IDEA Public Schools announced new enrollment numbers for its new in-district charter school, IDEA Allan, during a news conference at Austin ISD headquarters May 16.
Matthew Randazzo, IDEA's chief growth officer, said that IDEA Allan received 675 applications for 600 seats in kindergarten, first, second and sixth grade in its first year.
The applications break down as follows:
146 for 125 kindergarten seats
134 for 125 first-grade seats
127 for 125 second-grade seats
268 for 225 sixth-grade seats
Randazzo said that IDEA will hold a computerized lottery at noon May 17 at AISD's Skyline Building. The first 125 names selected for each of the kindergarten, first and second grades, as well as the first 225 names for sixth grade, will be enrolled at IDEA Allan. After that, subsequent names will be ranked in order on a waiting list.
He said about 30 percent of the seats in the first year will be filled by students from the Eastside Memorial High School Vertical Team—the elementary and middle schools that feed into Eastside Memorial. The remaining 70 percent will likely come from elsewhere in the district.
"Nearly 85 [percent] to 90 percent of the students that are enrolling next year live east of [I-35]," Randazzo said.
AISD and IDEA will reach out to enrolled students following the lottery.
Class sizes will be about 28 students. There will be a teacher and teaching assistant instructing students in the kindergarten, first and second grades.
The in-district charter was originally open to Eastside Memorial Vertical Team students, and a lottery would have been used for any additional spaces. Enrollment was later expanded to include the entire district.
"We're looking at enrolling 125 kids per grade level, which is double the size of the average Eastside Memorial Vertical Team elementary school," he said. "I think there was always a sense—and this was written into the contract—that we would recruit Tier 3, which is district-wide, because we're literally twice the size of the average elementary school."
Randazzo said the in-district charter practiced open enrollment—the only requirement is that a student live in the AISD coverage area.
In meetings late last year, community members expressed concern that the charter school would siphon off top students from throughout the district.
AISD will provide transportation for students living in the boundaries of the Eastside Memorial Vertical Team, and IDEA will pay to transport students who live outside of the area.
Randazzo said IDEA plans to have a transportation plan in place by June.
"I think that over time, as we establish a presence in the community, we continue to show the results that we've had in the [Rio Grande] Valley and replicate results here, that families will continue to opt in," he said.
He added that 70 of the applicants were "recaptured" students—students who live in the AISD area, but did not attend an AISD school last year. The students may have gone to a private school or were homeschooled.
Administrators for the new school were present at the meeting. They included:
Alejandro Delgado, assistant principal of operations
Amanda Marquez, principal for IDEA Academy (grades K–2)
Angie Arismendi, principal for IDEA College Prep (sixth grade)
Reynaldo Flores, assistant principal of instruction.
They said IDEA is still in the hiring process. Randazzo said IDEA plans to have all staff positions filled by June 5 and expects to take the staff to IDEA's Rio Grande Valley headquarters for four or five days of training.
IDEA will provide data to the AISD board of trustees on a quarterly basis. Each December, board members will evaluate the partnership with IDEA and determine whether they want to continue the partnership for another year, Randazzo said.
As to who would run IDEA Allan, the chief growth officer said IDEA would create a blended governing board with AISD, but ultimately the AISD board of trustees governs the school.
Parents, students, residents and those affiliated with Occupy Austin have voiced opposition to the charter school during citizens communication at AISD meetings since Dec. 19, when the AISD board of trustees approved the contract with IDEA.
In response to a question that many Eastside parents and students do not welcome IDEA, Randazzo said Eastside students and parents have been choosing where to go to school for years and that IDEA Allan is another choice.
"I hope that the community stays engaged in this process," he said. "I think that we have seen, as we are out in communities, that many families hadn't heard of this. They were misinformed or uninformed because they were paying attention to things that were happening in their own lives and in their families. There is a lot of opportunity for the Austin community to engage directly with IDEA's board and the Austin ISD board as well."
