The Class of 2025: Not everyone graduates
Published on Jun 9, 2025, 5:00:00 AM
Total time: 00:36:32
Published on Jun 9, 2025, 5:00:00 AM
Total time: 00:36:32
“High school didn't really go the way I expected it,” said Leyna, who didn’t graduate with her high school class in early June.
Leyna’s dad died right before her freshman year. Since then, she’s struggled to complete her work, and she switched to online school her senior year. She was dealing with some health issues and helping her mom take care of her little sister.
School wasn’t her main priority.
In this week’s episode, we continue to tell the stories of OPB’s “Class of 2025.” It’s a project we created back in 2012 when former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber declared the ambitious goal of one-hundred percent graduation by 2025.
That’s when OPB decided to document the stories of a kindergarten class on their journey all the way through high school: to capture what it’s like to grow up in the Oregon education system, and all the other life experiences that make us who we are along the way. Thirteen years after Kitzhaber’s State of the State address, one-hundred percent high school graduation is no longer the goal.
Today, we tell the stories of two students who aren’t graduating. Education reporter Elizabeth Miller gives us insight into their lives.
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OPB’s weekly podcast creates an audio portrait of the Pacific Northwest. We tell the stories of the people, places, communities and cultures that make up this region. It’s a podcast about the place YOU live, the places you love, and the geography you feel connected to.