Travis Early College High School
January-February 2021
Messages from the Principal
February 11.2011
Good morning parents/guardians!
I hope everyone is safe and doing well. We are currently in the 4th week of classes at the college. We are asking parents to please spend some time reviewing student college progress/grades through the college ACES portal account. All students have access to these accounts. In order to best support our students and ensure a successful and strong finish at the end of the semester, we will need parent support, as the high school does not have access to student portal accounts, only the students do. If there is an issue with grades, students and parents will know before the high school. A rule of thumb, students should be checking their college ACES account 2x a day for any changes to coursework or assignments from college professors.
Please ensure your child is completing all homework/keeping up with reading their chapters. At this time, there are a few students struggling at each grade level. Messaging is going out via remind from the teachers and the campus offering support. Tutoring is available at Travis for college classes, as well as high school. Struggling students should reach out to their professors (email is located in the college Canvas syllabus) first if there are concerns, have gotten behind or were absent for any reason. A reminder that Travis cannot excuse absences for classes missed at the college. Students must reach out to the college to inform them of necessary absences.
Please reach out to the school to set up a parent conference with teachers or counselor if needed 210-738-9830. The success of our students in the early college high school program will depend on the collaboration and support between and among the school, students and the parents. Thank you and hope to see everyone soon!
Adrianna L. Arredondo, Principal
Phase-In of Additional Students February 22nd
February 9, 2021
Dear Travis Families,
During tonight’s COVID update, city and county officials announced that the positivity rate has dropped below 10% locally. Metro Health shared that the positivity rate is now at 9.7%, which moves our community into the yellow risk level. The recent gradual decrease in our local positivity rates is a good health indicator for our community. This, along with the roll out of vaccinations, is a sign that our community is moving in the right direction with its COVID response.
The news shared tonight allows Travis to begin planning for the next phase-in of students. Based on Metro Health guidance, schools may operate at 50% student occupancy at this yellow risk level.
On Monday, Feb. 22, we will bring back another small cohort of students. We will begin reaching out to you – our families – this week, prioritizing those students who are struggling the most with remote learning. Families of returning students also will be given the opportunity to have their children participate in the COVID testing that is happening on our campus prior to resuming in-person learning.
As long as our positivity rate remains in single digits, we will continue a gradual return of students. As always, we will work with you throughout this process, giving you two weeks notice to ease the transition from remote to in-person learning.
We are grateful to see this downward trend in positivity rates – both in the community and within our District. Data confirms that schools are safe environments. Our safety protocols are in full effect, and this includes asymptomatic testing on all of our campuses from our pre-kindergarteners through our high school seniors. We have seen low positivity rates among our students and staff who are tested, and just like the clear downward trend in the community, our District rate also has fallen – to a mere 0.3% during the first week of February.
To date, SAISD has been the most conservative among school districts regarding the number of students learning on campuses. We know you have been patient, and we appreciate you working with us to keep student occupancy low until it has become safer in the community to open our campus to more students. That time is now.
I have always said we would get through this together. You have rallied to this charge, and I cannot thank you enough for getting us through to this point. We will finish this year strong, and we will begin next school year even stronger for it.
Sincerley,
Ms. Adrianna Arredondo, Principal
Estimadas familias de Travis,
Durante la actualización de COVID de hoy en la noche, los oficiales de la ciudad y del condado anunciaron que la tasa de positividad está a menos de 10 % localmente. Metro Health compartió que la tasa de positividad ahora es de 9.7 %, lo cual coloca a nuestra comunidad en el nivel de riesgo amarillo. La disminución gradual reciente en las tasas de positividad locales es un buen indicador de salud para nuestra comunidad. Esto, junto con el suministro de vacunas, es una señal de que nuestra comunidad avanza en la dirección correcta en cuanto a su respuesta ante el COVID.
La noticia que se compartió hoy permite que Travis comience a hacer planes para que otro grupo de estudiantes regrese a la escuela. En base a orientación de Metro Health, las escuelas pueden operar con un 50 % de los estudiantes en persona bajo este nivel de riesgo amarillo.
El lunes 22 de febrero, permitiremos que regrese otro pequeño grupo de estudiantes. Comenzaremos a ponernos en contacto con ustedes, nuestras familias, esta semana. Le daremos prioridad a los estudiantes que estén teniendo más dificultad con el aprendizaje a distancia. Las familias de los estudiantes que regresen también tendrán la oportunidad de que sus hijos participen en las pruebas de COVID que se llevan a cabo en cada una de nuestras escuelas antes de regresar al aprendizaje en persona.
Siempre y cuando nuestra tasa de positividad permanezca a menos de diez, continuaremos permitiendo que los estudiantes regresen de forma gradual. Como siempre, trabajaremos con ustedes a lo largo de este proceso y les daremos un aviso de dos semanas a fin de facilitar la transición de aprendizaje a distancia a en persona.
Estamos agradecidos de ver esta tendencia descendente en las tasas de positividad, tanto en la comunidad como dentro de nuestro Distrito. Los datos confirman que las escuelas son entornos seguros. Nuestros protocolos de seguridad están en pleno vigor, y esto incluye pruebas para personas asintomáticas en todas nuestras escuelas desde nuestros niños de prekínder hasta los estudiantes de último año de preparatoria. Hemos visto tasas bajas de positividad entre nuestros estudiantes y personal a quienes se les hace la prueba, y justo como la tendencia claramente descendente en la comunidad, nuestra tasa de distrito también ha bajado a solo 0.3 % durante la primera semana de febrero.
