With its rapidly-growing student population, Conroe ISD has expanded its discipline response, adding more staff, programs and training.
The changes will be in place when the new school year begins on Aug. 9, said Deputy Superintendent Conroe ISD Deputy Superintendent Bethany Medford.
“We have added lots of assistant principals,” she said. “One of the biggest places is at our middle schools.”
School district discipline data
Last year, Conroe ISD placed 800 students its Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, a drop of 80 from 2022, according to data from the district. The DAEP is an educational and self-discipline alternative instructional program for students in elementary through high school grades who are removed from their regular classes for mandatory or discretionary disciplinary reasons.
Also in the 2023 school year, the district saw a slight uptick in off-school suspensions, from 1,851 in 2022 to 1,886 in 2023. The district saw a drop in school suspensions, with those numbers dropping from 10,223 in 2022 to 7,948 in 2023.
The district expelled 107 students during the school year, which was an increase over the 77 expelled in 2022.
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Breakdown of additional staff
According to information presented by Medford, the district’s additional staff includes 33 assistant principals and 21 counselors.
The district also added four campus coaches, one student support services specialist and a district hearing officer.
“Additionally, we now have instructional coaches for reading and math at every campus in the district,” Medford said. “We are excited to add that extra support that they can give to our teachers as they are working through classroom management.”
The district is also expanding its DAEP program.
Medford said the district has about 130 seats for junior high and high school students and 40 for elementary and intermediate students for short-term DAEP.
For the upcoming year, the district has added an additional teacher to increase those numbers due to growth.
The district will also add long-term DAEP placement and Early Childhood Response teams.
The long-term DAEP includes 40 seats and is operated out of a dedicated wing at Washington High School. Students can be placed in that program for 30, 45 and 60 days. The new program includes four additional staff members, Medford said.
The district’s Early Childhood Response teams include four additional paraprofessionals, Medford said. For special education, the district has added more than 30 staff members.
Program at Washington High School
Trustee Misty Odenweller asked whether Washington High School is equipped to handle the growth of the DAEP program.
Superintendent Curtis Null said the campus has some room to grow, and the district is looking at alternatives to consider when the school undergoes a future renovation.
“In my years, this is by far the largest expansion (of DAEP),” Null said. “I can’t remember growing at all so to grow by five teaching units, I don’t know if we will outgrow it before Washington does get reconfigured.”
Odenweller also asked that teachers be notified when a student is coming back to regular instruction, to help them be better prepared.
“I think that is just a respect thing I think we can do for our teachers,” Odenweller said.
Medford said such notifications are part of the student’s transition plan back to class.
