Editorial: Valley students and parents should remember importance of completing their education

The Rio Grande Valley made great strides in recent years to address historically low educational achievement levels. It took a lot of work from a lot of people. Community leaders touted the benefits of staying in school. Texas’ two largest state-funded universities expanded or established their presence in this traditionally underserved region. Our community colleges likewise have added programs and facilities, and state legislators and other officials have enabled those colleges to offer baccalaureate programs. All those institutions forged alliances with area school districts that enable students to earn college credits while still in high school, giving them a head start — and greater incentive — toward pursuing a degree.

Valley students and parents listened. More students completed high school and went on to college. Achievement scores, historically lower than Texas and national averages, rose dramatically, even outperforming the rest of the state at many Valley schools.

Then COVID-19 hit, and many businesses and schools closed their doors.

The pandemic is generally over, although cases of the viral infection continue to appear at lower levels. But in many ways the world still hasn’t returned to normal.

That truth is evident at many of our schools as the fall semester begins.

Schools report lower-than-expected enrollment, and many of the students who have returned still show the effects of lost classroom instruction during the school closures. Remote, online classes were made available to most students, but many struggled without the personal interaction and assistance provided on campus.

The problem isn’t unique to the Valley; schools across the country report many students never returned to school, and many of those who did are chronically absent, in some cases missing so many days that they are forced to repeat grades due to state attendance mandates or low scholastic performance.

Such backsliding doesn’t just affect the absent students and their families when deficient education limits their ability to get jobs or advance in the jobs they have. Society as a whole suffers from a lack of educated workers and better informed residents.

Educators are addressing the problem as best they can. In the Valley, the Region One Education Service Center is working with local schools to establish dropout recovery programs to help people complete their secondary education. Several schools and districts on their own have established or are expanding alternative programs and GED equivalency certification programs.

Of course, those programs only work if dropped out or chronically absent students use them.

Many students didn’t return because they believe they fell too far behind and won’t be able to catch up. Others found jobs during the pandemic — in some cases replacing income lost when other family members were furloughed during the pandemic.

We trust that previous performance levels taught area residents that the long-term benefits normally exceed short-term gains from leaving school to take low-income jobs, and that students and their families avail themselves of educators’ efforts to get students back on track toward pre-pandemic academic gains.

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