Achieving the historic 94.4% graduation rate for Collier County Public Schools this year started well before caps and gowns ever entered the minds of students – or the administration.

For Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli, the Collier graduation rate — besting the state of Florida’s average of 92% — is more than just a statistic; it represents years of hard work and tracking every single student’s path to graduation.

“It starts way before these kids even become seniors,” Ricciardelli said. “I already know all the ninth graders who have D's and F's from first semester.”

Ricciardelli, who became the Collier County Public Schools Superintendent in July of 2023, served as a principal in two of the county’s schools, then later became the interim superintendent before reaching her current position.

Ricciardelli admitted that tracking and monitoring students’ path to success is not an easy job.

“We run reports constantly,” she said. “How many ninth graders are failing English? How many 10th graders are failing biology? How many kids have less than a 2.0 GPA? Who hasn’t passed the reading requirement? We monitor it all.”

Even though it is not an easy job, Ricciardelli enjoys setting students up for success.

“Why do I care so much? Because when parents enroll their child in Collier County Public Schools, they trust us with their future. Ricciardelli said. “You have to be the teacher, the
coach, the principal, the superintendent you would want for your own child. If I wouldn’t want that for my child, why would I accept it for someone else’s?”

According to Ricciardelli, graduation rates are set by a four-year plan for students.

“You have four years of eligibility,” Ricciardelli said. “Just like an athlete has four years to play football, students have four years to count in our graduation cohort.”

The other 5.6% of students may not appear in that number not because they dropped out or failed high school, but perhaps because they did not finish school on time, which affects the graduation rate.

If students manage to finish school after the four-year period, they still could earn their diplomas, but they would not count towards the graduation rate.

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t finish, it just means they didn’t finish within the four-year eligibility window,” Ricciardelli said. “Some of those students may finish in October or December. That doesn’t mean they didn’t graduate, but they count as a dropout for us. It doesn’t affect them; it affects me.”

“One student can make a difference,” Ricciardelli said. “Every kid makes a difference. Everything makes a difference.”

Ricciardelli also helps students with a brilliant futures chase their dreams.

She recalls one student in particular. “He was in regular classes, straight A’s, but no one had pushed him into higher-level courses. We moved him into AP classes. He graduated with a full ride to the University of Miami.”

While the superintendent works and monitors every student, it is important for the principals of all Collier County Public schools to meet with her and discuss students’ goals.

Dr. Sean Kinsley, principal at Barron Collier High School, said that helping students whose first language is other than English is a focal point at his school.

“Our goal is to make sure they continue to get their academics and make sure they’re learning English as quickly as possible,” Kinsley said. “A lot of our students from other countries, academically, they’re on level where they need to be, it’s just they don’t know the language.”

To help these students reach their graduation goals, he came comes up with individual plans for each student.

“In some of these classes, literally, we have a different plan for almost every student,” Kinsley said. “The goal is to get them out of a sheltered model and into a regular classroom as quickly as possible, because we know that that’s where they’re going to even grow more.”

Johana Pacheco, mother of student Mateo Ingunza, learned about these resources at Barron Collier High School and decided to enroll him in the school.

“Mateo’s first language is Spanish,” Pacheco said. “I’m glad that a school like Barron Collier is going to help me set my kid up for success and provide him all the tools he needs in order to be successful.”

For Kinsley, every student is the same, no matter their background.

“I always said, I’m going to treat every single student like they’re my own kids, so I’m mom and dad when mom and dad aren’t here, because that’s my job,” Kinsley said. “It doesn’t matter if they come from government housing, or if they live in a house that’s worth $10 million, they’re equal to me.”

Kinsley said that it is important for students to know that they’re being taken care of.

“If the student knows that you care about them, they’ll do anything for you,” Kinsley said. “Students don’t care what you know until they know you care.”

Kinsley’s main goal as a principal is to ensure every student graduates.

“My goal is to get you across that stage,” Kinsley said. “And I want to see your parents cry when I hand you that diploma. That’s all I care about.”

For Ricciardelli, it is also more than just numbers.

“This isn’t about numbers,” Ricciardelli said. “It’s about kids.”

Even though CCPS accomplished a historic graduation rate in the state of Florida, it doesn’t stop there.

“There are still students who need us,” Ricciardelli said. “And until it’s 100%, we keep working.”