United Way uses $50K grant to combat dropout rate at Los Fresnos CISD

The United Way of Southern Cameron County announced on Thursday that it has become one of just 15 United Way branches in the country to receive a $50,000 grant from AT&T. The grant will be used to develop a 5-year plan to combat the dropout rate in the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District.

Los Fresnos CISD already has a dropout recovery program in place, which helps students who have dropped out or who are at risk of dropping out, to catch up and earn credits quickly. Wickett says that through prevention, the dropout recovery program would eventually be unnecessary.

"This district has an effective dropout recovery strategy that we want to render obsolete," said Traci Wickett, the CEO of the United Way of Southern Cameron County.

Wickett said that her organization chose to partner with Los Fresnos CISD in part because of the commitment of Jimmy McDonough, the principal of Los Fresnos United and Manuel Almanza, the school’s parental intervention coordinator to the project.

The grant will be used to study data about the profile of students who drop out in the district. Wickett said that many factors that were initially conjectured to contribute to a student’s likelihood of dropping out proved to be unimportant, once the data was collected.

"We want to find out what kind of problems are keeping students from graduating on time," Wickett said.

Sergio Cardenas, the AT&T regional director of external affairs, said that the grants are one way AT&T is showing its commitment to creating a more educated workforce.

"An educated workforce is what makes a community grow and prosper," Cardenas said.

Wickett said research that targets dropout prevention, rather than intervention, will be relevant nationwide.