Houston Independent School District announced Thursday it would be moving all the students from Las Americas Newcomer School into Jane Long Academy, an adjacent school. The district cited declining enrollment as the main driver in the school’s closure.
When the Texas Education Agency listed enrollment numbers in October of last year, Las Americas had 111 students, down from October 2023’s 213 students.
Las Americas, according to the school’s webpage, “is a newcomer campus that educates recent immigrant and refugee students who have no or very limited English language proficiency and who often have had a limited formal education in their native countries.”
Throughout its history, the school has acquired students from 37 different countries, including China, Iran, Venezuela, Somalia, and El Salvador, among others.
The school’s motto reads, “We embrace diversity, it’s what makes us great.”
According to Lana Hill, the district’s director of communications, enrollment this year dropped to just 21 students.
Hill also specified in the announcement that the astronomical enrollment decline was partly due to “what’s happening in our country on a federal level.”
For reference, this echoes similar remarks that state-appointed Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles made during his presentation to the Houston City Council last month. During that meeting, Miles admitted that demographic shifts alongside fears of deportation have been largely responsible for enrollment losses.
Miles also clarified that private student information, which includes immigration status, is protected in schools by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. In other words, unless the district deems it absolutely necessary, those records will not be accessible.
He said, “We want to assure you that our policies have not changed, and they align with Houston ISD’s mission to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment for all students. As always, HISD is committed to educating every child who walks through our doors.”
The district also said that it would consider long-term options for Las Americas at the upcoming November board meeting.
This announcement comes amid projected district-wide enrollment declines. While the official numbers for the start of the school year won’t come out from the TEA until later this month, Houston ISD is projecting a loss of around 6,500 students, or around a four percent decline.
Due to those projections, the district announced earlier this week that 160 uncertified teachers had been cut alongside 54 staff members. An additional 232 teachers were reassigned to different positions and/or locations. It is unclear whether any of the teachers at Las Americas were part of the staff reduction/relocations.
Interestingly, to combat declining enrollment, Houston ISD confirmed last month that it spent $350,000 on a citywide billboard campaign, enough for the installation of 18 billboards, aimed at encouraging parents to enroll students in the district.
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