Northside ISD says messaging over bond election was ‘miscommunication’ that was quickly addressed
Northside ISD officials on Monday defended their actions after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott indicated the district would be under investigation amid allegations that staff felt pressured to vote in Saturday’s bond election.
Northside ISD under investigation after some staffers felt pressured to vote in bond election, governor says
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Northside ISD will be investigated by Education Commissioner Mike Morath and the Attorney General’s Office after leaked emails suggested that staffers were pressured to vote in Saturday’s bond election.
Taking class to the construction site: Tiny homes built by Northside ISD students up for sale
Some Northside ISD students are doing big things in small spaces. Construction Careers Academy, located on the Warren High School campus, is hosting a tiny homes showcase Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Northside ISD parents concerned about overcrowding after students pictured sitting on top of each other in bus
Parents of Northside ISD students are frustrated and concerned about their children’s safety after the lack of bus drivers led to overcrowding on a Harlan High School bus in which students were sitting on each other.
Northside ISD to ‘strongly encourage’ face masks ‘for now’ despite San Antonio’s mandate
The largest school district in the San Antonio area said Wednesday they will not be enforcing a mask mandate, “for now,” despite a county-wide requirement issued Tuesday that students and teachers wear masks in public schools.
San Antonio high school graduation walk goes viral after student shows off revealing dress under robe
First, a Southwest Legacy High School grad recently landed in hot water for displaying a Mexican flag at her commencement, and now a Clark High School student is getting grief over a graduation unveiling that went viral. The student, identified as Samuel Silverman Garcia in the clip, tosses confetti and blows kisses to the cheering crowd. As can be expected, the video — which has since racked up 40,000 Facebook views — subsequently shows school officials escorting the student offstage. “While we cannot discuss individual student discipline, administrative action was taken to address the disruption,” Northside spokesman Barry Perez told MySA. Meanwhile, Northside’s Perez told MySA the district is disciplining the student because it wants commencement ceremonies to “honor and celebrate” its grads’ achievements.
outinsa.comSchool education continues to suffer during dangerous wintry conditions
San Antonio – It’s been a tough week for families, as the winter weather has left many without power and water. Northside ISD parent Efrain Castillo said although power has been restored to many households, it’s still tough finding food. “We couldn’t get online this week,” Castillo said. A spokesperson for NISD said families can reach out to their child’s school or teachers for information regarding additional assistance. RELATED: These San Antonio-area schools, daycares, colleges announce changes, closures due to wintry weather
Northside ISD urges another week of virtual learning for students due to COVID-19 surge
SAN ANTONIO – Northside ISD Superintendent Brian Woods sent a letter to parents on Friday, asking them to consider waiting another week before sending students back to in-person learning due to the ongoing rise of COVID-19 cases in the area. “We had hoped to see an improvement in the city’s health metrics and allow students to return Feb. 1. “This applies to those who temporarily switched to virtual learning and those who had hoped to start in-person learning for the third grading cycle.”Woods said the district would determine the possibility of allowing additional in-person learners next week. The superintendent had previously urged parents to consider virtual learning for their kids through the end of January because of the surge in COVID-19 cases. Students who need a device to facilitate virtual learning will be able to get one from their child’s school.
COVID-19 testing site opens at Farris Athletic Complex
SAN ANTONIO – A drive-thru COVID-19 testing site opened Monday on the city’s North Side. Northside ISD’s Dub Farris Athletic Complex is now open for anyone with or without COVID-19 symptoms to get a free test. The testing site will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You are encouraged to schedule an appointment but appointments are not required. The site is located at Loop 1604 at Hausman Road. You can find a list of other testing sites here.
7 uplifting KSAT Kids stories from 2020
SAN ANTONIO – This was a year unlike any other. To read more about all the fun and exciting things that are going on in and out of the classroom, head to KSAT’s kid-friendly zone, KSAT Kids. A 7-year-old boy in San Antonio has spent his time in quarantine helping other children learn math by way of a YouTube channel. A new book is catching the attention of Selena fans, especially those in the San Antonio area. When asked if the findings has convinced her to follow her mom’s advice, Sohn said, “Yeah, unfortunately.”Do you know someone who would benefit from KSAT Kids?
Schools in San Antonio press forward with in-person learning amid new wave of COVID-19 cases
SAN ANTONIO – The three largest school districts in Bexar County will allow in-person learners to stay on campus as cases rise and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District puts the school risk level at “high.”Metro Health’s recommendations for high risk, which it posted online Monday, include not holding in-person instruction. Northside ISD and San Antonio ISD have both pumped the brakes somewhat on bringing more students back to campus. But both districts, along with Northeast ISD, say that students who are already on-campus will be able to stay there. San Antonio ISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez told staff in a letter on Monday that the district’s recorded positivity rate, based on its testing programs, is much lower - less than 1%. Chancellor also pointed to Metro Health data that shows just seven instances of cases transmitted in Bexar County schools this year.
