Centennial High School's four-year graduation rate reached 95.5% for the Class of 2026, Principal Dr. Opie Blackwell announced on X on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The Roswell school's rate tops the Fulton County Schools district average of 93.44% by more than two percentage points. It also clears the statewide rate of 88.5%, the highest Georgia has recorded, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution citing Georgia Department of Education data.
"This @The_CHSKnights staff and community continues to rally around our students who are hard-working, engaged, and just awesome," Blackwell said on X.
The 95.5% figure marks a slight climb over the Class of 2025, when Centennial posted a 95.26% rate. Blackwell celebrated that milestone in a December 2025 post on X, noting it coincided with Fulton County Schools' then-record district rate of 91.9%. The year-over-year gain means Centennial has now exceeded 95% in back-to-back graduating classes.
The school's governance council had set a graduation rate goal of 95% in its 2025-26 strategic plan, aligning with the district target. Centennial cleared that mark by half a point.
Statewide, Georgia's graduation rate rose from 87.2% to 88.5% for the Class of 2026, according to the AJC. Centennial's rate sits seven full percentage points above the state figure.
Fulton County Schools broke its own district record for the sixth straight year at 93.44%, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. The district's rate has climbed 7.9 percentage points since dropping to 85.5% in 2020. Board President Kristin McCabe said the district is "energized and motivated to continue investing in our people and programs," according to Rough Draft Atlanta.
Centennial counted 1,480 students on its SEAT day enrollment count for the 2026-27 school year, according to August governance council minutes. That topped the school's enrollment projection of 1,449.
The school's next governance council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15.
