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MacArthur High School reports improved graduation and attendance efforts; principal details home‑visit campaign
Summary
Principal Cordell Ingram told the board MacArthur's AP performance and freshman on‑track rates improved, and outlined steps (home visits, improved attendance documentation, incentives) that have raised the in‑year attendance to roughly 94–95% and brought down chronic truancy.
Principal Cordell Ingram presented highlights from MacArthur High School, reporting gains in AP scores (students scoring 3+ on AP tests increased) and a freshmen on‑track rate that is the highest in decades. He said the 4‑ and 5‑year graduation rate for the 2025 class is about 81.1%, up roughly 3 percentage points from the prior year.
Ingram described an attendance strategy targeted at chronic truancy. For students with 9+ unexcused absences (identified as chronic truants), the school conducted home visits over the summer; for those with extremely high absence counts (28+ days), administrators met families in person to develop plans. The school also tightened attendance documentation, requiring secretaries to verify and report daily attendance checks, and launched incentives (including an upcoming ice‑cream social) for students showing improvement. Ingram said the school's current attendance is about 94–95% and his goal is to reduce chronic truancy below 30%.
Board members asked about a disturbance at a recent football game. Ingram said the disturbance was caused by adults (ages about 19–23), lasted roughly 45 seconds, and security and police contained the incident; the game continued with concessions closed to limit movement and the school plans a special recognition for band students disrupted by the event.
Next steps: MacArthur will continue home visits and attendance documentation measures, monitor the attendance trend, and report back to the board on progress.
