore year.

Her attendance rate was 80%.

Anything less than 90% is a red flag.

Compounding things, she also went through her first big breakup.

- So that affected me a whole lot.

So right after that, I haven't like been showing up in school and stuff.

And honestly, I really do regret it because I feel like it shouldn't have that impact on me, but like it did.

- [Elizabeth] She enlisted some extra support to help her keep going.

- This is Kyle.

We all love him, especially my friends more than me probably because they always try kidnapping him.

Kyle is like an emotional support animal.

(laughs) Even though like you can't have him here at the school... Like I'm terrified of dogs, and I don't want a cat because they'll just run off.

So I feel like if you want an emotional support animal that will actually stay with you and stuff, have a stuff animal, have a Kyle.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] For some students, going through a tough time leads to failing a class.

But that doesn't mean graduation is a lost cause.

Schools often have programs to catch students before they slip through the cracks.

At David Douglas, that program is located in a far corner of the high school's campus.

A modular classroom called Day Academy.

Nate Owings is one of the teachers.

- I'm pretty strict.

I'm kinda old fashioned, rule bound.

But on the other hand, I'm fair.

So I'd say firm but fair.

I like having kids follow the rules.

I don't let them run the classroom.

They know who's boss.

And I focus on a couple of things.

Number one, that they attend well and number two they do the work.

Those are my battles.

- [Elizabeth] The class is mostly independent, but Nate supports individual students directly.

- Sometimes if I'm concerned about grades, so I call 'em up, we talk about that.

And what I've found is that grades and attendance are so closely related, that I can usually look at one of those and know what the other is.

- [Elizabeth] Nate's firm but fair approach is different than some other teachers, like Steven Andreen who takes a softer approach.

Nate is the last line for students at risk of failing.

While Steven teaches students in traditional classes.

They're different strategies with the same goal, motivating and supporting students to keep them coming to school and ultimately to graduate.

- You wanna welcome them back and help get them back on track.

But at the same time, we wanna build in that responsibility where it's like you can't just disappear for a couple weeks and then come back and get your B.

Like it's difficult.

It's a road back.

We gotta teach them to do that the right way 'cause I dunno, it's not that forgiving everywhere else.

Guys, it feels like we need more time.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yes, please.

- We'll play the game next class.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] Meet Rayshawn.

He's long been into sports, especially football and basketball.

How's math going this year?

- Good.

- Yeah?

Rayshawn is a sophomore at Rosemary Anderson, an alternative high school in southeast Portland.

He started going here freshman year after being suspended from David Douglas.

I'm here checking in with him.

At this school, teachers struggle to keep kids in school and away from violence.

The connection between teachers and students is critical to achieving that.

(indistinct chattering) - (sighs) A lot of absences.

Fridays are like that sometimes though.

- [Elizabeth] Last year, Aubrey Williams was Rayshawn's science teacher at the school, but she doesn't work here anymore.

Rayshawn misses her.

- That was like my second mom.

She was like, that was like my best friend.

And she was like always on me about my schoolwork or just making sure I got home safe.

Just stuff like that.

I text her every day or I try to.

- [Elizabeth] (chuckles) What do you say?

- I just be like, "How's your day going?"

Just like checking in.

- [Elizabeth] Across the state, students are losing teachers they trust, some to burnout.

(gentle music)_ And losing a teacher means losing a connection to school.

A recent survey found over half of teachers nationally are considering leaving the profession sooner than planned.

- My name is Toni Fujiwara and I'm the former Integrated I and Integrated II math teacher at David Douglas High School.

- [Elizabeth] Toni taught for 17 years, but this year the pressure of teaching reached a tipping point.

She felt responsible when her students failed and said she didn't have support when it came to problematic student behavior.

It came to a head last winter at school.

- I thought I was having a heart attack and I think it was just my body saying, "You're doing too much."

And ultimately I burned myself out.

The biggest challenge that changed things was Covid.

And I think it forced people in that time that we were away to do a lot more self navigating.

And people came out in general, different people.

And I think the school didn't respond by supporting because we just expected maybe it would just be kinda, "Okay, we're back to normal again."

Many of the instructional assistants didn't get filled and that left me and many teachers in unsupported classrooms where we have these high need students and we don't have any support.

So when I say after 17 years, "The system broke me", it's because the weight of everything continues to fall on teachers.

(dramatic music) - [Elizabeth] Osvaldo was one of Toni's math students.

- Having a good teacher is really important 'cause when you have teachers that aren't engaging or just don't know how to teach as well, the kids won't pay attention and some kids just won't even come to class.

