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Volume 25 | Number 13 | February 27, 2025

When Wilson Elementary student Viviana Castilleja saw flames coming from a home on the way home from a school event, the 9-year-old knew she had to do something. Because she immediately told an adult, firefighters quickly responded and no one from the home was hurt. As part of the experience, she was able to sit in a fire truck and even wear a firefighter's jacket. The fourth grader, who is involved in music club, robotics, chess club and Gifted and Talented Education, said she would do it all again and tell others to do the same. “If they see a fire, tell an adult immediately so they can call 911 and tell them to evacuate,” Castilleja said.  

San Antonio ISD is hosting its annual Service Pin Celebration at the SAISD Sports Complex tonight, honoring more than 900 employees whose experience, celebrated in five-year increments, totals more than 11,000 years of service. At the top of that list is Alice Miranda, an instructional assistant at Burbank High School who has spent 45 years working in the district. Starting in 1979, she has worked in multiple roles at Burbank including data clerk, attendance clerk, library assistant, and in the computer lab. But she found her true calling in 1993 when her current position in special education opened up. “Once I got in with special ed, I said ‘I’m staying here,’” Miranda said. “That’s my calling right there.” Miranda said she enjoys greeting the students as they come off the bus and helping them throughout their school days. In 45 years, she’s seen several generations pass through the campus, all part of the Bulldog family she loves dearly. “You’ve got to love what you’re doing,” she said. “The students and the teachers have been wonderful. It keeps you going.”

February is Love the Bus Month in San Antonio ISD, and our Transportation staff make it easy to do! As we close out the month, we bring you the story of driver Polo Jimenez and monitor Janie Guerra, who serve the Franklin Elementary and Whittier Middle School areas. These dedicated staff members share what they love about their jobs and what keeps them motivated to give students their best each day.

When Makayla Tovar started her essay for the Battle of Flowers Texas History Essay contest, she just knew one thing: she wanted to write about a woman. The seventh grader at Hawthorne Academy said she felt there weren’t enough stories chronicling the historic acts of women in Texas. Tovar’s discovery of a little-known boarding house owner and her role in a battle over the state’s archives yielded her second place in the writing competition, complete with a $500 personal prize for her and $1,000 for the school. 

Lt. Christina Houston of the SAISD Police Department has won the Texas Best Award for Crime Stoppers Coordinator of Year. Nominated by Crime Stoppers of San Antonio, she was presented the award from the Texas Crime Stoppers Council and the Office of the Governor at the Texas Campus Crime Stoppers Conference in Seguin Feb. 17.  

The Texas Crime Stoppers Council uses this award to honor a Crime Stoppers Coordinator for exceptional performance and contributions to their Crime Stoppers organization and having a positive impact in their community. 

"Lt. Houston’s enthusiastic participation, knowledge and leadership have positioned SAISD as a mentor and example for 16 other ISD police departments in Bexar County, as well as the San Antonio Police Department and Bexar County Sheriff’s Office,” said Bodo Knochenhauer, president of Crime Stoppers of San Antonio.  

Congratulations, Lt. Houston, and thank you for all you do for our community! 

Last week, San Antonio ISD communications, marketing, family and community engagement, and the SAISD Foundation earned 26 awards at the Texas School Public Relations Association Conference. 

The team's commitment to the board guardrail to embrace our community was recognized with the Platinum Award for our community engagement efforts during all of last school year. The Platinum Award is the highest award offered by the association. The second highest award is the Crystal Award, for which the district earned three Certificates of Merit.  

In addition to the Platinum and Crystal recognitions, SAISD earned 13 gold awards (four of these also earned Best in Category for their respective categories), seven silver awards, and two bronze awards. 

These awards recognized efforts to reach and inform our community via various media including flyers, annual reports, videos, newsletters, surveys, languages other than English, special events, and web content. 

Do you have any friends or family members whose employers would hire students? We're hosting a job fair for our juniors, graduating seniors, and families April 11 at the Alamo Convocation Center and are seeking employers that want to hire. Many of our graduating seniors will leave high school with industry certifications plus college credit, and others are looking for full-time or part-time employment and internships to gain valuable work experience.

Enrollment is now open for the 2025-2026 school year. Make sure your children are registered for next year and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Still looking for the best-fit school? San Antonio ISD Choice Schools are still accepting applications for 2025-2026 school year as well. Our Choice Schools and Programs offer students inside and outside the district a variety of specialized campuses and pathways, customized to best meet their interests. Programs are open to all students in the San Antonio area, regardless of where they live.

Our Career and Technical Education Department is once again partnering with the volunteer organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build beds for children in need. Our construction programs at Jefferson, Lanier, and Sam Houston high schools will each build 40 twin size beds for students in need in those communities. The SAISD Familia is invited to help by donating twin-sized "bed in a bag" sets to accompany each bed. Be on the lookout for donation stations in the front offices of SAISD Central Office, Jefferson, Lanier, and Sam Houston high schools.

SAISD Foundation Bright Idea grants are now open! Educators can apply for a $5,000 grant to launch a new and innovative project for their campus, grade level, or department. Projects should aim to support one of the SAISD Board Goals: improve reading and writing outcomes; improve math outcomes; improve college readiness; or improve social-emotional readiness.

The grant application consists of two parts:

1. Complete the application form with your project budget.

2. Upload a short (up to 2 minutes) video explaining your project and its impact.

Applications missing either step will not be considered. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make a difference. Visit the Foundation’s web site to see previously funded grants and get started.

Cheer on the San Antonio Spurs as they face off against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, March 15, while supporting the SAISD Foundation’s mission to empower teachers and students in San Antonio ISD schools. A youth-sized Spurs City Edition Arm Sleeve is included with each ticket purchased at the link below. (Arm Sleeves are youth-size and are for any youth attending the game through the SAISD offer). Tickets start at just $40, and $5 from each ticket goes directly to the Foundation to help fund essential programs that make a difference in our SAISD community. Don’t miss out on this exciting night of basketball and community spirit!

Stay up to date on board meetings with the latest Board Bytes video.

National Wolf Trap Artist Krissie Marty visited Franklin Elementary to present the lesson “Making Shapes, Dancing Shapes,” to Alyssa Cortes’ class.

"Our Pre-K class here at Franklin is grateful for the experience we had with our Wolf Trap artist,” Cortes said. “We loved that we were able to explore a classic fairytale without a book. Through the use of handheld puppets and props, students were able to use their imagination and make connections to the setting and characters.”

Recognized as a national model for arts integration in early childhood classrooms, Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts provides integrated lessons that support developmentally appropriate learning and concepts as well as creative problem solving, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. In this lesson, the young learners studied shapes through movement, singing and dancing.

“The brilliance of incorporating shapes and movements to the characters also made a profound impact with our 3- and 4-year-olds,” Cortes said. “We plan to continue the use of voice animation, body movements, and strategies to develop imagination in our future storytelling and read aloud lessons."

The Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts is offered to various Pre-K and Head Start classrooms in SAISD. This year Wolf Trap has also partnered with teachers at Pershing and Baskin, and will continue art teaching residences at Collins Garden this spring.

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