On a muggy Friday morning, residents of the Lonesome Dove housing development on the South Side of San Antonio were greeted with booming music, free Girl Scout cookies and invitations to register their children to attend the fast-growing Southside Independent School District as part of a block-walking information campaign.
Energetic music streaming from loudspeakers on a truck was punctuated by district staff introducing the cadre of volunteers stopping by with information and sustenance.
Leading the pack was Superintendent Rolando Ramirez, who bounded up to house after house in jeans and a district polo, talking to parents through video doorbells and in their driveways, encouraging them to register for classes and answering questions.
While districts across the region are grappling with precipitous enrollment declines, Southside — which currently has 5,900 students — is trending in the opposite direction, adding 450 students this year and expecting even more as developments like Lonesome Dove pop up. But they aren’t taking any chances.
“We want Southside to be the option for them to attend,” Ramirez said. “Yes, you do have the neighboring school districts that have open enrollment. You have charter schools. Last year, we had an increase of students, [and] we want to make sure that trend continues.”
The homegrown approach to informing residents about Southside ISD comes after several trustees at area school boards noted during recent meetings that public charter schools and private schools have large budgets for creative advertising and targeted recruiting.
Ciara Bertrand was tending to her child in the back seat of a car in her driveway when Ramirez surprised her with three boxes of Tagalong cookies and a flier with information.
“We want you to have them come to Southside,” he said after learning about her family, who just moved from the Northside Independent School District area.
Ramirez said outreach like this is becoming a tradition for the district, which has done several block-walking campaigns in recent years.
“We’re knocking on doors, introducing ourselves. If they have children in the district, then we’re asking them if there’s any issues that we can address. … If they don’t have children in the district, … we’re asking them to register at our school,” he said.
Bertrand was happy with the visit.
“I think it is wonderful that you guys took your time to come out and say, ‘hey,'” she said. “We’re new to the neighborhood, so we didn’t know anything.”
Joining Friday’s effort was Randy Escamilla, Southside’s director of public relations and community engagement, who told parents about the academic turnaround in the district, from one of the lowest in San Antonio to one of the top five in the most recent accountability rankings.
Among the volunteers handing out yard signs, cookies and fliers were Alicea Campos, a school counselor at Heritage Elementary School and Melinda Perez, an attendance clerk at the same school.
Campos said connecting with the community is important for developing relationships with parents.
“I think it is important to let them know we care, that we’re here, we want to listen to them,” she said. “Another part of it is if they need any assistance, letting them know that we can offer it to them.”
Amanda Ochoa and Esmeralda Lopez, paraprofessionals at another elementary school, said they were recruited by their principals to participate in the event. Both graduated from Southside schools and said they wanted parents to know about the quality of the district.
As volunteers got back on the bus, the speaker truck pulled out giving a final message as they drove past houses on the outskirts of the neighborhood, still under construction.
“We welcome you and we encourage you to join our Cardinal nation,” a voice boomed from a speaker. “Registration is ongoing right now for all children pre-K through 12th grade.”
