(Seguin) — The Navarro ISD is starting its new school year off today by welcoming in a record number of students. Navarro ISD Superindent Mandy Epley says the district’s enrollment continues to grow. The growth isn’t a surprise to anyone who’s watched the large number of new homes that have been built in the Navarro ISD.
Epley says they are excited about all of their students — old and new — and they are ready to start this new year.
“The growth is continuing to come. We are projected to go from about 2,400 students to 2,697 students this year and we have seen that in our early enrollment figures. We’re seeing about 300 new students to the district. So, we’re working hard to make sure that our staff is prepared and that everybody will have a seat (and) have a teacher. We know the growth is coming. We’ve prepared for that and we’re looking forward to welcoming more people to the Panther Family,” said Epley.
The growth also means that there were be more cars on the roadway near Navarro schools. Epley says they are staggering start times at some schools to help with the traffic flow, and they have also been sharing maps and other resources with the community to help the traffic flow more smoothly on this first day of school.
“We’ve got some amazing photos of our traffic patterns and we’ve even released a video that shared the rules of the road with buses. Oftentimes in those first couple of weeks as people are figuring things out, maybe trying to take their children in their own vehicles, (and then) changing their mind and going to riding the buses and so forth. It is a lot of congestion as people work things out. But every year by the second week we’re in a good rhythm. It’s important to slow down (and) take a deep breath. We know that everybody is getting back into that routine and and we have a lot of grace for that. So please, yes, be patient, have some grace, communicate with us and we’ll continue to communicate with you. Be safe on the road and know that we’re ready for you. We’re ready for your students in the classroom,” said Epley.
Epley says staff has been working hard in preparation for today’s start of the new school year. She says they have some exciting plans in place for this year.
“We had an amazing convocation, where we had former students share the impact that their teachers made on them while they attended the Navarro ISD. We’ve welcomed over 70 new staff and everyone is just thrilled and excited to execute that collaborative vision that our community, students and teachers helped to put together last year. We’re ready to put that vision into action. They’ve been meeting all week, not only learning and preparing for your students, but preparing that environment for learning. We all look forward to that first day and that awesome energy of the kids coming out of the cars and the buses — ready to learn and ready to start the year,” said Epley.
The Navarro ISD is also offering parent resources on things like bell schedules, transportation and food services on the district’s website, nisd.us.