MACON, Ga. — Bibb County Schools are celebrating their all-time high in graduation rates.
Their overall graduation rate is now 87% and — for the first time — every Bibb County School this year had a graduation rate over 80%.
One school in particular that hit above the milestone is Southwest High School.
At Southwest High School, they say they live by the African proverb Ubuntu, which means "I am because we are".
Over the past year, the students's graduation rate has increased by 11 points, and the staff at Southwest High says they make it a mission to support the students both academically and individually.
Last year, the students of Southwest High had a graduation rate of 69%. This year, after focusing on supporting their students and implementing individualized student care, they've raised the graduation rate to 80%.
Principal A. Bernard Young talked about the importance of understanding his students and how the staff strives to be the best mentors to the students.
"The sky is the limit. We try to push them wherever they want to go," Young said. "We really believe in personalized learning. We don't do a one-size-fits-all, if a kid needs something, I make sure that kid gets exactly what they need. They have to be able to tell me what they need or we just have a conversation so we can figure out as adults what they need and we provide it to them."
They also implemented the Ubuntu philosophy. Senior and class president Kayla Dean talked about how this challenges her fellow students to hold themselves and each other accountable.
"Our scores jumping up to 80? That was the best thing," Dean said. "That was an 'us' thing. That's what Ubuntu means to me."
Dean also talked about how resourceful her teachers and mentors are at Southwest High.
"Once you get to high school, they say they're doing this trying to help you prepare to get to college because it's not going to be like this when you get there, so they have always been preparing us," Dean said. "Even if we haven't noticed it, they have."
Overall, they're proud of all achievements within Bibb County Schools. Southwest is more excited to contribute, and they even says they're aiming for a bigger increase in its graduation rate for next year.
"There's a little pep in their step now because they know if I do what needs to be done, if I handle my business and if I look out for my classmate, I'm going to be a success and Southwest is going to be put on the map as it should be!" Young said.
The district's overall graduation rate has also increased by about 35 percentage points in the past ten years.