SAISD reaching out to families, students by school bus

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Independent School District is one of the first districts in the city to start off the new school year earlier.

Classes start on Monday.

On Wednesday, the teachers and staff from M.L. King Academy spent the afternoon reaching out to their students by making several stops around the neighborhood in a school bus.

They handed out bags with school supplies, school calendars and information on how to get assistance with school uniforms, more school supplies and free haircuts.

"We're excited that they're excited and we want to be able to help them," said Natasha Pinnix, principal at M. L. King Academy. "Resources are limited, and we understand, especially when you have a family of multiple children. Being able to serve is exciting."

McKayla Bell is getting ready to start the fourth grade at M. L. King Academy, and she said she is excited about the new school year. She was one of dozens of students who greeted the staff and teachers as they handed out supplies.

"I've never seen anything like this with the teachers coming (on the bus)," said Robert Bell, McKayla's father. "It's awesome. (They're) passing out the bags, giving back to us. It's nice."

Parents also got some help completing registration for the new school year. It's one last effort by SAISD to get students enrolled before school starts.

"Our enrollment has been impacted by the external charters in the area, so this is an outreach activity that we decided to do to kind of just bring everything to the families," Pinnix said.

Teachers and staff members at M.L. King Academy made six stops Wednesday and handed out supplies to more than 60 families.


About the Author:

Stephanie Serna is a weekday anchor on Good Morning San Antonio and GMSA at 9 a.m. She joined the KSAT 12 News team in November 2009 as a general assignments reporter.