Hasta la fecha, SAISD ha estado entre los distritos escolares más moderados en cuanto a la cantidad de estudiantes que están aprendiendo en las escuelas. Sabemos que han sido pacientes y apreciamos que han trabajado con nosotros a fin de mantener el número de estudiantes en las escuelas bajo hasta que sea más seguro en la comunidad abrir nuestra escuela a más estudiantes. El momento es ahora.
Siempre he dicho que superaríamos esto juntos. Se han unido en apoyo y no puedo agradecerles lo suficiente por ayudarnos a llegar a este punto. Terminaremos este año con un buen esfuerzo y seremos más fuertes al comenzar el siguiente año escolar.
Atentamente,
Sra. Adrianna Arredondo, Directora
STUDENT SUPPORT FOR HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH
We are excited to announce added support for high school English 1, 2, 3 and 4. Travis English teacher Jennifer Sanchez will be available to support the high school network students in the evening Monday – Thursday from 6-8 PM. The zoom link will very soon be available in the high school English teachers’ Canvas account. We are planning to kick off this program starting Thursday, Jan. 28. Students can receive support on STAAR EOC, writing essays, homework assignments, annotations, TSI, excellent examples, etc.
Help Support Families in Our Community
A Message from Ms. Arredondo, School Principal
January 27, 2021
Greeting parents and guardians,
As you may know, recruiting for the Travis Early College High School 2021-2022 school year is in full swing. Unfortunately the application window is set to end this Friday, January 29th. One of the reasons why Travis has been so successful in the past is that our parents truly believe in the vision of our program. That is, to provide every student an opportunity for higher education at no cost to our families.
With that said, I would like to ask our parents and guardians to please reach out to their friends and families this week in the effort to support current 8th grade students interested in the opportunity to earn college credit to apply online. Families can apply through the SAISD district website. The lottery for all district choice schools is scheduled to take place next week.
Thank you everyone. Be safe and we hope to see everyone soon!
Adrianna L. Arredondo, Principal
A Message from Ms. Arredondo, School Principal
January 10, 2021
Dear Travis family,
I hope everyone had a safe and restful winter break. I want to welcome everyone back to a new and fresh start of the Spring semester. I understand this Fall semester was an exciting new year. It came with many challenges to the normal way of learning. At the end of the day, I’ll say that just about all of our students finished strong. Many students worked hard from their new setting at home and earned all As! Some accomplished A/Bs, while others produced a combination of A/B/Cs. Kudos to all of them as they proved they could do this!
Moving forward, we’ve worked hard to prepare all students for the Spring semester. Students had the opportunity to participate in tutoring, interventions, TSI testing, PSAT, SAT, and completion of college applications and scholarships for our seniors. I’m proud of the work they’ve accomplished and look forward to new levels of success. All students should access their Spring semester schedule located in their Canvas accounts for both high school and college. Please reach out to the counselor if you have questions about your classes and/or your schedule. High school classes resume on Tuesday, January 12, while the Spring semester at SAC begins on Tuesday, January 19. For our seniors, this is their last semester at the college and Travis Early College High School.
Ninth grade students have been persistent and working diligently to take all three portions of the TSI exam. Most have adjusted to the expectations of the Early College program considering the challenges we’re currently facing. We wish them the best on their first set of college classes. They will take EDUC/KINES during 7th and 8th periods. They will need one book for the EDUC 1300 class. Please call the school and make an appointment to check out a book if your child has NOT picked one up yet. The KINES class will utilize an online book in the college CANVAS account. Students are expected to keep up with the readings and assignments for both classes. Students should reach out to their AVID teacher or the counselor if they cannot find these items in CANVAS. Students should have a planner to keep track of all due dates for assignments, tests, etc.All class requirements are located on the college syllabus. Parents, please support your child during this time by monitoring the planner and the college account. Check it weekly to ensure students are keeping with the required coursework. One thing I’ve learned from students taking classes at Travis/SAC, using a planner and staying organized is the key to success and will lead to the best grades possible. The experience of taking these classes will be like the 1st day of school again, so it will be an exciting time for the kids.using a planner and staying organized is the key to success and will lead to the best grades possible. The experience of taking these classes will be like the 1st day of school again, so it will be an exciting time for the kids.using a planner and staying organized is the key to success and will lead to the best grades possible. The experience of taking these classes will be like the 1st day of school again, so it will be an exciting time for the kids.
The district has updated and revised the school opening plan and Instructional Continuity plan for the Spring semester. The plan is located on the district website. Currently, there is no plan to phase in another large group of students . However, there are a handful of parents who have asked for their child to return next week, those requests have been approved. We are hoping our students that are currently signed up for face-to-face instruction will return to campus beginning on Tuesday. Our school is a safe place as we are practice safety measures daily.
We are currently recruiting for the 2021-2022 school year. If you have an 8th-grade student interested in the challenges and rigor of an early college high school, they may apply online through School Mint. The district will take applications through January 29th.
I look forward to the coming weeks when more COVID vaccines become available to our students, families, and communities, and when our students will all be able to attend school on the high school campus.
Take care everyone and be safe.
Ms. Arredondo, Travis ECHS School Principal