EMBARGOED until Friday, Nov. 10, 3 p.m.

DRAFT

November 10, 2023

Dear SAISD Familia,

We deeply appreciate everyone who gave input into the initial recommendation to our rightsizing study.
We recognize the range of emotions that surround this work, and we want to respect your contributions by
sharing the final recommendation, with changes, that we intend to give to the board on the evening of
Monday, Nov. 13.

You can watch the video presentation, (link to video) read the bullet points below, or review additional
details online on Monday. The board will deliberate and vote on this final recommendation at its regularly
scheduled meeting Monday night at 5:30 p.m.

As an overview, the final recommendation includes two withdrawn proposals; two withdrawn and modified
proposals; seven modified proposals, and 14 sustained proposals. Thirty-three schools are proposed to
receive additional students and staff, although students always have the ability to choice-in or transfer to
schools of their preference.

As you read through these changes to the final recommendation, we hope you feel that your voices were
heard and considered.

Rightsizing Decision Summaries

Withdraw

Collins Garden – Remains Open

Collins Garden Elementary remains open and continues to serve as a neighborhood school.

Pershing – Remains Open

Pershing Elementary remains open and continues to serve as a neighborhood school.

Withdraw and Modify

Ogden/Rodriguez Montessori – Ogden Remains Open and Rodriguez Co-locates

Ogden Elementary remains open and receives Rodriguez Montessori Elementary as a co-located school
at the Ogden campus. Rodriguez continues to offer the dual-language program.

Riverside Park/Green/Bonham – Riverside Park Remains Open, Green Closes and Bonham Expands
Riverside Park Elementary remains open. Green Elementary closes, and its location becomes the
expansion site for Bonham Academy. Green students attend Riverside Park and are given priority
enrollment if they wish to attend Bonham at Green (PK-2) or Bonham (3-8).

Modify

Baskin – Delayed Closure

Baskin Elementary has a delayed closure until the new wing is completed at Maverick Elementary.

Carroll/Miller/Gates/M.L. King – Carroll Delayed Closure, Gates Closes, Miller Closes, M. L. King Moves
Carroll Early Childhood Education Center delays closure until the new M.L. King Academy is completed.
Gates Elementary closes in 2024-25, and its location temporarily becomes M.L. King Academy until the
new MLK facility is renovated. Miller Elementary closes, and all students within the neighborhood attend
Smith. Dual-language students living within the Gates, MLK, and Hirsch attendance areas attend MLK at
Gates, which will offer a dual-language program.
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Foster/Schenck – Foster Closes and Schenck Moves

Foster Elementary closes in 2024-25, and its location temporarily becomes Schenck Elementary until the
new Schenck facility is renovated. Foster Elementary students in the Ball and Highland Hills elementary
attendance areas return to their home schools in 2024-25.

Highland Park – Closes and Repurposed

Highland Park Elementary closes in 2024-25, and students attend Japhet and Highland Hills.

Steele Montessori – Moves

Steele Montessori moves to a new location, and this new location is determined at a later time after
community input.

Sustained

Early Childhood Centers: Knox, Nelson, Tynan – Close and Repurposed

Close all early childhood centers to return early childhood programs back to their home campuses.

Gonzales/Twain – Gonzales Closes and Twain Expands

Close Gonzales Early Childhood Center to return early childhood programs back to their home
campuses. Twain will expand into the vacated Gonzales building to accommodate their extensive waitlist.
Gonzales students who want to attend Twain are given priority enrollment.

Beacon Hill/Cotton Academy – Beacon Hill Closes and Merges with Cotton Academy
Merge Beacon Hill and Cotton academies with PK-2 students at Beacon Hill and 3-8 at Cotton Academy.

Douglass – Closes and Repurposed

Close Douglass Elementary, and students attend Herff Elementary.

Forbes – Closes and Repurposed

Close Forbes Elementary, and students attend Ball and Highland Hills elementaries.

Huppertz – Closes and Repurposed

Close Huppertz Elementary, and students will attend Woodlawn Hills Elementary and Fenwick Academy.

Japhet – Redesigned
Redesign Japhet Academy as a PK-5 elementary. Students in grades 6-8 will attend Hot Wells Middle
School.

Lowell/Kelly – Lowell Closes and Merges with Kelly

Merge Lowell Middle School with Kelly Elementary and redesign the Lowell facility as a unified PK-8
academy, initially with PK-2 at Kelly and 3-8 at Lowell. Following renovation of Lowell, PK-8 will reside at
Kelly Academy at Lowell.

Lamar – Closes and Repurposed

Close Lamar Elementary, and students will attend Hawthorne Academy.

Storm – Closes and Repurposed

Close Storm Elementary, and students will attend Sarah King and Barkley-Ruiz elementaries.

Washington – Redesigned
Redesign Washington Elementary as PK-5, and 6th grade students will attend Davis Middle School.

CAST Med – Co-located

Co-locate a new CAST-affiliated school at CAST Med High School.
EMBARGOED until Friday, Nov. 10, 3 p.m.

We are at a pivotal point in the history of SAISD, and these recommendations were not made lightly.
These shifts in our educational journey are not just about closing doors but opening new ones. The
rightsizing study was driven by our long-term vision of enhancing the educational experience for all
students. Your participation was significant and critical to this process.

Again, this is the staff recommendation to the Board of Trustees, and no action has been taken at this
time. The board will vote on the final recommendation as a full package on Nov. 13. This means, in one
vote, the board will consider all of the recommendations or none of the recommendations.

We encourage you to attend the board meeting in person or view the meeting online. We will continue to
keep you updated on any board action related to this recommendation.

In service,
Jaime Aquino, Ph.D.
Superintendent