Beaumont ISD had a drop-out rate over double the state average, and the district’s special education program needs “substantial intervention,” according to its annual report presented at a public hearing Thursday evening.
BISD Trustee Tillie Hickman questioned Randall Maxwell, the executive director of secondary administration, who struggled to explain the rates, which have remained above the state average for several years.
“The cause may be multiple things,” Maxwell said. “Different facts that the student may not have that connection with the teacher.”
Superintendent Shannon Allen pointed to budget and staffing cuts that included drop-out interventionists at high schools in recent years.
“We lost a lot of those human resources that we had,” Allen said. “In the process of re-evaluating things, we are adding those resources back.”
Districts across the state, including BISD, have been excused from accountability ratings due to the pandemic and the district touted a superior financial rating for the last year.
Hickman also questioned Maxwell on the low participation of students in special education programs across the district compared to the state.
BISD has 8.8% of students in special education, with the state closer to 10%.
“I don’t think we have any less special education students,” Hickman, who has been with the district for decades, said. “This has been something that we have had a problem with since I started here.”
Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Administration Anita Frank said the district is “working with campuses to identify students that need those services,” but first wants to go “through all the interventions possible.”
During the monthly board meeting following the hearing, Allen said it is increasingly likely that winter storm damage will cause students at Beaumont United High School to remain virtual into next week.
Damage still is being worked on at Jones-Clark Elementary, Charlton-Pollard Elementary and Odom Academy; and is expected to be finished by the end of the week.
The district has also begun to vaccinate teachers, with 120 vaccinated in recent days and 970 staff members polled showing interest. BISD is partnering with Riceland Healthcare to administer the Moderna vaccine.
Board members voted to authorize Allen to apply for missed-day waivers for the days the district closed campuses due to the storm.
The district will have to pay between $150-$200,000 in deductibles for an estimated $1 million in damage that included busted pipes, chillers and heaters, and remediation for flooded campuses.
While BISD did not report an accountability score due to the state accountability pause, charter partners presented projected scores during their mid-year performance update.
ResponsiveEd, which operates Fehl-Price Elementary School was on track to receive a C rating, up from a D last year before the shutdowns.
The campus also dramatically cut the number of disciplinary actions, with an 81% decrease in incidents resulting in in-school suspension and an 71% decrease in incidents resulting in out of school suspensions in the first year ResponsiveEd was on the campus.
Student attendance has suffered, in part from Tropical Depression Imelda, which shut down Fehl-Price for over a month in 2019, and coronavirus, which has impacted the entire district dramatically this year.
Phalen Leadership Academis which operates Jones-Clark and Smith Middle School, did not share a projected letter grade, but shared statistics of modest growth in math scores for students.
Phalen leadership eliminated ISS at Jones Clark Elementary and decreased both in and out of school suspension by 47% at Smith Middle School.
The charter operator introduced “positive behavior rewards” and mindfulness rooms at both schools, in addition to social emotional learning.
The district has a growing charter presence, with a fifth campus set to be under charter control next year when Green Dot Public Schools assumes control of Marin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
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