SAN ANTONIO – A new high school in the San Antonio Independent School District is weaving and compacting a semester’s-worth of curriculum into and eight-week period. Evening Flex High School is a new instructional online model available to students in the evenings.
SAISD said the school offers a very tailored approach through its small student-to-teacher ratio for all courses offered. For many students, Evening Flex High School could be a seamless transition as the classes earn credit for specific secondary courses on Zoom.
High school junior Francisco Vega is enrolled in two schools at SAISD.
“During the day I attend Sam Houston High School and in the evening I participate in Evening Flex,” Vega said.
Vega dreams of pursuing a degree in culinary arts to one day own a restaurant. By enrolling in Evening Flex, it puts him on a faster track to walk the stage and receive his diploma.
“I would like to graduate at the end of the school year,” Vega said.
“Evening Flex High School is a district-wide opportunity for students in ninth through 12th grade to earn credits toward graduate graduation in an accelerated fashion,” Dr. Paul Riser, principal at Evening Flex High School said.
SAISD launched a soft-start of the concept in January of 2020 with 55 students, followed by a second session with 80 students enrolled. During the 2021-2022 school year, Evening Flex will have four sessions.
“This year we have around 35 students, and we’re hoping to increase that (number),” Riser said.
Traditionally a student completes a course in a semester, however, the online high school offers courses like English that can be completed in as short as two weeks. Teachers like Gabriel González said it’s possible.
“(Students are) only allowed to take one course at a time. So, there’s not that big struggle that they have in the day with all these different courses on Zoom,” González said.
Evening Flex is about organization, focus, hard work and going at your own pace.
“There’s that kind of excitement that they’re achieving their goals on the pace that they want to,” González said.
Night sessions will be held every Tuesday and Thursday evening for four hours. The first night session is set to begin Tuesday, August 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 pm.
For those interested in enrolling at Evening Flex High School, contact the student’s home-campus counselor.
For more information on the school and curriculum, click here.