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Rodriguez Elementary School set to close, district confirms

SAISD says that the school failed to meet state academic standards for five years, forcing the closure
Courtesy SAISD

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Independent School District has confirmed with KENS 5 That Cleto L Rodriguez Elementary School will be forced to close for the next school year.

The district says they plan to make the formal announcement to parents Friday evening at their ’Meet The Teachers’ event.

Some parents told KENS 5 that they already received a letter in the mail ahead of tonight's event informing them about the future closure.

"They've kind of always talked about it every year. Something always coming up but it's actually shocking that it's actually official," Parent Carlos Infante said. "My wife came here and all my little babies so far, except the littlest one, [she] is going to miss out on the tradition that their mom started with them. It's kind of sad."

SAISD says that the school failed to meet state academic standards for five years. The closing is therefore required by the state, and teachers will be placed at other schools within the district. The school will remain open for this school year.

"I was really surprised. I didn't realize they would be closing down at the end of the year. It's unfortunate because I thought they were doing well academically," another parent said.

SAISD said there will be a meeting next week for the parents to discuss options for their students. The district also released a statement Friday.

Read the full statement below:

While the official STAAR results and ratings will not be made public until August 15, 2018, SAISD has been in consultation with the state and TEA and has determined that Rodriguez Elementary School did not meet state accountability standards for the fifth year in a row. The school will remain open for this 2018-19 school year but, per Texas state law, the TEA Commissioner will require the District to close the school at the end of May 2019.

Last spring, parents at Rodriquez Elementary School were informed of the possible consequences, under Texas state law, as a result of House Bill 1842, if a school with four or more consecutive “Improvement Required” ratings failed to meet standards for the 2017-18 school year. Though academic progress was made at Rodriguez over the last year, it was not enough for the school to move out of the Improvement Required status.

The District will be working with parents this fall on options for the 2019-20 school year. Ultimately, SAISD wants to open another school at this location, and will be meeting with the Rodriguez community to determine the best model for a new school and plan for that development.

District administration met with Rodriguez employees earlier this week and reviewed academic results and the progress that was made, which unfortunately was not enough to meet the 2018 state accountability standards. They were also informed that when the school closes in the summer of 2019, all staff will have employment within the District.

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