Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District
Address
1000 North Getty Street
Uvalde
, Texas, 78801
United States
Coordinates29°13′20″N 99°47′33″W / 29.2221°N 99.7925°W / 29.2221; -99.7925
District information
SuperintendentHal Harrell[1]
Chair of the boardLuis Fernandez[4]
Governing agencyTexas Education Agency
Schools8[2]
Budget$46.74 million (2021-2022)[3]
NCES District ID4843720[2]
Students and staff
Students4150 (2020–2021)[2]
Teachers278.92 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Student–teacher ratio14.9 (2020–2021)[2]
Other information
Websitewww.ucisd.net

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) is a public school district based in Uvalde, Texas, US. Located in Uvalde County,[5] the district extends into portions of Zavala and Real counties.[6][7] In addition to Uvalde, the district serves the communities of Batesville in Zavala County,[6] and Uvalde Estates in Uvalde County.[5] The total land area of the district is 1,093 square miles (2,830 km2).[8]

In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.[9] The district superintendent is Ashley Chohlis.

History

Robb Elementary School in 2015

In 1949, the Batesville Independent School District began sending its students to Uvalde High School.[8]

In 1970, students held a strike and filed a lawsuit against the district's board of trustees, accusing the group of not responding to complaints filed by parents, who requested Spanish-language medium communications and giving appropriate accommodations to English as a second language learners instead of classifying them as having deficiencies in their intelligence.[10] An employee also accused the school board of not hearing grievances.[11][12]

In 1973, Batesville ISD merged into Uvalde CISD.[8]

2022 school shooting

Main article: Uvalde school shooting

On May 24, 2022, a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers and wounded 17 others at Robb Elementary School.[13] On June 3, 2022, UCISD Superintendent Hal Harrel stated that Robb Elementary School would not be reopened and its building demolished, to avoid renewing traumas related to the shooting.[14][15]

Police department

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department is the police force with primary jurisdiction over Uvalde CISD property.[16]

In February 2020, the district's Board of Trustees approved Pedro "Pete" Arredondo as new Chief of Police of the UCISD Police Department.[17][18] As of 2022, Arredondo commanded a team of six officers.[19]

Following the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department and other responding agencies were criticized for their responses to the incident.[20][21]

In early July 2022, Chief of Police Pete Arredondo resigned from his city council position.[22]

On August 24, 2022, the board of the school district fired Arredondo from his job as police chief by unanimous vote.[23][24]

List of schools

"Robb Elementary School" redirects here. For the 2022 mass murder, see Uvalde school shooting. For Robb Elementary School in Pennsylvania (unrelated to the one in Texas), see Keystone Central School District.
Batesville School
  • Dalton Early Childhood Center (PK–2)
    • Historically Dalton School was the school for students of non-Hispanic white backgrounds.[12]
  • Uvalde Elementary (Grades 3–4) (former Benson complex)
  • Flores Elementary (Grades 5–6)
  • Batesville School (PK–7)
  • Uvalde Dual Language Academy (Spanish: Academia de Lenguaje Dual de Uvalde, PK–6)
  • Morales Junior High School (Grade 7–8)
  • Uvalde Early College High School (Grades 9–12)
  • Uvalde High School (Grades 9–12)
  • Crossroads Academy (Grades 9–12)

In 2023, the district began construction of a new elementary school that is to operate in the place of Robb Elementary.[25] The new school will have a library with a memorial tree that is in honor of the victims of the Robb massacre.[26]

Former schools
  • Robb Elementary School (last at Grades 2–4;[27] permanently closed)
    • Historically Robb was a school for students of Mexican origins. However, before the 1970s the principal and almost all of the staff were non-Spanish speakers and were non-Hispanic white. Parents began to protest by withdrawing children from the school, in April 1970, after the school chose not to renew the contract of its only teacher of Mexican origins. By May 2022, because of a flight of non-Hispanic white residents, 90% of the school's students were Hispanic or Latino.[12]
  • Anthon Elementary[28] (Grades 1–2; defunct)
    • Historically Anthon Elementary was a school for students of Hispanic origins.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Administrative Leadership". Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for UVALDE CISD". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "2021–2022 Board Adopted Budget". Uvalde CISD. August 25, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  4. ^ "Board of Trustees". Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Uvalde County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Zavala County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Real County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Home". Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. December 6, 1998. Archived from the original on December 6, 1998. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  9. ^ "2009 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015.
  10. ^ Murphy, Alice (August 25, 1970). "Uvalde Board Sued in School Dispute". San Antonio Express-News. pp. 1A, 14A – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Second Suit Expected". Del Rio News Herald. August 25, 1970. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c "What Robb Elementary School has meant in Uvalde's history of Mexican activism".
  13. ^ "Live Updates: Texas elementary school shooting: At least 19 children, 2 teachers killed". NBC News. May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  14. ^ Jimenez, Omar; Edwards, Meridith; Maxouris, Christina (June 4, 2022). "'We're not going back': Uvalde superintendent reaffirms no students will return to Robb Elementary after massacre". CNN US. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  15. ^ Archie, Ayana (June 29, 2022). "The school at the center of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting will be rebuilt". NPR. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  16. ^ "Texas Education Code Section 37.081". Texas Constitution and Statutes Website.
  17. ^ "Arredando to lead school PD". Uvalde Leader-News. February 16, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  18. ^ "KEEP UCISD SAFE". www.UCISD.net. May 27, 2022. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  19. ^ Langford, Terri (June 21, 2022). ""If there's kids in there, we need to go in": Officers in Uvalde were ready with guns, shields and tools — but not clear orders". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  20. ^ Despart, Zach (June 3, 2022). "In battered Uvalde, where a police chief is in hiding, grief gives way to calls for accountability". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Amir Vera. "Parents and residents call for Uvalde school board to fire district police chief during emotional open forum". CNN. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  22. ^ "Uvalde schools' police Chief Pete Arredondo resigns from City Council". PBS NewsHour. July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  23. ^ "Uvalde school shooting: Embattled police chief Pete Arredondo fired". BBC News. August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  24. ^ Coronado, Acacia. "Uvalde school board fires police chief after mass shooting". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  25. ^ Manno, Melissa. "Uvalde CISD to break ground on new campus replacing Robb Elementary School later this month". San Antonio Express-Newsdate=2023-10-15. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  26. ^ Federspill, Melissa (April 16, 2023). "Memorial tree a key feature of planned school". Uvalde Leader News. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  27. ^ "Robb EL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  28. ^ "Schools". Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Archived from the original on February 14, 2003. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  29. ^ García, Uriel J.; Hernández, Jinitzail (June 22, 2022). "Before the school shooting, Uvalde was known for a 1970 Hispanic student walkout. Its aging participants fear its spirit and memory are fading". Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2023.