Alief Independent School District is working to enhance civic engagement and increase voter participation. Only 49% of eligible voters in the district participated in the 2024 general election, compared to 60% in Harris County and 63% in Houston overall. Language has been a significant barrier — 64% of residents speak a language other than English. Unreliable transportation and economic challenges have also been contributing factors.
Alief ISD's civic engagement initiative within its Family and Community Engagement program includes campus-based activities, student-led efforts and partnerships to reduce barriers and foster long-term community engagement with the electoral process.
Program evaluation
As a research partner, the Kinder Institute is evaluating the Alief ISD Civic Engagement Program’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to examine the program’s effectiveness and sustainability. In addition to data from Alief ISD, feedback is being collected through:
- Interviews with key stakeholders, including Alief ISD leadership, teachers, instructors, high school students and program participants; the semi-structured format ensures flexibility to explore emergent themes
- Surveys to assess program participants’ experiences, knowledge and attitudes and gain measurable indicators of program impact
- Program tracking to understand program reach, engagement levels and operational fidelity