So having a good teacher really matters for learning and just for attendance.

- [Elizabeth] Teachers leaving due to burnout can create a domino effect that impacts graduation.

Here's how.

(pencil scratching) To graduate, kids have to show up.

Having relationships with trusted adults like teachers can help students make that effort.

But supporting teenagers who've been through a pandemic is stressful, leading some teachers to burnout and quit breaking that supportive connection.

That can cause students to disengage from school and become less likely to graduate.

Oregon has kept its 100% graduation goal by the class of 2025 for more than a decade.

But what if a high school diploma isn't the only way to measure success?

To get insight to that question, my editor Rob Manning and I drove to Molalla, Oregon.

- Well, we made it.

- Yeah, we did.

Rob created this reporting project back in 2012 and has known the kids involved since kindergarten.

- How are you guys doing?

- Welcome, come on in.

- Good too see you.

- Jacob.

- I'm Liz, - Nice to meet you.

- Jacob, nice to meet you.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] This is Jacob.

He's tight with his dad and really likes old cars.

He moved from Portland to Molalla in middle school and wants to run his own auto shop someday.

To Jacob, graduating high school isn't a requirement for that.

- I'd rather just drop out, get my GED and see where that takes me.

So that's just me.

And you know, he's shaking his head over there, so I deal with it every day.

- [Elizabeth] Jacob says, studying english and history is pointless for becoming a mechanic.

And he doesn't like how kids treat each other at school.

- School, in my opinion now, it's just... That's the drama zone.

That's all people get their anger and yell at people and fight.

It's all right there.

So, I don't like going.

- [Elizabeth] As a freshman, Jacob was wrapped up in that drama.

- My anger was spiking all the time.

I got a reputation at that school just 'cause of my anger.

I used to bust up the lockers and everything else.

My knuckles... Yeah, I came home.

He seen my knuckles all messed up one time.

- Mhm.

And the pandemic didn't help.

It certainly.

- Right.

- But it's no excuse either.

Just how things are right now.

And it's frustrating as a parent.

What can we do better?

- That's why I'd rather just work.

I like hands on work.

Still wanna own my own shop.

Still wanna be a mechanic.

And that's still it.

Ain't gonna change.

(gentle music) - [Elizabeth] Looking back, Kaylie and mom, Alicia, said a tough year at home affected Kaylie's attendance and performance at school.

- We were going through a lot this year.

I was really, really sick and was hospitalized for over a month.

- [Elizabeth] Kaylie ended the year with a 44% attendance rate.

- I mean, and she really stepped up to the plate then and got herself to school and took care of everything and I just want her to know that I love her.

I care about her.

Only want what's best for her.

She's my baby.

(laughs) - [Elizabeth] After another year of high school, the "Class of 2025" is moving on.

That's a wrap for sophomore year.

(gentle inspirational music) - I think sophomore year from beginning to end is kind of like a whole rollercoaster for me.

- My friends, family, and teachers have gotten me through sophomore year.

It was such an emotional thing, especially you know...

But they supported me so much and I'm like really grateful for that.

- I'm feeling like I'm ready to graduate, yeah, in two years.

Just go to college and get to the next step.

Oh, look at her.

Slow poke.

- Right now, I'm on track to graduate.

So that's good.

And then I'm scared, but I'm ready.

- There's a lot more to the world than like just these halls.

Like there's so many doors open to them.

- I want them to learn that they have a powerful and important voice.

- I just would love for kids to be heard and seen more for what the perspectives they can offer.

And this generation of kids especially, they're pretty rad.

And I just, I know that they're gonna save the world.

You know, there's something about them that they're really destined to go off and fix if we can guide them in the right way.

(music continues) (gentle music) - [Elizabeth] I am Elizabeth Miller, reporter at OPB.

- [Rob] And I'm Rob Manning, OPB Editor, and the creator of the "Class of 2025" project.

It started here at Earl Boyles Elementary School in Southeast Portland.

- Sound.

- Ah.

- Sound.

- The kids who were learning to count and read in this building 10 years ago when this project started are now sophomores in high school.

- Right now, I'm on track to graduate, so that's good.

(bat dings) - It's kind of amazing.

OPB has only been able to sustain this project for the last decade because of the help of our members.

- And Rob and I are here to keep it going all the way through high school graduation, with the help of sustaining members of OPB.

- [Rob] You can help us keep telling the stories of the "Class of 2025" and support all of of OPB's essential reporting and programs.

Become a Sustainer with an ongoing monthly contribution now at opb.org/video.

And thanks.

(music fades)