Amani Barnes struggled with her mental health so much during her senior year that, even as a self-described nerd’s nerd, she feared she wouldn’t graduate. But then her counselor and social worker, who had been paired with Barnes all four years at H.D. Woodson High School, stepped in.

“I was struggling with a lot of things,” she said, “but I had a strong support system, and they were behind me the whole way.”

Barnes, 18, graduated in June and is one English paper away from finishing her first semester at Norfolk State University.

By getting her diploma, Barnes helped D.C. schools score their highest four-year graduation rate in more than a decade.

Almost 79 percent of students who started high school at traditional public or charter schools in the city in 2020 graduated during the 2024-

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