Mother hopes sending son back to Northside ISD campus will improve his learning experience
SAN ANTONIO – A mother in San Antonio is weighing the COVID-19 risks of sending her son back to in-person learning at Northside ISD after struggling with online schooling. Last month, Northside ISD revealed that its failure rate was close to double compared to the previous year’s first grading period. Northside ISD parent Katrina Ashworth said her two children have been learning online this year due to COVID-19 concerns. For her 9-year-old son, learning at home has been a significant challenge. Northside ISD campus staff members monitor student engagement and performance and are setting up systems to support struggling students.
COVID-19 cases on the rise in Bexar County schools, data shows
Northside ISD reported 191 student and 161 staff cumulative cases in the state’s last report for the week ending on Nov. 15. Staff cases went from 17 new cases in the Nov. 1-8 report to 44 new staff cases from Nov. 8-15. The state failed to add the district’s data for Nov. 8, but the NEISD website shows 15 new student cases and 17 new staff cases. The district reported 183 student cases and 49 staff cumulative cases on Nov. 15. NEISD reported 15 new student cases and 17 new staff cases for this period.
NEISD & NISD won’t roll back in-classroom instruction in face of worsening pandemic
“Work to balance the need we have to ensure students and staff are kept safe with the need to address learning loss and instructional needs of individual students,” Perez said. Though unlike NISD, the district is continuing its outreach efforts to struggling virtual learners. The number of NEISD and NISD cases alone is 573 -- with more from NISD counting off-campus staff -- but the Metro Health data only shows 423 cases for all campuses so far. Asked about the discrepancy, a Metro Health spokeswoman said the data may just not have been reported to them yet. While neither NISD nor NEISD plan to force any of their in-person learners to return to virtual learning, both districts say parents may choose to make that switch.
Northside ISD bus involved in crash
SAN ANTONIO – A Northside ISD bus was involved a minor crash on Friday morning, according to school district officials. The crash was reported near Babcock and Hamilton Wolfe Friday morning around 9 a.m. The bus had one driver and one student on board, Northside ISD spokesperson Barry Perez said. The high school student was not injured and was taken to school. The driver was taken to a medical clinic as a precaution, but no life-threatening injuries were reported, Perez said.
Southside ISD facing substitute teacher shortage amid COVID-19 pandemic
SAN ANTONIO – Southside Independent School District is struggling to find substitute teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharon Fuery, executive director of human resources and administration at Southside ISD, said there are several reasons substitute teachers are not returning this year. Northside ISD, Northeast ISD and San Antonio ISD said the substitute teacher shortage is not impacting their districts. North East ISD said it is always in need of substitute teachers and advertises for them year-round. San Antonio ISD said it is aware of the nationwide substitute teachers shortages, but it is not impacting its district.
NEISD, NISD to allow more students to return to campus Monday
SAN ANTONIO – More students will be returning to the classroom Monday at North East ISD and Northside ISD campuses, school officials said Wednesday. Only students whose parents or guardians previously signed up for in-person learning for the second grading period will be allowed to return to the classroom. Parents can still keep their children in virtual learning, and they may change learning environments for them every four weeks. Once the new students are back on campus, they must wear masks, wash their hands and practice social distancing. Northside ISD also plans to accept new students Monday for in-person learning.
These are the San Antonio school districts that will close for Election Day
Multiple San Antonio school districts are making Election Day a holiday for students due to the anticipated influx of people on campus to vote. The districts include North East ISD, Northside ISD, East Central, Judson ISD and Harlandale ISD. North East ISD said it made the change in an effort to lower campus traffic and to keep students safe. This year, Northside ISD is hosting 67 polling sites and East Central ISD has 3. He said their Board of Trustees approved to switch Columbus Day to a school day in order to have Election Day as a holiday.
mysanantonio.com‘Helping people is the right thing to do': Northside ISD student sews over 1,000 face masks for San Antonians
SAN ANTONIO – A Northside ISD student is making a difference in San Antonio’s fight against the coronavirus, one stitch at a time. So his mother, Elizabeth Salinas, taught him how to sew face masks, according to NISD. His mother says, eventually, they began selling the face masks in mass quantities due to the high demand. To learn more about Mateo’s face masks, visit his Facebook page here. RELATED: Face masks have gone from basic necessities to fashion accessories
Five things you need to know before heading to high school football games
If you are feeling fine and plan on going to a game, here are five things you need to be aware of:1. Many school districts have gone to online ticketing as a way to keep track of the number of fans in the stands. Fans will be able to enjoy some of the staples of high school football games: nachos, popcorn, soft drinks. “People will be hearing announcements coming over like during timeouts and change of possession and things like that,” Parker said. To keep up with the latest on high school football, check out Big Game Coverage.
