School districts in Montgomery County continue to see issues with student dropout rates as some saw decreases while others saw numbers rise.
According to the most recent data from the Texas Education Agency, Conroe, Magnolia and Splendora school districts saw dropout rates for grades nine through 12 decline for the 2022 school year.
For Conroe, of the 21,781 students enrolled in grades nine through 12 for 2022, 137 dropped out, declining to .66% from 1% in 2021. Magnolia saw 32 of its 4,624 students drop out, a decrease to .69% from 1.58%. Splendora lost nine of its 1,358 students, dropping to .66% from 1.44%.
According to TEA, reasons for student dropouts vary from homelessness, incarceration, teenage pregnancy, low test scores and disciplinary problems.
“Every day, teachers, counselors, administrators, and staff work together to keep students engaged and enrolled in school,” said Sarah Blakelock director of communications for Conroe ISD. “Conroe ISD stresses building relationships with students to keep them involved in the school community through academic work and extracurricular experiences.”
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Denise Meyers, executive director of communications for Magnolia ISD, said during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 the district saw an increase in dropouts.
“We did experience a small decline in the graduation rate for the class of 2020, but our last two classes (2021 and 2022) where we have official data, have superseded pre-pandemic levels,” Meyers said.
For Montgomery, Willis and New Caney ISD, dropout rates increased slightly for 2022.
Of Montgomery’s 3,325 students, 22 dropped out, an uptick to .66% in 2022 from .55% in 2021. In Willis, 46 of its 2,738 students dropped out, an increase to 1.68% from 1.30% in 2021. New Caney lost 62 students, or 1.15%, of its 5,409 of its students in 2022, an increase from .94% in 2021.
Keeping students in school
In September, the Conroe ISD Board agreed to continue with a program to keep students in school by providing site coordinators at 16 campuses.
Communities in Schools is a national organization coordinated at the state level. According to information from Conroe ISD, the TEA works with districts to facilitate the program.
“Conroe ISD has collaborated with Communities in Schools for over a decade,” Tamika Taylor, assistant superintendent of student support services said of the program the district joined in 2006. “We believe the program is a worthwhile investment for our students.”
Taylor said campuses are selected for the program based on its at-risk population. She said the program cost is shared between the district and the organization. The cost to Conroe ISD for 2024 is $424,000.
For 2024, the organization will provide coordinators at Conroe High, Conroe 9th Grade, Veterans Memorial Intermediate, Peet Jr. High, Cryar Intermediate, Wilkerson Intermediate, Caney Creek, Grangerland Intermediate, Stockton Junior High, Travis Intermediate, Moorehead Junior High, Bozman Intermediate, Vogel Intermediate, Wilkinson Elementary, Patterson Elementary and San Jacinto Elementary.
Along with closely monitoring attendance, Magnolia ISD offers credit recovery programs that allow students to retake a course they may have failed before so that they can earn credit for the course and multiple graduation plans that give students flexibility in course offerings and credit requirements.
“We also have our ALPHA Academy, which is a stand-alone high school dedicated to credit recovery,” Meyers said. “When accepted, students can recover failed credits and earn original credit at an accelerated pace. This helps students who are behind in their graduation plan to graduate on time in most cases.”
