A new year and new school for Southside ISD sends a positive message for the district

Southside administrators say it represents continued progress in the district

SAN ANTONIO – Districts in and around San Antonio are opening their doors for fall semester this week, and that means new and exciting projects and education programs.

Southside ISD has their first day of the new year Tuesday morning, and it is a big year for the district.

One of the sources of excitement for the district is the new $17.4 million middle school.

Anthony Tejeda is not just Losoya’s new theater teacher; he is also a south side alum. He said the new school should help future students succeed.

“This will be the inaugural year of our second middle school. we've always had one middle school and with development that's happening out here on the south side it's just the need became too great,” said Joel Gaines, Losoya's principal.

The new school means new resources for the kids.

“That process involved building a brand-new library a brand new science lab state-of-the-art science labs that you see here,” Gaines said.

Administrators and staff are excited about Losoya.

“We have an amazing drop-down screen so we can show we can go over choreography in here. We go over choreography for musicals. We can work different productions. we have the spacing here. It's big enough for 100 people. And (we expect) we can put the audience in any spot in any area and perform in any area,” said Tejeda.

South Side administrators believe this school is part of the continuous progress their district is making, and it has huge benefits for their students.

“We look forward to their future and we're excited about their future. A big push in education is steam and we pretty much got all of that in this building and we have the science that technology engineering the arts and the math all in one building and just to see our future learners and future leaders of San Antonio and the United States all coming from the south side just on one building," Gaines said.

Losoya Middle School has a major emphasis on science, technology and arts, but also, the district wants to hammer home the idea of extracurricular activities and athletics.

“We really want to push the kids to staying here after school. keeping them involved and engaged with all of our clubs and organizations and just the staff that we've hired here is fantastic and we're really looking forward to the great things that are to come,’ said Gaines.

Tejeda thinks these new facilities and the direction the district is moving in sends a message.

“I want to show the students that anything is possible,” Tejeda said.


About the Author:

Max Massey is the GMSA weekend anchor and a general assignments reporter. Max has been live at some of the biggest national stories out of Texas in recent years, including the Sutherland Springs shooting, Hurricane Harvey and the manhunt for the Austin bomber. Outside of work, Max follows politics and sports, especially Penn State, his alma mater.