Dear SAISD Family Member,
This week has been designated as National School Counseling week, and this year’s theme is “Better Together.”
This is an especially appropriate title given the unprecedented issues our extraordinary counselors face in supporting our students, staff, families, and community while providing them with a future of hope, promise, and endless possibilities.
Our 147 amazing SAISD school counselors led by Victoria Bustos work hard to support the academic, career, personal, and social abilities of all students from early childhood education through graduation and beyond.
To date our counselors have been connecting with our students and families and providing outstanding service in the following areas: Academic Planning – 16,076 students served; Career Planning – 7,297 students served; Individual Planning – 6,824 students served; Personal/Social Development – 8,815 students served; and in the area of Parent/Guardian Consultation – 9,717 students have been served.
We also would like to acknowledge that our high school counselors, in collaboration with our college bound advisors, already have secured $77,547,102 in scholarship offers for the graduating class of 2022.
As you can see, our counselors are an exceptional group of individuals who have a tremendous impact on the lives of our students and their families. We may never remember what someone says or does, but we will never forget how they make us feel.
Please join me in extending our sincere appreciation to all of our amazing counselors for challenging our students to learn more, to do more, to dream more, and most importantly to become more. They truly make everyone feel special!
On another note, on Thursday, Jan. 20; Thursday, Feb. 3; and Friday, Feb. 4, SAISD, along with all of the other Bexar County school districts, closed our schools and district facilities due to inclement weather.
There are several factors that go into the decision of whether to hold school at the regular start time, delay the start time, or cancel school completely. We hold conversations with our Bexar County superintendents, the National Weather Service, and the San Antonio Office of Emergency Management, to determine what is the safest plan for our students, staff, and families.
Please be assured, when inclement weather and icy conditions are predicted, your well-being and the safety of you and your family members are major factors in whether we keep our schools and buildings open.
At the Feb. 15 Board meeting, we are recommending to our Board of Trustees that these days not be made up. We are proposing that all permanent, full-time employees and any other regularly established positions be compensated for these days. Additionally, we are requesting that specified essential employees who are non-exempt and were required to report to work during the emergency closure(s) be compensated for their time. We are extremely appreciative to these employees, as they ensured meal services for our families, provided the necessary security for our properties, and made certain our facilities would be up and running for the return of our students and staff.
In SAISD, we are genuinely thankful for your service as a change agent and difference maker in the lives of our students. We realize that choice, not chance, determines our destiny, and we thank you for choosing to believe in us. We look forward to working together as we face the challenges that lie ahead, and we will never lose sight of the fact that we are always “Better Together.”
Have a Fantastic Friday and a Wonderful Weekend.
We truly appreciate you!
Sincerely,
"Dr. J"
Robert Jaklich, Ed. D.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
~Mahatma Gandhi