The district is trying several approaches to reverse an enrollment decline, including reaching out directly to families who have left the district.
AUSTIN, Texas — As Texas public schools continue to see enrollment declines, Austin ISD is taking its efforts to attract students directly to families’ front doors.
On Tuesday, Austin ISD staff and volunteers went door-to-door in southeast Austin, talking with families about the district and encouraging them to enroll their children.
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Stephanie Hawkins, a community relations coordinator with Austin ISD, was among those making the rounds.
“I like doing this engagement,” Hawkins told KVUE. “It’s the human connection.”
Why Austin ISD is going door-to-door
The effort comes as Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath told state lawmakers Tuesday that enrollment in Texas public schools dropped by about 76,000 students from 2025 to 2026, pointing primarily to falling birth rates.
Fewer students can mean less funding for school districts and potentially lead to staffing cuts or school closures.
Austin ISD identified areas where families who recently left the district might benefit from hearing directly from the district. Staff and volunteers were assigned roughly 75 addresses during Tuesday’s block walk.
Victoria O’Neal, Austin ISD’s executive director of Campus and Family Engagement, said the district does not know why about 40% of the families who leave Austin ISD do so.
Another 10-15% leave for charter schools, homeschooling or private schools.
“We are here to engage with families. We know that families have a lot of choices,” O’Neal said. “We want to make sure they know that every student who lives in the Austin ISD boundaries has a guaranteed seat at their zoned elementary, middle, and high schools.”
The door-to-door visits are one part of a broader effort to boost enrollment.
O’Neal said the district also plans to reach families through email and phone banking.
“Our core message is that we are your schools,” O’Neal said. “And so, if families need us to help them, then that’s what we’re here to do.”
During Tuesday’s block walk, Hawkins spoke with one family whose child had attended Paredes Middle School, which Austin ISD voted to close this summer.
The child’s mother told Hawkins that after the school closed, her son was zoned to Bailey Middle School, but the family said there was no bus available for him. As a result, she said she began homeschooling him.
When families do not answer the door, Austin ISD staff leave bilingual door hangers with information about nearby schools and a QR code linking to enrollment information.
Hawkins said she tailors her message depending on who answers the door.
“I want to be able to see what the family and what the vibe may be because I want to make sure I give an authentic delivery with the message that I’m giving,” she said.
Other block walks planned
Austin ISD officials plan to hold three more block-walking events this month in another neighborhood in southeast Austin, along with northeast and north central Austin.
“We identified parts of town where families might need to hear from us directly, right, and know that we are here to support them,” O’Neal said.
The district also plans to try different times of day, including after work and midday on weekends, to reach more families.