Anderson 03 highlights McKinney‑Vento needs, after‑school EHCY grant; Crescent High presenter cites strong course pass rates

District leaders told the fall federal programs meeting that 112 students in Anderson School District 3 currently meet the federal McKinney‑Vento definition of homelessness and that the population faces heightened barriers to attendance and graduation.

"We have 112 students that are categorized as homeless," Deputy Superintendent David Nixon said, and he summarized district identification and support systems for those students. He said the district's McKinney‑Vento students have higher rates of chronic absenteeism (he reported "48% of those students are chronically absent") and a lower graduation rate (reported as "68%" for that cohort).

Nixon described district training for staff to identify McKinney‑Vento students and a combination of federal funds, general‑fund resources and community donors that supply immediate needs (supplies, gift cards, transportation). He said a competitive EHCY grant funded a three‑year after‑school program serving Crescent High and Star/Iva Middle School and allowed the district to provide transportation for participating students.

A Crescent High representative reported strong academic outcomes tied to the after‑school program: "We had 100% of our McKinney Vento students successfully passed all of their courses both core and elective during the 24‑25 school year," the presenter said. That is a school‑level claim reported in the meeting; the district did not present supporting tables in the session, and officials said individual school teams would provide program data in their reports.

Not all sites reported identical results. Emily Wilson (SIMS) said SIMS used the same EHCY grant but experienced attendance challenges in the prior operating period and is revising outreach efforts (phone calls, letters, targeted invitations) to improve participation. "We want to make sure that um we make lots of phone calls, send letters home so that uh they know how much we want them to be here," Wilson said.

District staff said the program provides extra instructional time (an additional 1½ hours twice a week at Crescent was cited), tutoring with core content teachers, and transport to enable participation. Officials asked meeting participants to review posted McKinney‑Vento procedures and the donor list and to send suggestions via district contact information.

The meeting did not include a formal vote; district staff said grant awards and some allocations are pending final state approval.