Dear SAISD Staff:
 
Welcome to the 2019-20 school year! Today is an exciting morning across the District – it is the first day of school at almost all of our campuses. 
 
We know it takes teamwork to ensure the school year is off to a great start. As is tradition in our District, Central Office staff will be supporting campuses, lending a hand and being available to help resolve any issues that may arise on the first day. More than 200 staff members will continue to check-in and support campuses throughout the first month of school so that our campuses can focus on the needs of our students.
 
Scores of students are returning from summer break energized after attending SAISD summer camps. Almost 10,000 students took advantage of these enrichment activities that kept their learning going over the break.
 
And many of our teachers did the same! Educators attended SAISD’s summer conferences, with more than 1,500 seats at Ready Tech Go, over 3,000 seats at the SEAD (Social, Emotional and Academic Development) conference, and more than 1,000 seats at the SEADling conference for our early childhood educators. We also welcomed returning and new principals during a Leadership Summit last month.
 
Last week, we cut the ribbon on a new Transportation Services Center, which allows our entire bus fleet to operate from one location. And today, we launched two new schools – CAST Med High School and Young Women’s Leadership Academy: Primary – as well as our first P-TECH program – Cyber P-TECH at Sam Houston High School. 
 
In addition, we learned that Burbank High School received its second International Baccalaureate designation, authorizing the campus to offer the Middle Years Programme for freshmen and sophomores. As our first IB World School, Burbank already has been providing the Diploma Programme for its juniors and seniors for more than 20 years.
 
Great accomplishments continue to be achieved in our District. It’s an exciting time!
 
As I mentioned during Convocation, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath will visit Schenck Elementary School on Thursday – the morning that the Texas Education Agency announces its ratings for schools and school districts across the state. It is quite an honor for the commissioner to choose our District for his first stop of the day. 
 
Later, we will hold a press conference to share the news of our being rated a “B” and the steps we will take to continue our progress.
 
Looking ahead to our next Board meeting on Monday, Aug. 19, the District will give a presentation on our 2018-19 accountability results. In addition, we will be recognizing a number of campuses for their academic achievements this past year. 
 
Our Board also will be considering the matter of discontinuing continuing contracts for future teachers with the District. Information was provided to principals to share with our current teachers last week to make sure they were aware and understood that the possible change would not affect them. I want to thank teachers for sharing their questions during these meetings. The questions have been collected and will be provided to the Board to be answered.
 
It is important to know, no teacher currently employed would be affected, including probationary teachers. While it has not been the norm for other school districts to include probationary teachers when grandfathering in those with continuing contracts, SAISD’s current probationary teachers would still have the opportunity to move to one. The bottom line is that we want to be fair to all the teachers we have hired.
 
If approved by the Board, this change would put our practices in line with the other Bexar County school districts, who discontinued continuing contracts in the 1990s or early 2000s. Additionally, based on survey information provided by TASB (Texas Association of School Boards), of those districts that responded, our District is the only one in the state that still issues continuing contracts.
 
Finally, I want to thank you all for coming to Convocation on Wednesday. It was exhilarating to see all employees together, hailing the start of the new school year. One of the more touching moments that day was when one of the seniors on stage said the energy of the event made him feel “inspired and loved.” And, today, I hope all of our students will feel this same way as we welcome them back into the classroom.
 
Because of “The Power of Us,” we have much to celebrate, and I know it will be a good year!
 
Sincerely,
Pedro