CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For nearly 16 years, Corpus Christi Independent School District has worked to keep students in school and successfully graduating. However, there are hundreds of students that have fallen short of their attendance. That's where the district's Operation K.E.Y.S. (Keeping Every Youth In School) initiative comes in.
On Thursday, dozens of administrative employee volunteer called parents/guardians of more than 1,000 students to see whether they were coming back to school or not.
"We want to reach out to each student because it is very important that they come to school. It impacts their graduation and their attendance is very important," Ron Kanipes, Director for Student Support Services, said.
Kanipes has been working with Operation K.E.Y.S. for two years. He said the district tries to work with parents and students to find out exactly what is causing them to miss school. There are many reasons behind that.
"Every student is different and every family has different needs," Kanipes said. "It could be a transportation need, it could be maybe the kid has anxiety and doesn't want to come to school. We have counseling services, we have social workers, we have organizations like Communities In Schools, that can help if it's a financial problem."
In 2023, the district reached out to 750 students. With that number being higher this year, school officials have been left concerned.
"Where did they go? Where did our students go," Coordinator for Attendance, Dropouts, and Leavers Prevention, Jennifer Noyola, questioned. "Our main goal is to always lower the number of dropouts from previous years. We're finding that they have moved out of state, they've moved out of Corpus Christi. We just want to know where they are and why they aren't coming to class."
Noyola said if they can't get in touch with the parent or guardian of a particular student, they will continue doing so in an effort to make sure every student has a chance at a successful education.
Next, the district volunteers will meet at Moody High School on September 21 to go to student's homes. They will speak with the students and their parents in an effort to encourage them to come back to school.
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