By KREIG KOHL
Special to the PRESS
Oct. 19 saw the Port Isabel Independent School District hold their regular meeting. With all members in attendance, they began with a presentation of recognition of the high school tennis team.
Superintendent of Schools Teresa Capistran began the presentation by saying, “We are so excited to have all of our students here with us and we are here to celebrate you.” The tennis team for 2022 was named the district champions. Capistran continued on to say, “All of this was done using our current facilities that we have. The exciting news is that starting in January … [the district is] hopeful that we will have a brand new facility for all of you to use, that’s not only going to be a court that’s beautifully lit with restrooms, concession stands, and an area for you to rest, but now we will actually be able to host our Port Isabel High School tournaments in our home!” Each student was then individually called up for recognition and given a certificate showing their accomplishment in the district championship.
The meeting also saw an update on the construction of the aforementioned tennis complex. The concrete for the courts and the clubhouse has been poured, and it’s expected within the next two weeks to get the fence posts installed and the installment of the lighting around the complex.
The next agenda item was showing appreciation to the principals of the school district. Once a year, the nation celebrates principals, and Oct. was the designated month this year. Capistran led this saying, “People don’t often really recognize everything that our principals do, day in day out, behind the scenes, the decisions that are being made to ensure every student is successful.” Continuing on, Capistran said, “So when school ends and everyone goes out for summer break, principals are still here, finishing off the school year and planning already for the upcoming school year.” Each principal was presented with a special certificate of recognition and thanks for their countless hours serving the community and the students themselves, as well as a house plant.
Moving onto the rest of their business, the school board was presented with the evaluation of the Bilingual ESL, English as a Second Language Program, for the 2021 to 2022 school year. The presentation was given by Reyna Selenas. As students enroll in Texas public schools, they are given a home language survey to indicate what language is used at home. If anything other than English is determined, then the student must take an English proficiency test to decide where to place the student in the bilingual program. As of last year, the district had 1,254 students labeled as Non-EB and 822 that were EB. Of those 822 students, 44 had their parents deny them being in the bilingual program. Throughout the two school years, only one area had seen a reduction in students progressing in competency with the ESL program, which was in Derry Elementary. There was a two percent drop in students advancing by one level.
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