KISSIMMEE, Fla. — More students are getting to wear their cap and gown in Osceola County, as graduation rates reach an all-time high. The district has the second highest graduation rate in Central Florida behind Seminole County.

Ethan Amaya, a graduating senior is the first in his family to get accepted into a top school like Stanford University.

“My dad was telling me it’s always been a dream of his family to get accepted into somewhere like Princeton or Harvard, and I am glad I could be the first to do that,” Amaya said.

The number of seniors graduating from Osceola County’s high schools is up. In fact, it’s at an all-time high of 90 percent — an increase of point 0.7 points over last year.

Vivian Spencer, a LaCrosse lover with a 4.0 GPA, is also graduating. Her next step? Cornell.

“Everybody has potential. And I just really want people to recognize that they have potential and like seek to be more than what they think they can be,” Spencer said.

Karen Kuers is the College and Career Specialist at Celebration High School, where these two students attend. Kuers’ room at the school is filled with flags representing different colleges. Kuers said she has an open-door policy, where students can visit her anytime, providing as much support as she can.

The school district said they’ve put more focus on monitoring and providing extra support for at-risk seniors. For example, they pay for kids to take the SAT during school hours.

“We make sure every single kid has a plan, we want them to choose one of the three E’s. Education so they’re going to college, they’re going to tech school. Enlistment — hey, serve your country, why not? Or employment,” Kuers said.

Amaya is thankful that with the help he’s received, he can soon make cardinal and white his official school colors this coming fall.

“It’s really amazing that we have this resource, because without it I don't know if a lot of us would be able to get accepted. I don’t know if that rate would be so high as it is now,” Amaya added.

Osceola’s graduation rate remains above the state average of 86.9 percent.