Latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Midlands

Wednesday, January 23, 2013  High school drop out rates are down across the Nation and in South Carolina.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013  The nation's high school graduation rate is the highest since 1976, but more than a fifth of students are still failing to get their diploma in four years, reveals an Education Department study.

Tuesday, June 05, 2012  Shannon Cooper cheered as her daughter walked across the stage to get her diploma from South Florence High School Saturday night, but just minutes later, Shannon was handcuffed and arrested.

Sunday, June 03, 2012  A Midland's teen diagnosed with a learning disorder has beat the odds and graduated at the top of her class.

Saturday, June 02, 2012  A Midlands graduate had a surprise visitor Saturday while getting her diploma.

Monday, March 19, 2012  Aggressive efforts to prevent students from dropping out contributed to a modest 3.5 percentage point increase nationally in the high school graduation rate from 2001 to 2009, according to research presented Monday at the Grad Nation summit in Washington.

Monday, March 19, 2012  AT&T executives are visiting a Columbia school to talk about a program they hope will help boost South Carolina's high school graduation rate.

Monday, December 13, 2010  The Education Oversight Committee on Monday delayed discussing the idea until February.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010  A college group says South Carolina is above average in sending high school graduates to college.

Monday, December 06, 2010  South Carolina high school leaders don't like the way the state calculates graduation rates, but state officials say they are just doing what federal rules require.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008  As U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings spoke here about new federal rules for calculating graduation rates, South Carolina educators said the accountability law should be revamped when Spellings' boss is out of office