Northside ISD parents must decide between in-person or virtual learning by Wednesday
SAN ANTONIO – Northside Independent School District parents and guardians must notify the district through a survey by midnight on Wednesday whether their child will do in-person or virtual learning. The second quarter of school begins on Oct. 19, and the district says it’s prepared for more students. And we can provide it to them,” said Sandra Bonnett, executive director of elementary administration at Northside ISD. The district said more than 11,000 students are doing in-person learning. His daughter, who is in second grade, started in-person learning on Monday.
Nearly 4,500 COVID-19 cases reported in Texas public schools
of State Health Services and the Texas Education Agency released its first set of numbers Thursday for confirmed COVID-19 cases in public schools across the state. The total count of on-campus staff cases during the same period is 2,175 confirmed cases out of just over 800,000. Greg Abbott expands business capacity, keeps bars closedLast month, the TEA and state health department collaborated to create a new system to monitor and report confirmed cases across Texas. School systems started to report confirmed cases to state health officials this month. The San Antonio Metro Health Department initially required Bexar County school districts to report positive cases on the districts’ websites.
2 San Antonio school districts make list of top 50 employers in Texas
SAN ANTONIO – Forbes released its list for best companies to work for in 2020 and two San Antonio school districts made the top 50 list for Texas. According to the NISD page, 106,863 students are currently enrolled in one of the district’s 120 schools. Also formed in 1949, NEISD is the second-largest school district in San Antonio. “It is an honor to be recognized by Forbes and Statista, however, it is beyond an honor that our employees put NEISD on this prestigious list.” said NEISD Superintendent Sean Maika. MethodologySurveys and responses were collected from Oct. 2019 to May 2020 to determine which employers made the list.
Northside ISD learning portal crashes on students first day of school
SAN ANTONIO Students with San Antonios Northside Independent School District are having issues logging in on the first day of school. Officials with the district posted on Facebook around 8 a.m. saying the MyNISD portal is down and that a resolution is currently in the works. This does not appear to be a district network or bandwidth issue.Officials are asking for patience while vendors work to find a resolution. We are working with our vendor on a resolution. Posted by Northside ISD on Monday, August 24, 2020The student tech support hotline, (210) 397-0020, is currently giving a busy signal.
Custodian spreads kindness with signs, donations + positivity
SAN ANTONIO – Margarita Santellanes is an employee with a work ethic that many could learn from. “Margie,” is what she’s known by, and at her school she is a grandmother to everyone. She also has set-up motivational signs throughout the pandemic, making sure all the kids feel special when they drive by her school. “We got a lot of compliments from families when they saw all those signs Margie put up,” Siano said. “We need to make sure they are safe here.”
Health Careers HS staff may be isolating after employee claims to test positive for COVID-19, district says
SAN ANTONIO A Health Careers High School employee claims to have tested positive for COVID-19 and several staff members will likely be self-isolating for two weeks, according to Northside ISD. The school district said the employee was at the HCHS campus on Friday, along with other staff members that were working in their classrooms to close out the school year. The employee first notified their supervisor that an acquaintance of theirs had tested positive for COVID-19, and out of precaution, other staff members on campus were sent home, the district said. But, a face mask was later provided to that employee, and all other staff members on site were wearing them as well, the school district said. San Antonio-area school district leaders discuss future of classrooms, sports, budget constraints amid COVID-19 pandemic
San Antonios school districts extend campus closures two weeks, A&M S.A. out for semester
San Antonios school districts extend campus closures two weeks, A&M S.A. out for semesterJudson Superintendent Jeanette Ball talks with two elementary school children Aug. 20 on the first day of school. By mid-afternoon they were followed by the local military installation school districts: Randolph Field, Fort Sam Houston and Lackland ISDs. Also Tuesday, Texas A&M San Antonio announced it will not resume in-person classes this semester. Several charter school networks in San Antonio gave updates Tuesday about school closures. | Ashley McBride covers several school districts and the Alamo Colleges District in the San Antonio and Bexar County area.
mysanantonio.comSouth San ISD board meeting logs show more than 85 hours, $254K spent from January to July
The logs from January to July showed South San ISD spent more than 85 hours in a total of 19 meetings. Phil Gore, with Texas Association for School Boards, said an average school board meeting should last no more than three hours. Harlandale ISD is a Lone Star Governance member, but its time management and staff tracker data are not yet available. South San ISD Board President Connie Prado pins the blame on former Superintendent Flores. When the Board did submit questions ahead of a Board meeting, the responses either arrived the day of the meeting or were vague and inconclusive.