EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Eanes, Lake Travis & Leander ISDs
2023 EDUCATION EDITION
Eanes ISD parents concerned as class sizes increase EANES ISD Eanes ISD’s enrollment for the 2023-24 school year includes over 200 more students than expected in the entirety of the district. Elementary-level classes, including Spanish immersion programs, are experiencing an increase in class sizes. BY ELLE BENT Eanes ISD enrollment Though enrollment at Eanes ISD has decreased over the last ve school years, the district is still seeing more students than expected. 10,000
Eanes ISD board of trustees will meet Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at 601 Camp Craft Road, West Lake MEETINGS WE COVER trustees will meet Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. at 607 RM 620, Lakeway. www.ltisdschools.org Leander ISD board of trustees will meet Aug. 24 and Sept. 14 at 6:15 p.m. at 300 W. South Drive, Leander. www.leanderisd.org Hills. www.eanesisd.net Lake Travis ISD board of HIGHLIGHTS LAKE TRAVIS ISD Education Connection, a literacy volunteer program, is in need of more volunteers across all LTISD elementary schools. Each volunteer commits to read for 30 minutes with students selected by their classroom teacher every week. During the 2022- 23 school year, 126 volunteers read with 245 students in LTISD schools. EANES ISD The board of trustees approved a contract with American Constructors for campus library improvements and modernizations as part of the 2019 and 2023 bonds at a meeting Aug. 8. The project will cost $505,715.
Diving in deeper: Traditionally, the district’s teacher-to-stu- dent ratio is 1-22. All elementary campuses in EISD have some classrooms with more than the traditional 22 students with the exception of Cedar Creek Elementary School, district o cials said. According to the Texas Education Agency, a district must submit a request for a class size exception if a prekindergar- ten to fourth-grade class exceeds the 22-student limit and notify parents of this. At Eanes Elementary School, a fourth-grade Spanish immersion class will have 29 students instead of 22 this academic year, a class size increase of 30%. Parents expressed concerns about the class during a special meeting of the EISD board of trustees Aug. 8. “The data that I’m seeing here makes me concerned that we’re not setting up the Spanish immersion program for success, that we’re not setting up my children for success,” said Courtney Johnson, the parent of a fourth-grade Spanish
9,000
8,166
7,968
8,000
7,834
7,731 7,729
7,000
0 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24
SOURCE: EANES ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
immersion student at Eanes Elementary. Due to a lack of physical classroom space, the school is unable to lessen the number of students in that class. “There are no other grade level classrooms at Eanes that are in a portable, and while, yes, there are portables that are available, presently they are not in a suitable state for a classroom,” Superintendent Je Arnett said.
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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION
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