Aue Elementary School opened in September 2007. The school is located off Boerne Stage Road west of Interstate 10 in Leon Springs. Photo by Linda Byrne

By Joni Simon
Contributing Writer

Parents in Leon Springs on both sides of Interstate 10 have reason to gloat this year. Leon Springs and Aue elementary schools are rated Exemplary, the highest ranking under the states educational accountability system.

What’s perhaps even more remarkable is that Aue accomplished this feat during its first year of existence and even though it isn’t confirmed, residents in this Hill Country community are saying Aue is the only school in Northside history to have realized such an achievement.

“I don’t know if it is unprecedented, but I do know that it is rare for a school to be rated Exemplary the first year,” Aue Principal Maricia Gregory said.

Fair Oaks Ranch folks also have bragging rights with at least one and possibly both of their grade schools rated Exemplary.

“At the campus level, six of eight campuses received recognition in 2008 with one of those, Fair Oaks Ranch Elementary School, achieving the Exemplary rating,” said Boerne Independent School District Superintendent John Kelly.

Boerne ISD is appealing the rating at Cibolo Creek Elementary School, which is now rated Recognized.

“That’s because 10 of the student writing exams were incorrectly graded by the state testing company,“ Kelly said. “If those 10 exams are correctly evaluated, Cibolo Creek Elementary will be rated Exemplary.”

According to a source, Aue was under considerable pressure to perform as well as Leon Springs Elementary School. Students wore TAKS T-shirts and attended “crazy” pep rallies. In addition, Aue’s principal said she brought with her the skills that helped her obtain Exemplary status at Colonies North, which is also Exemplary this year.

“While at Colonies North, I worked with the teachers to develop a proactive planning process to enable us to provide the best education possible,” Gregory said. “I found it to be very successful at Colonies and I brought this planning process and a wealth of instructional strategies with me to Aue.”

Gregory said what’s also important to her is having teachers on staff who are lifelong learners.

Leon Springs Principal Kathy Dodge-Clay said the Weekend Wisdom Club, a program she initiated, helped the school achieve Exemplary status.

“The Weekend Wisdom Club consisted of a group of approximately 30 fourth- and fifth-grade students who needed help in boosting their confidence and skills for the TAKS test,” she said. “We took a non-traditional approach to preparing these students.”

The selected students met at the school on Saturdays, where they played in the gym, then gathered together in the library to learn chess from a master player. Pizza was donated by the local Domino’s.

“We also made it a point to place a strong emphasis on really connecting and getting to know these students on a one-to-one basis,” she said. “This is our second year of Weekend Wisdom and the second year in a row that we have been Exemplary.”

Gregory agrees that getting to know every student is an essential element of a successful school. She said she personally monitors the progress of each student.

Dodge-Clay said hard work on the part of the teachers and students factored into the Exemplary status at her school. Parents and the Parent-Teachers Association also did their part, Leon Springs PTA President Darcee Grivel said.

“We help every year with putting together snack baskets, with water and pencils for each child that is testing for that day,” Grivel said. “We provide a little snack for each teacher also.”

Parents pack the baskets, which are delivered to the classrooms by Early Act officers. The snacks keep the children happy and focused, according to Grivel, who said parents usually donate the snacks with, on occasion, contributions from the Leon Springs H-E-B.

“I’m not surprised, but very proud,” she said of the Exemplary rating. “The teachers and administration really work hard at preparing the children and getting them ready early on in the beginning of the school year. The teachers even volunteer on Saturdays with Weekend Wisdom to further prepare students if need be.”

With a child of her own taking the tests, Grivel said she felt the stress of TAKS testing “big time.”

“Seeing my child so nervous she is almost sick just kills me. However, she was more than ready to take the test, her teacher assured me,” Grivel said. “And by her results, the teacher was right. My daughter had commended performance on her results.”

Both NISD and BISD, as a whole, are Recognized districts this year. NISD has 15 Exemplary campuses, five times as many as last year, and the number of Recognized campuses has increased from 37 to 45.

Kindergarten and first-grade students perform under the direction of music teacher Ruth McEntire, who wove together Valentine’s Day songs with selections commemorating Presidents Day and Black History Month into the school’s ''Heart and Soul'' presentation in February. Photo by David Basarich