SAN ANTONIO – Another round of students are going back to class Wednesday, including Medina Valley ISD. It’s one one of the fastest growing districts in the state, bringing new opportunities and challenges.
We spoke with new superintendent Emily Lorenz to discuss what’s ahead for students, parents and staff this school year.
Backpacks are packed, classrooms are ready and the first day of school has arrived for Medina Valley ISD.
“The people are wonderful. The staff at the campuses are wonderful,” said Lorenze.
As one of the fastest growing school districts in Texas, district leaders say preparing for a new year means balancing growth while keeping students at the center of every decision.
“It’s grown a lot. The fact that it’s one of the fastest growing districts in the state is different but the culture and the community remain the same,” says Lorenz.
Lorenz joined the district back in June. She’s excited to support the school community of about 10,500 students – nine schools, and the newest school being Creek View High School.
“My motto is ‘because kids’ and I share that motto every time I speak to the staff. Every time,” explained Lorenz. “I’m working in my leadership teams. We always talk about decisions will be made in the best interests of students. We keep our identity. We keep our tradition of maintaining our strong small town feel while also growing at the rate that we are.”
Every year, the district is focused on academic achievement and campus safety. Lorenz is particularly proud of the district’s new police department. The department completed its first year and continues to grow.
“We also use marshals within some of our campuses, so we ensure training is first and foremost for our staff that’s implementing our safety program – but also for our staff that are on the campuses,” said Lorenz.
As another school year begins, Lorenz says the district hired 156 new teachers and onboarded over 200 new staff members.
“Our theme this year is ‘all in.’ We are going to be ‘all in’ for kids, and that means the staff or whether it’s the people greeting them in the morning or serving lunches during the day, teaching them, helping them with car pick up or drop off duty, we are asking our staff to be ‘all in’,” said Lorenz.
She also hopes the vacancies in their transportation and custodial departments fill quickly so their Medina Valley ISD crew will be complete.
“Transportation, we always need new bus drivers. As we’re growing you add the thousands of square feet of campus. We need to be able to clean them and create that safe environment for the kids,” said Lorenz.
To help keep up with the growth, the Medina Valley ISD community passed two recent bond elections in May 2023 and May 2024.