AUSTIN, Texas — When Austin ISD families were walking the halls of Bailey Middle School, it wasn’t the school tour they expected. Their children weren’t scheduled to attend Bailey until approximately two weeks before the start of the school year, when Austin ISD decided to shut down Paredes Middle School.
“I’m scared of overcrowding and the teachers getting overwhelmed. What’s going to happen as the year goes on?” Christina Lopez said.
It was one of the many questions that echoed through the Bailey Middle School cafeteria days before the new school year. Parents asked about drop-off times, bell schedules, classes offered and a free lunch program at a school that isn’t automatically qualified for one.
“You do have to apply for it,” a principal said to a parent.
Closing Paredes Middle School hasn’t been easy for parents, who felt blindsided by the last-minute decision. But district leaders say it was necessary to fend off a Texas Education Agency (TEA) takeover.
Paredes was expected to receive another F rating from the TEA. The school eventually did receive its fourth failing rating after the campus closed.
Despite the unexpected adjustment, parents praised the efforts teachers and principals were making to ease the transition.
“There’s a lot of questions that they did a good job of covering. I’m sure there are going to be more questions as the first month of school is happening,” Lopez said.
Bailey is one of the two schools Paredes families can now attend, with the other being Mendez Middle School. There was confusion when parents received multiple emails stating their child was assigned to both campuses.
“The district should’ve worked this all out before they made this decision,” Elena Torres-Ponce, a Paredes mother, said. “This tells me this wasn’t well thought through.”
Torres-Ponce said the campus closure should’ve happened last school year to give families options.
“We need to know by December because applications need to be put in for private school, charter school, and then we found out this way,” Torres-Ponce said.
Families transferring to Mendez Middle School said they struggled to find uniforms in two weeks.
Concerns about the neighborhood bus routes turning into bus hubs had Austin ISD adjusting.
“The criteria, the maximum will be three miles to the next nearest hub, and many of them are students who are able to go themselves,” Kris Hafezizadeh, Austin ISD director of transportation, said.
The district brought back middle school neighborhood routes, but families are still feeling overwhelmed.
“We’ve seen so many of our schools close. It’s like we don’t fit in if we don’t fit in,” Torres-Ponce said. “We get spread out across the city.”