CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Many students in the Coastal Bend are packing their backpacks to get ready for the 2023-2024 school year, but students enrolled in the Tuloso-Midway Independent School District have already started their school year as of Monday; the first Coastal Bend school district to start the school year.
Steve VanMatre, the superintendent for Tuloso-Midway ISD said that it has been a great start to the school year.
“So far so good, you know we’ve greeted close to 3800 kids it’s a very short summer at Tuloso-Midway, our kids and staff get off six weeks and then they’re back,” VanMatre said.
According to T-M's website, there are no major changes this year for students on the primary campuses.
Students on the intermediate campuses are required to have a clear backpack when walking through the school’s doors, while the secondary campuses have increased security measures.
VanMatre said that through these minor changes, it was good to see everyone smiling.
“To see all of our kids with smiles on their face, new clothes, filled with optimism, if we could find a way to capture that energy and excitement and extend it through the whole school year, that’s what we want to do,” he said.
London Independent School District is next in line to start school on Wednesday, July 19th.
The school district reported that they have updated their security and safety protocols this school year.
According to their website, the first thing you will see is the fencing around the district, which was funded by the Texas Education Agency.
In addition, the school district reports that the high school and elementary school main gates will remain open throughout the day, and there is no longer access to the campus via portable classrooms or through playgrounds.
On the other hand, students who attend Corpus Christi Independent School District and Flour Bluff schools still have time to complete their back-to-school shopping. The student's first day of school is Wednesday, August 9th.
This year, CCISD is requiring students to have a clear backpack.According to the CCISD website, starting in the 2023-2024 school year, students in Pre-K-12th grade will be required to use clear backpacks. Other bags will no longer be allowed.
KRIS 6 News spoke with CCISD earlier this year, and they said that this will allow them to keep students safer.
Here is a full list of schools and their start dates:
Tuloso-Midway ISD Mon., Jul 17
London ISD Wed., July 19
Driscoll ISD Wed., July 26
Kingsville ISD Mon., July 31
Annapolis Christian Academy Wed., Aug 2
Incarnate Word Academy Mon., Aug 7
CCISD Wed., Aug 9
Flour Bluff ISD Wed., Aug 9
Calallen ISD Thu., Aug 10
Gregory-Portland Thu., Aug 10
Refugio ISD Mon., Aug 14
Rockport-Fulton ISD Mon., Aug 14
St. John Paul II Mon., Aug 14
Beeville ISD Tue., Aug 15
Port Aransas ISD Tue., Aug 15
Robstown ISD Wed., August 16
Sinton ISD Wed., Aug 16
West Oso ISD Mon., Aug 28
Davon Taylor, KRIS 6 News Reporter contributed to this article.
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