EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from North East & Northside ISDs
COMPILED BY EDMOND ORTIZ
QUOTEOFNOTE
North East ISDplans to redevelop tech programs
North East ISD will meet May 16 and 23, and June 6 and 13 at 5:30 p.m. 8961 Tesoro Drive, San Antonio 210-407-0000 • www.neisd.net Northside ISD will meet May 24 at 6 p.m. 5900 Evers Road, San Antonio 210-397-8500 • www.nisd.net MEETINGSWE COVER High School lm and photography students earned three awards at the sixth annual BexarFest Multimedia Festival held April 12 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Participating Johnson students included Ella Franklin, lm director/ videographer; Brandon Staten, chief editor; Emmanuel Castillo, actor/videographer; David Edgell, original music score/actor; Logan Stubble eld, coordinator/ videographer; JoseMaria Alanis, graphic design/storyboard artist; Brooke Campbell, communications manager; and Julia Mazzocco and Amelia Pretli, still photographers. “WE DON’TWANT TO HAVE KIDS PREPARED FOR PROGRAMS NOT OFFERED IN POST SECONDARY SETTINGS.” ESMERALDA MUÑOZ, NORTH EAST ISD LEARNING SUPPORT SERVICES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ON MERGING TWO EXISTING TECH BASED MAGNET PROGRAMS DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS NORTHEAST ISD The NEISD Council of PTAs on April 26 awarded a $5,000 Virgil T. Blossom Scholarship to seven seniors who plan to pursue a degree in education. Each of NEISD’s seven high schools was represented, including Reagan High School’s Camila Hernandez, Johnson High School’s Clara Rosita, Churchill High School’s Ashley Being and Gisselle Barmore of Legacy of Educational Excellence High School, NEISD o cials said. NORTHSIDE ISD The NISD board on April 26 approved the purchase of 65 full-size buses and 25 mini-buses from Longhorn Bus Sales with 2018 bond funds. District o cials said state law requires that buses with a model year of 2017 or newer must have seat belts unless the school board holds a public meeting and votes to indicate the addition of seat belts would create a nancial hardship. All new buses also have air conditioning, cameras and GPS systems. NORTHEAST ISD Johnson
NORTH EAST ISD The district plans to merge two existing tech- nology-based magnet programs into one program designed to lure more students interested in space and aerospace engineering careers. NEISD trustees unanimously voted April 11 to realign the Krueger School of Applied Technologies and the Engineering and Technologies Academy to create the Space and Engineering Technologies Academy magnet program. School district o cials said the new SETA magnet program could begin classes for sixth through 12th graders in the 2023-24 academic year. The SETA program, district o cials added, would blend much of the curricula featured in the KSAT and ETA programs. School board members said they accepted the program realignment recommendation from district sta , who cited low enrollment trends in both the ETA and KSAT programs as one reason to develop a new program to accommodate students’ evolving interests in space- and aerospace-re- lated professions. Esmeralda Muñoz, learning support services executive director, said the ETA program enrolled 305 students in the 2020-21 school year, a decrease from 325 students in 2018-19 and 323 in 2019-20. The KSAT pro- gram enrolled 365 students in 2020- 21, an increase from 345 students in
2018-19 and 362 in 2019-20. The new program, Muñoz said, could encourage higher enrollment and improve students’ career and technology education pathways. As a result, participating students will be better prepared to pursue current and future jobs in such elds as mechanical, aerospace and computer engineering as well as naval and wind sciences, she added. “We don’t want to have kids prepared for programs not o ered in post-secondary settings,” Muñoz said. NEISD surveyed current KSAT and ETA students and parents, and talked with faculty members as part of the creation of the SETA program, Muñoz said. Muñoz said the SETA program could also accommodate collaboration with NASA, including having instructional coaches teach students on campus and extending aerospace education training opportunities to teachers. NEISD Superintendent Sean Maika said Texas’ growing space and aero- space industries as well as recent sci- enti c investments made by billionaire business leaders, such as Elon Musk and Je Bezos, are raising awareness of related jobs among students. “We can o er lots of things that kids enjoy, but if that leads them to nowhere, is that what we want to put our support behind?” Maika said. “These are high-demand, high-pay- ing jobs.”
PROGRAMMERGER North East ISD’s Krueger School of Applied Technologies will merge with the Engineering and Technologies Academy to become the Space and Engineering Technologies Academy. Krueger School of Applied Technologies • Founded in 1998 • Based at Krueger Middle School • Rocketry program • Engineering and technology-based career and technical education courses • Real world/leadership skills
Number of students
345
2018-19
362
2019-20
365
2020-21
Engineering and Technologies Academy • Founded in 2003
• Based at Roosevelt High School • College-level engineering and related technologies curriculum and preparation • Science-Technology-Engineering- Math-focus
Number of students
325
2018-19
323
2019-20
305
2020-21
SOURCE: NORTH EAST ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Four NEISD studentswin business group’s scholarships NORTH EAST ISD Four NEISD students in April received all four scholarships o ered in the National Association of Women Business Owners San Antonio (NAWBO SA) business plan writing contest. NAWBO SA is a national professional organization for women business owners and supporters. Shayna Klein from Legacy of Educational Excellence High School won rst place and was awarded a $10,000 scholarship. Fatima Madero from Johnson High School placed second and received a $7,500 scholarship. Elizabeth Scott from Johnson High School won third place and was awarded a $5,000 scholarship. Jane Kamata from LEE High School placed fourth and received a $2,500 scholarship. NEISD o cials said all four students have worked
From left, North East ISD students Elizabeth Scott, Fatima Madero, Shayna Klein and Jane Kamata receive scholarships from the National Association of Women Business Owners-San Antonio.
COURTESY NORTH EAST ISD
toward this goal since September, including attending several conferences and being mentored by NAWBO SA members. The students were required to write a complete busi- ness plan and submit it by February, competing against students from across the city.
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NORTH SAN ANTONIO EDITION • MAY 2022
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