Enrollment Policy and Practices in San Antonio ISD

• In Event: Inequitable Resources, Inequitable Access: Examining the Racialized U.S. Caste System Within Schools

Abstract

For years, the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) looked at poverty through a black and white lens of “economically disadvantaged” and “non-economically disadvantaged.” This measure was based on whether or not a student met the threshold of federal free and reduced priced lunch guidelines, the standard metric used by school districts nationwide. Though SAISD was a district of 90% economically disadvantaged students, the measure did not reflect families’ reality of how varying levels of poverty impacts the academic success of students.

Starting in 2017, the district opted to look at poverty in a more nuanced way to best understand the needs of its community. Similar to work done by other districts such as Chicago Public Schools and Dallas Independent School District, SAISD created a socioeconomic measure using census data, sorting students into “Blocks” according to a formula of the following criteria:
Income
Home ownership
Single parent household
Parent educational attainment.
Students were assigned to one of four Blocks, with the most advantaged families identified as “Block 1” and families with the most disadvantage as “Block 4.”

This Block system features prominently within the enrollment mechanism for Choice campuses. Choice Schools are chartered campuses implementing innovative educational approaches and typically have higher success rates than traditional neighborhood schools. Block 1 and 2 families dominated enrollment, leading to the perception that only high-achieving or students from middle or upper class families could participate. Block 3 and Block 4 students went underrepresented for years, as did students with poor grades, poor attendance, behavioral concerns, or special needs.

The district established the Office of Access and Enrollment Services (OAES) with the purpose of rectifying inequities such as these within its enrollment practices. The first initiative of the OAES was to establish a Choice School application/lottery system open to any student regardless of academic history and prioritized students from schools designated by the state as performing in the bottom 10%. Additionally, the most popular Choice campuses were structured to be “Diverse by Design.” Their lottery system purposely set aside seats to create a balanced economically disadvantaged and non-economically disadvantaged population. Each Diverse by Design campus also undergoes an equity audit to ensure that at least 25% of the population are Block 3 and Block 4 students.

The OAES continues using an equity lens to view enrollment practices ensuring that not only do all students have access to school options, but their ability to remain at those schools is protected. The practice includes the transfer process, withdrawal process, and enrollment of special populations such as homeless, bilingual learners, and students with special needs. Administrative procedures reflect the shift in enrollment practice, cementing a structure that will ongoingly support SAISD families’ right to have access and opportunity to quality schools.

Author

• Patricia Baumer, San Antonio Independent School District