BY CHLOE YOUNG
LHISD works to maintain improved attendance Liberty Hill ISD is seeing positive results after working to improve its attendance rate amid budgetary concerns. Community Impact spoke with Sandy Scott, LHISD truancy and dropout prevention coordina- tor, about what parents should know about raising attendance and avoiding truancy. “[Attendance] is the No. 1 correlation with stu- dents succeeding in academics as well as students graduating from high school,” Scott said. Current situation The district’s average daily attendance rate, which was 94% last school year, rose to 96% during the first six weeks of the 2024-25 school year, Chief Financial Officer Rosanna Guerrero said. LHISD has now returned to its attendance rate prior to the coronavirus pandemic, during and after which it saw an “extreme increase” in truancy, Scott
Special education facility to open soon In November, Liberty Hill ISD will open a new space for special education students ages 18-22. The new facility will help accommodate growing enrollment in the Accessing Community through Career Environments for Student Success, or ACCESS, program, which has more than doubled in recent school years, district officials said at an Oct. 21 board of trustees meeting. The big picture The 13,359-square-foot building will be located behind the district’s administration building. LHISD renovated the preexisting space using $5 million in 2023 bond funds. The facility will feature spaces for stu- dents to practice skills used at home, in the kitchen, at work and while shopping.
What families need to know District officials suggested parents of children whose attendance is struggling should:
Talk with them to determine what the underlying reason might be
Be compassionate and listen
Be firm and set boundaries through expectations and consequences
SOURCE: LIBERTY HILL ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
said. The district hired Scott last summer to create interventions to improve attendance, she said. Why it matters Texas school districts are funded based on their average daily attendance instead of enrollment. LHISD loses about $40 for every student who does not attend school each day, Guerrero said.
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