School Districts Around Lake Conroe Anticipate Continued Growth

We attended our HAR Montgomery County Network Meeting this past week and had the pleasure of getting to hear guest speakers; superintendents at three of our area school districts spoke to us about their year in review. They discussed the school programs, budgets and anticipated growth.

Dr. Curtis Null spoke proudly of Conroe ISD. He gave his Year in Review report, which stated some of the following facts: Conroe ISD is 348 square miles and includes The Woodlands, Shenandoah, Oak Ridge North, Conroe and Grangerland, as well as several other smaller towns, communities, and unincorporated areas. It is the 9th largest district in Texas and the 60th largest in the United States. Conroe ISD serves over 69,000 students across 67 campuses. Not only are they the largest school district in Montgomery County, but they are also the largest employer with over 10,000 employees. They graduated 4,700 Seniors in 2022, and they have an impressive career and workforce readiness curriculum that earned over 4,700 certifications last year for students going straight into the workforce. They have an average enrollment growth of 1,500 students per year for over a decade. Dr. Null was passionate about his district and it really shined through.

Academic Highlights:

• Conroe ISD: 97.3% graduation rate 2019-2020,
• 1110 Average SAT Score
• 25.4 Average ACT Score
• 6,568 Dual Credit Courses Passed 2020-2021
• 5,177 AP test Passed in 2020-2021

Career and Workforce Readiness:

• 13 Career Clusters
• 29 Programs of study
• 150 course offerings in 2022
• 305, 7-12 grade students enrolled in CTE courses in 2021-2022
• 4,758 CTE certifications earned by students in 2021-2022.

Next up, was Dr. Heath Morrison, Superintendent of Montgomery ISD. I was excited to hear him speak, because his efforts directly impact my children and community. Dr. Morrison gave us the

2021-2022 Highlights:

• Continued to out-perform the state on STAAR testing
• Teacher and staff raises (10% to teachers and 8% to all other staff fall 2020)
• Successful bond campaign addressing growth, CTE and facility upgrades to all schools.

He also gave a 2022 Bond Update, Montgomery ISD voters approved three ballot propositions in May 2022 for a total of

$326.9M-one of just 7 districts in state to have all three bond propositions approved.

This bond addresses growth needs, CTE, Ag programs, facility upgrades to all schools and athletic renovations. He also discussed Montgomery's Goals.

5 Goals for Montgomery ISD.

1. Academic Achievement: Montgomery ISD maintained an A Rating-93 Overall rating, it was the highest overall score in Montgomery County. It was the 5th highest in the Greater Houston area (50+ districts). Not only that, but 70% of the schools in Montgomery ISD had school ratings of A or higher, and no schools in this district received lower than a B rating or 88. Also listed under their academic achievement goals were: Gifted and Talented Program Enhancements, Program Review of Special Education Department and CTE Program Enhancements.

2. Safety: This year they assigned police officers to all campuses, the started a stop the prop campaign, see something say something, Rave emergency alart app, Watch D.O.G.S. are back at the elementary campuses and Project IMPACT, which mentors kids 4th-12 grade.

3. Operations & Finance: The school districts A rating allows them top financial rating in Texas. Bond Implementation is a 5 year plan, Balanced scorecard to assess progress of strategic plan, and energy efficiencies have saved significant dollars in energy cost avoidance with Cenergistic.

4. Human Resources: They had no teacher vacancies to start 2022-2023 school year, and continue to focus on employee compensation. They are expanding their focus on professional development and focusing on recruiting. They are also conducting a Culture of Respect Campaign.

5. Communication: They commit to sharing information on the district's budget challenges under state funding formulas to educate and honor their commitment to transparency, as well as, update on Bond Projects timelines and costs to all MISD stakeholders.

Dr. Morrison's vision for MISD is to be recognized as a Premiere School District in Texas and it certainly seems like he is working very hard at achieving that goal!

Last, but certainly not least was Dr. Tim Harkrider. His knack for telling it like it is was much appreciated by all in attendance.

Stats for Willis ISD:

• 8,765 students enrolled in 126 square miles. 1,150 employees and 10 traditional campuses and a Graduation Recovery program
• 56.78% students are economically disadvantaged
• 10.45% are special education students
• 1.36% Homeless
• 5.87% are bilingual
• 4 Title 1 Campuses (CES, PES, CCH & MES).

Dr. Harkrider specifically touched on their academics such as: accelerated math, science and foreign language at middle school (8th grade) level for high school credit, full day prekindergarten (which apparently is an amazing and notable program recently implemented), advanced placement courses, ongoing partnership with Lone Star College to provide dual credit course and college credit and summer enrichment camps during the summer.

Willis ISD focuses on College & Career Readiness, they had the largest college scholarship amount in 2022 of $7.1 million dollars awarded to Willis High School graduating seniors.They have a dedicated College and Career Center run by a counselor. They have over 25 industry certifications offered through Career & Technology Center, some examples are Real Estate License, Certified Nursing Assistant, Certified Pharmacy Technician, Cosmetology Operators License, NCCER Welding, Carpentry, Floral Design, and Safeserve (Culinary Arts). They also have Academic Extension which includes: family nights, FIRST Robotiks, LEGO, Tech Challenge, and LEGO League Challenge.

Dr. Harkrider shared this Total School District Enrollment Map in Fall 2020. Note that Willis ISD does anticipate a steady growth, as do Conroe and Montgomery.

The Bond 2022 for Willis ISD passed in May 2022 and this includes Elementary School#7, Middle School #3, Fine Arts Addition to LLMS, Upgrades to WHS Baseball/Softball Fields, Upgrades to Elementary Playground Equipment and Future Land Purchases.

He also spoke during our Q&A in regards to mental health. Willis ISD has partnered with Care Solice which helps place students and staff in need of mental health providers with a match in a matter of hours. I found this to be very impressive and proactive on their part. We need more mental health awareness in our community and action behind it. Great job Willis ISD!

When asked during our Q&A, What is the overall message that you want to get out to your community? there was resounding agreement from all three superintendents that We need to support our teachers, encourage our teachers. There is no doubt that now, maybe more than ever, we need to show our teachers and staff at our schools that they are appreciated, cared for, and that we need them in our schools! We love our teachers and administrators!

We found this information very helpful to us as Real Estate Agents in our Community and we hope that this helps you as well! If you are looking to move to this area, look no further than Mint Realty Team!

By: Amy Jones & Brooklyn Heintz

Mint Realty Team

MintRealty.org