Education
BY PARKS KUGLE
NEISD bans electronic devices during classes To be in line with House Bill 1481’s prohi- bition of personal electronic devices during school day, North East ISD now requires all students to turn o and store their elec- tronic devices during class time beginning in the 2025-26 school year. The overview According to district documents, the Texas Education Agency, or TEA, sent additional instructions informing districts that they could de ne what a “school day” means. On Oct. 6, Superintendent Sean Maika said the district’s de nition of the “school day” as instructional class time follows the TEA’s guidelines, and students are allowed to use phones during nonclassroom time, such as passing periods and lunch. “[NEISD] set up some guidelines, but we rest on our leaders at our campuses… to come up with things that make sense for them,” Maika said.
North East ISD overall district rating results
Percentage of A-C campuses Percentage of D-F campuses
2022 23
2023 24
2024 25
22%
16%
12%
78%
84%
88%
SOURCE: NORTH EAST ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
During a regular Sept. 8 North East ISD meet- ing, the board of trustees received a breakdown of the district’s performance over the last seven years. In a nutshell Using data released from the Texas Educa- tion Agency, district sta laid out the district’s strengths and weaknesses, and how sta can make improvements moving forward. In the 2023-24 school year, NEISD received 108 distinctions, such as growth, science, social studies and post-secondary readiness. The school year saw 30 distinctions for elementary schools, seven for middle schools and ve for high schools. NEISD improved year over year and North East ISD discusses plans to build on district performance in 2025 26
saw 116 distinctions, including 31 for elementary schools, six for middle schools and six for high schools for the 2024-25 school year. Improvements in the 2024-25 school year include a 64% increase in “A” ratings from 2023- 24; over 60% of traditional campuses earned at least one distinction, including 10 campuses that earned ve or more distinctions; and an increase in potential college credit opportunities, BranDe Merriman, director of performance and planning said. Identi ed areas of opportunity include implementing curriculum support and improv- ing performance in math in grades 4-7. All K-12 teachers will participate in professional learning for e ective foundation math practices to improve instruction district-wide. Going forward The district will implement a series of strat- egies to improve scores, such as personalized learning, quality instruction, use of technology, a balanced assessment system and increasing collaboration between campuses and the district.
Policy requirements for school systems
Prohibit student use of personal communication devices during the school day The district’s policy must include disciplinary measures for violations Exceptions will be made for students if the device is necessary to comply with a legal the school system’s safety protocols
SOURCE: NORTH EAST ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Northside ISD reduces sta ng vacancies by 36.55% in 2025 26 school year In the last year, Northside ISD improved sta retention and reduced the number of open ele- mentary and secondary positions from 145 to 92 in 2024-25. as transportation and custodial workers. Current situation “Two years ago, we were sitting at about 170 [teacher] vacancies. Last
Muir said the district has been implementing a series of strategies to attract and retain sta mem- bers, including a relocation stipend for teachers. Additionally, Muir said classi ed/auxiliary positions are above 90% lled across most departments, with an estimated 60% ll rate for transportation positions and custodial positions.
year at this time [we had] 145 vacancies, so we’re trending
Ben Muir, the assistant superintendent for Human Resources, gave a presentation on current sta ng during a regular board of trustees meeting Sept. 23. The presentation included elementary and secondary positions, special education retention and auxiliary positions, such
in the right direction.” BEN MUIR, NISD ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR HUMAN RESOURCES
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NORTH SAN ANTONIO EDITION
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