Martin Cruz beamed as he dropped his son Issac off Tuesday for his first day of kindergarten at M. L. King Academy, joining thousands of students starting the San Antonio Independent School District school year.
“He has been excited since yesterday,” Cruz said. “His mom made jokes about crying, and he calmed her down saying, ‘No worries, Mama, it’ll be OK.'”
Teachers and administrators bustled in and out of classrooms, helping parents and new students find their way. Some parents were still registering their children, while others dropped them off early for breakfast.
Making both parents and students feel welcome is the main focus for M. L. King Principal Miriam Aguilar, who is starting her second year at the school and her 23rd year in education, because they “are a little bit nervous about being here,” she said.
But looming over the first-day jitters and excitement is the discussion about impending school closures announced in June by SAISD officials seeking to shore up the district’s finances by shuttering underutilized school facilities. The process enters its next phase later this week with the start of 14 community forums discussing how the district will identify which schools to close.
The district, which has about 47,000 students enrolled, will present an initial version of the school closure list to the board in just over a month. District officials told the San Antonio Report that schools haven’t yet been identified for closure and enrollment is just one factor that will be considered.
But some parents, including Cruz, are just hearing about the closures for the first time.
‘Uncomfortable conversations’
For Cruz’s family, King Academy was an obvious choice, given its location — just five minutes away from his home — and how welcoming the staff has been. He didn’t consider any nearby charter schools, which have infringed on the school’s attendance in recent years, whittling it down to only 34% of its overall capacity.
With the Eastside school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, Cruz said he isn’t sure what would happen if the school were to land on the closure list.
“If this school could close down, we have to look for another one that could also close down,” he said. “But we’ll see how it goes.”
Another parent hurrying to work said she also didn’t know about the closure discussion.
“I think there will be some uncomfortable conversations probably with some parents,” Aguilar said. “But you know, we want to put the parents’ minds at ease and just reinforce that this is for the kids, so they can get the best resources, equitable resources, and to be fair across every campus in the district.”
An energetic start
SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino started the day on a bus full of students before making the rounds at several schools, visiting classrooms and greeting teachers and students.
“I’m just so excited to welcome the kids,” said Aquino, who is starting his second school year with SAISD. “The little ones are so excited. Some [others] are coming to middle school for the first time and are a little nervous and anxious, but I am in awe about the dreams and aspirations of everybody in our school community.”
At Dorie Miller Elementary, another Eastside school, Aquino took selfies with administrators after bounding from classroom to classroom.
He, too, said parents had yet to ask any questions about future closures as the school year gets underway, but given that the discussion started during summer break, he isn’t surprised.
“Schools were closed,” he said. “We have 14 community meetings beginning on Thursday and Friday …. and we have asked all the principals to … get people into our community meetings so they can learn more.”
The first community meeting will be Thursday at 6 p.m. at Highlands High School.
Navigating the process
The discussion is a bit of déjà vu for Laura Hernandez-Lopez, an SAISD alumna and the new principal at Miller who spent the last two decades as an educator in South San Antonio ISD. Last school year, the board of trustees clashed over the possibility of closing four campuses.
That district held community meetings between tense board meetings where district officials described the situation to parents and gathered feedback. Like in SAISD, the schools had declined in enrollment for years. The board eventually closed three schools.
Hernandez-Lopez said the process in South San has informed what conversations could look like at the campus level.
“I’ve dealt with it in the past, so I think that helps with transitioning and also helps me share with my staff,” she said. “I’ve told them we’re going to keep the main focus [on the] kids. And what’s nice is the way the district … has a timeline.”
Returning to SAISD has been like “coming home,” Hernandez-Lopez said, with the excitement being centered on the new year.
“Let’s focus on this year and then next year will be another year,” she said. “But at the end, it’s still about the kids.”
