Beaumont Independent School District Superintendent Sandi Massey brought teachers, parents, administrators and community members together Tuesday night for a conversation focused on one of the district’s most pressing challenges: student attendance.
The Sept. 15 Community Action Series meeting at the Elegante Ballroom focused on student attendance, the reasons students miss school and how the community can help remove barriers.
Tables of approximately eight people, made up of BISD administrators, teachers, parents and community members, discussed questions posed by Massey and selected spokespersons to share their responses. Participants also wrote suggestions on Post-it notes for Massey and her team to review.
There was no traditional question-and-answer session between the audience and superintendent.
Attendance and funding
Massey said BISD lost approximately $8 million in funding last school year because of student attendance.
She reported that student attendance during the 2025-26 school year was 89.7%, while teacher attendance was 89.61%. By comparison, Massey said Houston ISD's teacher attendance rate was 96.98%.
“It’s not going to go up from here unless something significantly changes,” Massey said.
The district's current student attendance rate is 93.5%, according to figures Massey presented. Beaumont United High School had a 91.15% attendance rate and 2,597 absences recorded this school year, she said.
Districtwide, there have been 17,221 student absences since Aug. 12, with more than 1,000 absences occurring on some of the district's worst days. BISD had 14,575 students enrolled as of Sept. 15, according to Massey.
She also discussed truancy, saying four absences can prompt truancy proceedings and 10 absences within six months can result in action in truancy court.
“It might look good to see all the 90s right now, but we have a large number of families that have already hit truancy and it’s only September,” Massey said.
For older students, attendance is taken during each class rather than once for the entire school day. Students who are not present when attendance is taken can be marked absent, Massey explained.
Why students miss school
Massey said 65% of BISD students live in poverty and 20% live in homes where a primary language other than English is spoken.
Participants identified numerous potential barriers to attendance, including illness, transportation, childcare, social and emotional issues, poor time management, lack of clean clothing and basic needs. They also discussed students not wanting to attend school and parents allowing children to stay home.
A BISD student attending the meeting questioned the value of attending school when teachers or instruction may not be available.
“What would I be missing if I didn’t go – there’s no teacher to teach, no curriculum to learn, so I’m not missing anything,” West Brook High School student Serenah Coleman said.
Massey responded that she had heard similar comments before and acknowledged the district has work to do.
Teacher attendance was also part of the discussion. Massey said teacher absences affect students and that BISD currently has 22 vacant teaching positions.
Community involvement
Massey pointed to MLK Collegiate Academy, which she said has a 98% attendance rate despite students coming from similar neighborhoods and facing many of the same socioeconomic circumstances as students elsewhere in the district.
“What is different?” she asked, urging participants to consider the student experience beyond geography.
Massey proposed “parent partner teams” in which small groups of parents could help one another with needs such as transportation, snacks and emergencies.
She also called on churches, businesses and community organizations to become more involved.
“When you think about the church population…it was meant to be a community of support,” Massey said, adding that children should not be blamed for circumstances into which they were born.
“The child deserves support. The child deserves a chance,” she said.
Massey said addressing attendance is about more than academics.
“This is more than just an academic intervention. We are trying to change the whole trajectory of the city,” she said.
Near the end of the meeting, Massey made an emotional appeal for cooperation between the district and community.
“It’s about all of us somehow putting away our differences and saying, ‘I’m in it for these kids and I care enough that I don’t care if I don’t like Ms. Massey, I care about the kids, the kids of Beaumont matter to me more than anything else. She’s gonna leave, but my kids are still gonna be here.’”
Massey pleaded, “So, don’t fight the whole time I’m here, let’s just move forward. We can do this together, but apart, we will not be able to do it and I don’t want to spend my days fighting against you – I want to work with you.”
The next Community Action Series meeting is scheduled for Nov. 10. Massey said the district will introduce Elevate Academy, an option for students who need a different type of learning environment. Preregistration will be required.
Massey presents community action series