(WXIA) -- The public school graduation rate in Georgia continues to climb.

The Georgia Department of Education announced Wednesday that the state's graduation rate was 71.5 percent in 2013 -- almost two points higher than in 2012 and four points above 2011's rate.

Every state uses a U.S. Department of Education-mandated four-year adjusted cohort rate to calculate graduations. It tracks the number of students who graduate from high school within the standard four years.

State superintendent Dr. John Barge said the more rigorous calculation method still shows an increase in Georgia's graduation rate.

"Despite the economic challenges our districts are facing, we have more high school students graduating today than we have had in several years, which is a testament to the hard work of our students and teachers," Barge said in a statement.

Atlanta Public Schools' 2013 four-year graduation rate was 58.6 percent.

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. -- Fulton County Commission Chairman John H. Eaves addressed the Fulton County Public Safety Training Center’s Basic Law Enforcement graduates on Monday, December 2, and emphasized their value to the community.

Chairman Eaves shared the story of his son’s robbery at gunpoint near the Morehouse College campus earlier this year, as his son was about to enter the school for his first year of college. The Chairman emphasized to the graduates that their ethics and commitment to their roles as public safety officers could make the difference in preventing crime in the community.

“These young men and women represent our foot soldiers in the fight against crime here in metro Atlanta“, the Chairman said. “We are proud to have them join those efforts to keep our citizens safe.”

The class included 29 graduates with two of them going to work in the Fulton County Police Department and seven beginning their work in the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

ATLANTA -- It was a celebration much like the man it honored -- full of music, love and the joy Joseph Hawkins brought to his life.

"When I die, the one thing I want you to do for me is have a big party," Katie Hawkins-Gaar said her father often told his family.

Katie never expected that day to come so soon. But when her 58-year-old father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just days to live, a plan quickly came together.

"He didn't want it to be a sad event," Katie said.

Katie planned a traditional New Orleans-style send-off for her dad after his death on November 15. Hawkins had a special connection to the Crescent City. He'd lived there as a young man. It's also where he met his wife and started his family.

Katie found a group of local musicians who performed a New Orleans "second line" parade through the streets of Atlanta's Cabbagetown neighborhood.