Education
BY THOMAS LEFFLER
$12M veteran student support center opens Officials at Northeast Lakeview College celebrated its veteran population with the opening of a new support facility, the Nighthawk Legacy Center, on Nov. 11. The details The 11,000-square-foot center, located at 1201 Kitty Hawk Road in Universal City, operates as a standalone facility dedicated to serving veteran and military-connected students. The Nighthawk Legacy Center is a direct response to the growth in the college’s veteran student population. Approximately 11% of students enrolled at the college used veteran benefits in the 2024-25 school year, Northeast Lakeview President Dr. Veronica Garcia said in a news release. The support center offers military educa- tion benefit information and assists with the transition from military life to civilian life. The Nighthawk Legacy Center was funded through state appropriations provided to the Alamo Colleges District for the 2022-23 biennium, the release states.
JISD submits 5 campus improvement plans Five schools in Judson ISD will now be on targeted improvement plans based on Texas Education Agency criteria. What you need to know During a Nov. 20 JISD board of trustees meeting, administrative staff said they were submitting improvement plans for Escondido, Converse and Paschall Elementary Schools, Kirby STEM and Jud- son High School. According to the administration’s presentation, targeted improvement plans are assigned to campuses with either one F or three consecutive D TEA ratings, or an identification for comprehensive support and improvement. The plans consider needs assessments and feedback to develop a strategy and action steps, according to the presentation. Implementation for each campus is scheduled through August 2026. Targeted improvement plan strategies are based on the five levers of the TEA’s effective school framework: strong school leadership and plan- ning, strategic staffing, positive school culture, high-quality instructional materials and assess- ments and effective instruction. Part of the strategy is “capacity building,” wherein campuses under improvement plans receive more touchpoint meetings with admin- istrators and receive additional support from Education Service Center Region 20, or ESC 20. ESC 20 is one of 20 regional education service agencies within Texas that aid school districts in improving student performance and school operation efficiency, according to its website.
Judson schools on targeted improvement plans
Elementary schools 1 Paschall
Other 4 Kirby STEM 5 Judson High
2 Escondido 3 Converse
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410
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1604
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10
1516
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Superintendent Milton “Rob” Fields III said TEA and ESC 20 representatives have been doing campus walkthroughs, with ESC 20 wanting to open Judson campuses for other districts as an improvement plan example. Fields also said campus staff have been focusing on internalization, thinking critically about lesson plans and anticipating what students’ questions will be. The plans were submitted to the TEA before the Nov. 21 deadline, and the district will receive noti- fication of the TEA’s acceptance by Jan. 23. If the TEA does not accept the initial plan proposal, the district would need to resubmit a plan by March 24, with final acceptance or rejection made by the TEA by April 8, according to the presentation.
Nighthawk Legacy Center
LAKEVIEW PKWY.
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Judson ISD puts 2022 bond project on hold after tax rate proposition failure
The project looks to add a 2,600-square-foot NOC and a 2,400-square-foot warehouse to the JISD Technology building. Digging deeper The election would have given the district $21 million in revenue to cut down a $27.57 million budget deficit. The district is required to complete approved bond projects. However, projects will only be complete if they are outside of classrooms, because the district is considering consolidating schools again following the results of the tax rate election, Brooks said.
Judson ISD has paused one of its 2022 bond projects pending future financial actions. During a Nov. 20 school board meeting, Daniel Brooks, district assistant superintendent of oper- ations, told the board the JTECH Network Opera- tions Center, or NOC, project will be put on hold due to potential actions the district will need to take after the JISD voter approval tax rate election, or VATRE, did not pass in the Nov. 4 election. “We do still need a NOC, but we’ll have to relo- cate that [to] some other location in the district,” Brooks said.
2022 bond election
$345.3M is the cost of the district’s 2022 bond.
60% of voters approved Proposition A, which helped fund safety and security improvements across the district. 58% of voters approved Proposition B, which helped fund new school facilities and transportation projects.
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NORTHEAST SAN ANTONIO METROCOM EDITION
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