Cooke/Fannin/Grayson County Juvenile Post Ajud Facility

Cooke/Fannin/Grayson County Juvenile Post Adjud Facility in Denison, TX, is a specialized alternative school serving 62 students in grades 7 through 11, operating under the Sherman Independent School District (Isd).

This school is unique because it serves students who have been through the court system, which directly impacts its performance metrics. The most critical issue is a very high dropout rate of 14.4% (2023-2024), which is nearly six times higher than the district average of 2.4%. The graduation rate is also volatile, dropping from 71.4% to 50.0% in just one year. However, the school shows a surprising "two-speed" pattern: it outperforms the district in advanced reading and history, with 71.43% of students passing English II Reading compared to the district's 52.75%, and 75% passing U.S. History versus the district's 62.38%. This suggests that students who remain enrolled receive highly effective instruction in these subjects. In stark contrast, math performance is critically low, with 0% proficiency in 8th Grade Mathematics and Algebra I for multiple consecutive years.

The school has a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 7.7:1 and spends over $14,000 per student, indicating high resource allocation. Yet, the outcomes—especially the rising dropout rate and catastrophic math scores—suggest these resources may not be effectively addressing core academic needs, particularly in mathematics. The high spending is likely consumed by the security and counseling needs of the facility rather than academic instruction. For parents, the key takeaway is that while the school can achieve remarkable success in literacy and history for its most stable students, it is failing its core mission of retaining students and teaching foundational math skills, making the rising dropout rate the most urgent concern.