To address the growing issue of demographic shifts and school feeder patterns, the El Paso Independent School District approved new attendance boundaries, which has impacted several regions within the district. Of the schools, Coronado is expected to be impacted the most, and is anticipating a significant increase in the student population.
Assistant Principal Gilbert Andrews provided some insight in an interview concerning the rezoning. Firstly, he offered the districts rationale regarding the changes made.
“The district hadn’t looked at the zoning lines in over 10 years. Since demographics shift, we wanted to make sure that we were still fulfilling the needs of the district’s requirements,” Andrews said.
One major reason for rezoning was the issue of split feeder schools, which had been plaguing the district for some time. Split feeders divided students into different schools after graduation, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with split feeders; Andrews emphasized the districts commitment to continuity, which would ensure students would remain within the same feeder pattern throughout their academic life in order to build a strong sense of community.
As a result of the decision, Coronado is projected to see a small surge in enrollment of approximately 100 students arriving from the new feeder school Don Haskins K-8, consequently a product of the rezoning.
“There were other schools that were impacted, but I don’t think any school was as impacted as we were,” Andrews said.
While the influx of students will undoubtably arrive with challenges, Coronado is expecting an overall positive outcome from the rezoning, especially for the extracurricular and fine arts programs.
“The only anticipated impact it would have on fine arts or sports would be for students who are transfers into Coronado. They’re not allowed to play varsity sports the first year they’re here. Some students who would previously be considered transfers will now be within the zoning region and are allowed to join varsity first year,” Andrews said.
Moreover, the increase in student population creates an opportunity for Coronado to expand its staff, which was another issue impacting the school. Andrews explains that the increase in the number of students would not affect the performance of the current system.
“The increase in students is going to allow us to hire more staff, so there doesn’t have to be concern regarding the class sizes. Class sizes should not be impacted. They should be lower because we’re able to hire more staff,” Andrews said.
As we prepare to welcome a larger student body, Coronado be ready to embrace the opportunities resulting from the district’s efforts.
