CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — San Diego ISD begins school on Monday.
Teachers were busy preparing for the first day all last week and officials said they are fully staffed and ready for students.
School officials said about 1,500 kids are enrolled this year. Thanks to new construction and enhanced security features, the campuses will have a updated look, too.
"We're excited to get the students back to school and, and we're looking, we're looking forward to providing a safe learning environment," San Diego ISD Superintendent Dr. Rodrigo Peña said.
With students coming back to class, Dr. Peña said the district is making safety a priority.
An interlocal agreement with the Duval County Sheriff's Office allows for a school resource officer on every campus. That's three total between the elementary, junior high and high schools.
"That provides, I mean, a peace of mind to our staff, I mean, to our parents and to our students," Dr. Peña explained.
The district is also adding fencing around all campuses to limit access to only the front door. It is mostly installed and should be finished by the end of the first semester.
As for staffing, Dr. Peña said about 100 teachers are employed, filling all the district's vacancies. That is a contrast to previous school years, when some teacher job postings had no applicants for the entire year.
The superintendent said more teachers this year means they can offer more courses, better preparing students for college.
"It's been a challenge, it's been a lot, a lot of hard work to make sure that we find the teachers that we need for, for every classroom, for every vacancy that we have," Dr. Peña said.
Dr. Peña added that students and staff can also benefit from a $1.6 million construction project at Collins-Parr Elementary School.
Approved by the district's school board last year, it replaced multiple older windows with one new one. He said that will help keep rooms cooler and prevent people from looking in from the outside.
He said the district worked hard over the summer to finish the inside of the school by the first day of class.
"I know they had to work, I mean, weekends, they had to work overtime and all that. But you know what, the classrooms are ready," Dr. Peña said.
The construction project is complete inside the school, however, more still needs to be done on the outside.
Dr. Peña said construction will continue during the first semester of the school year. He told 3NEWS that the construction will not affect students or staff.
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