Students have returned to the nine-month adventure of learning in area public schools.
Rockdale Independent School District has a preliminary total of 1,420 students with the population divided into 431 in the high school, 345 in the junior high school, 396 in the intermediated school and 248 in the elementary school.
Last year Rockdale counted 1,446 students though only about 2/3 of them were on campus with the rest choosing to stay home to learn due to COVID-19 guidelines.
Thorndale ISD had a preliminary total of 594 students before the start of school Monday. That is up 20 students from last year’s total. Thorndale High had 218, the Middle School was at 138 and the Elementary School was at 238.
Gause’s preliminary count was 162 students in grades pre-K through eight.
Milano has a projected total of 400 students.
Rockdale and the other districts continue to remain 100 percent open. Protocols and information for parents have been updated and are available on the websites. The adopted protocols, addressing CDC recommendations, will be revisited every six months to address any changes.
Masks are not mandated, but are an option available to students and staff.
All campuses in the RISD qualify for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) which provides breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge.
Milano ISD has been approved to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students for the 2021-2022 school year.
Thorndale ISD has received a waiver from the USDA which will allow all students enrolled in Thorndale ISD to receive free meals which students may sign up to receive. The free meals are for the students’ first complete meal— any second meals, extra entrees, or extra items will be charged to the students’ meal accounts.
Gause has a free lunch program.
STAAR testing at RISD
After a year off from state assessments, Rockdale ISD students took all the STARR tests during the spring 2021 semester. After school closures in the spring of 2020, a combination of remote and in-person learning in the fall of 2020, and full in-person learning in the spring of 2021, Rockdale ISD students and staff proved that they have indeed stepped up to the challenge, school officials said last week.
Not only did Rockdale ISD teachers and students succeed in closing the gaps created by the COVID instructional disruptions, they outperformed their peers across the state, officials noted.
Rockdale Intermediate and Rockdale Junior High exceeded state scores in all subject areas and all grade levels, besting the state by 10 points or more in some areas, according to state test results.
Rockdale High School exceeded the state scores in English II, Algebra I and U.S. History, with RISD Algebra I scores at 15 points above the state.
The Rockdale ISD staff went into the 2020- 21 school year determined to get the students back on track, school officials said. Many teachers were teaching remote as well as in-person classes during the fall semester, while developing dual sets of plans to provide that instruction. Once students all returned to in-person learning in the spring, teachers had to assess learning loss for each individual student and provide interventions to address those losses.
Supt. Dr. Denise Monzingo expressed her appreciation for these results.
“The fact that our students can make the growth shown by these scores with all that went on last school year is an indication of the skill and dedication of the Rockdale ISD teachers and administrators to provide the very best education possible for our students. While we will always strive to be better, we are extremely proud of the ‘Tiger Fight Never Dies’ attitude of our students and staff,” she said in a news release.
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