By Elsa Maxey

"The only way we will turn around public education in Texas is for the business community to realize that their future is at stake." That is a recent statement from Bill Hammond, President and CEO of the Texas Association of Business about the dropout cost to communities shared by Lucia Street, Board President of ACHIEVE Fort Bend County. She finds it inspiring and says, “This is a prime motivator for ACHIEVE encouraging business leaders to support the upcoming mentoring conference.”

Towards this end, there will be a recovery walk followed by a mentoring conference in September, both aimed at helping students throughout Fort Bend County graduate from high school as a result of employing measures to help them stay in school and reach that goal. Here’s a shocking statistic ... one third of all students who enter high school don’t graduate, reports ACHIEVE Fort Bend County, and it wants to change that number by impacting the nationwide concern locally in the county.

Organizer of the two upcoming events, ACHIEVE Fort Bend County has set its county-wide, second annual Dropout Recovery Walk for Saturday, September 11. This will include Fort Bend ISD, Stafford MSD, Lamer CISD, and Needville MSD, each with its own Dropout Recovery Walk with specific locations and times to follow. The Dropout Recovery Walk literally and figuratively is about taking steps with the symbolic walk to help reduce the dropout rate. Street says that it shows students that the community supports them and wants them to be successful.

On Wednesday, September 29, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., ACHIEVE Fort Bend County-Wide Mentoring Conference will be held at the Stafford Centre on 10505 Cash Road. It will bring business and community leaders, education advocates, public safety leaders, and new and experienced mentors together in a forum for learning tips and strategies as ACHIEVE Fort Bend County launches a mentoring program specifically for the youth of Fort Bend County.

Street, who volunteers her time alongside the entire membership of the organization, invites the business community and other leaders to participate in what can make the difference in the life of a student in as little as one hour a week, she says. In particular, “We are really wanting businesses to recognize that helping our young people succeed in school works to their advantage as well. All businesses want an educated and skilled workforce,” and she adds that schools can greatly benefit from partnering relationships with the business community, which can help inspire a future workforce.

For more information, interested persons may visit www.achievefortbendcounty.org, or call 281-340-1991.

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