Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price to anchor panel discussion 

A leader in dropout prevention for Tarrant County for more than 26 years, Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County (CIS-GTC) will present a leadership panel to address the “turning point” of education at its annual fundraising luncheon. The Turning Point – Annual Luncheon for Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 19, at The Fort Worth Club. The panel will begin at 12:15 p.m., moderated by Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and featuring:

• Mayor Betsy Price – City of Fort Worth
• Brett Helmer – The R4 Foundation
• Dr. Lily Laux – Texas Education Agency

CIS-GTC students and their individual social workers (approximately 20 of each) will join each guest table to share their personal “turning points” during the luncheon. 

Tickets start at $50 per person and are available online at www.cistarrant.org/events. For sponsorships or more information, contact Rachel Peters at Rachel.Peters@cistarrant.org.

The club is at 306 West 7th St.

The school dropout rate continues to be one of the community’s top priorities. An estimated 9,000 students per year in Tarrant County leave school without high school diplomas.

“Research demonstrates that Communities In Schools offers a sizable return on investment to donors, students, businesses and taxpayers. Students who graduate benefit by earning more over their lifetime than those who drop out. Businesses benefit by having a more skilled and productive workforce. Community members benefit by increasing the local tax base, as well as a reduction in social costs such as crime, incarceration and unemployment,” stated Lindsey Garner, president and chief executive officer of Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County, in a press release. “Research also suggests that students whose parents dropped out of high school are far less likely to attain a higher level of education themselves, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty. Great schools with a high graduation rate remain the economic driver for the future of our community.” 

CIS-GTC currently serves 46 schools through 48 programs across eight independent school districts: Azle, Crowley, Everman, Fort Worth, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Keller, Lake Worth and Weatherford. For the 2016-17 school year, 41,108 students were served by CIS-GTC, with 5,061 students receiving 138,207 hours of intensive case management. Of those students: 

• 97% maintained or improved their grades
• 98% maintained or improved their behavior
• 93% maintained or improved attendance
• 95% were promoted to the next grade
• 95% of high school seniors graduated
• 99% stay-in-school rate