Nestled on the East side of San Antonio, Tynan Early Childhood Education Center has been serving San Antonio ISD students and families since 1932. The school, which was originally designated as an elementary school, was named for Elizabeth Tynan, an SAISD teacher and principal whose career spanned 23 years. Tynan was known for her teaching ability, for promoting health education and for establishing the first cafeteria in a public school.
The school has undergone several renovations over its 92-year history. For the past 16 years, it has been utilized as an early childhood education center, serving three- and four-year-olds from across the city.
"Tynan is the hub of our community and I'm proud to say that through the years, we have maintained a great partnership with the families that we serve. Every child deserves a high-quality early education program. Our wonderful teachers have always maintained that working in this school brings them joy and purpose."
- Gregorio Velazquez, Tynan principal
Tynan ECE is one of the 12 SAISD school buildings that will close at the end of the 2023-2024 school year due to the SAISD board's "rightsizing" decision, which was passed in the Fall of 2023. The decision was based on a framework that examined enrollment, facility use, and cost per pupil at each and every SAISD school. Three of the four SAISD's early childhood education centers are closing at the end of this year.
Though the 2023-2024 school year will be the final year for three of SAISD's ECE campuses, the district is adding additional Head Start classrooms to elementary campuses for 2024-2025 school year. By integrating SAISD's youngest learners into elementary school campuses provides parents with multiple children reduced commute times. SAISD communications rightsizing staff member Deborah Silliman had the chance to photograph a Day in the Life at Tynan in Spring 2024 to document the campus in its final months.
Please join us below as we explore A Day in the Life at Tynan Early Childhood Education Center.
To the right, teacher Bobbie Felsing manages the morning announcements in place of principal Gregorio Velazquez, who was off-campus at a training. Because of the small campus size, no vice principal has been assigned to the campus. But Felsing doesn't mind the extra duties. She is working on her principal certificate at The University of Texas at San Antonio and welcomes on-the-job training.
San Antonio ISD operates the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) under the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, which allows all SAISD schools to serve breakfast and lunch to all children at no charge.
Head Start and Pre-K classrooms have unique menus that are different from all the other grade levels and meet SAISD's youngest learners' nutritional needs. The district offers a variety of foods, from Italian to Asian and everything in between, to allow students to explore and expand their palates.
-
-
Play-based learning is a crucial tenet of early childhood education at Tynan. Above, children have the opportunity to play on outdoor play area, in the gym, or in an inside play area that is set up in the cafeteria. Since all the classrooms eat their meals in the classrooms, the cafeteria has been converted to storage and a play area.
-
"People don’t really see it. They say, 'You just play all day.' And yes, we kind of do. But there are ulterior motives to everything that we are doing with them. Early childhood education centers like Tynan have a true purpose - they are perfect for the kids. It’s a good way to get them ready to go to 'big school'."
- Natalie Avitua, Tynan special education teacher
It is not unusual to find children dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments in the hallways at Tynan. Because Tynan only houses SAISD's littlest learners, the campus can tailor their classrooms, hallways, and common spaces to the little minds and bodies of 3- and 4-year-old children.
"It is important to offer multiple learning opportunities throughout the day. Our students are greeted with music the minute they step in the doors to begin their instructional day. Our teachers also view transitional time as learning time; therefore, students move from one location to another singing, dancing, chanting, and playing musical instruments to enhance their cognitive learning."
- Gregorio Velazquez, Tynan principal
-
-
Tynan houses ten Head Start classrooms. Head Start programs help young children from low-income families prepare to succeed in school, promoting children's development through early learning, health, and family well-being. There is an income limit for children to be enrolled in a Head Start program. Head Start programs receive additional city and federal funding than traditional Pre-K classrooms. SAISD is offering Head Start classrooms at 24 campuses in the 2024-2025 school year, an increase from the current school year.
"A goal of the Head Start program is to help parents be more independent and self-sufficient. When we sit down with families, we just don't talk about their kids; we talk about their personal goals. Maybe the parents want to get a GED or a certification. Maybe they need help paying a bill or keeping food on the table. The Head Start partnership with the City of San Antonio allows our families to get access to a plethora of resources."
- Christina Quinones, SAISD Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, and Attendance (ERSEA) coordinator.
-
-
Bobbie Felsing and Elizabeth Leal, along with their instructional assistants Letty Ramirez and Twonya Mondy, lead one of the 10 Head Start co-teach classrooms at Tynan. Traditional Head Start classes have two educators in the classroom at all times.
Two of Tynan's 10 classes follow a co-teach model, which combines students who receive special education services with the general student population. By combining students with different abilities, students are able to teach each other and learn compassion for people different than themselves.
"Head Start is so important because parents are our student's first teachers. We need to help those families get the education they need to educate their children. Plus, families in a Head Start program get comprehensive services like medical and dental services, job training, parenting classes, and free food. Head Start offers amazing programing, not just for students but for their families."
- Andrea Martinez, special project manager, City of San Antonio
-
-
Above, Bilingual Head Start Teacher Rocio Ramirez and Instructional Assistant Sendy Ibarra work with the students in their Pre-K classroom. The two educators involve their students in their teaching, having students come to the front of the classroom and demonstrate their knowledge to their peers. The students are used to being helpers in the classroom, taking responsibility for handing out supplies to other students and putting their own materials away when they are done with them.
In Ramirez's classroom, students are taught to respect others' opinions. By the end of the school year, she expects her students to be able to teach their classmates.
"When students teach their peers, they learn more than just learning from me. Their self-esteem is raised when they feel like they can teach someone else."
- Rocio Ramirez, bilingual Head Start teacher
-
Nap times are incorporated into every classroom at Tynan and every other Head Start and Pre-K classroom across the district. According to The Cleveland Clinic, children 2-5 years of age should get between 10-13 hours of sleep daily. Research shows that kids who get enough sleep show improvements in behavior, attention, memory, learning, emotional regulation, and mental and physical health.
Vanessa Cazares, Tynan office clerk, strives to create a welcoming environment for students and families. And it has worked. Parents give rave reviews to the school's staff and educators.
"Tynan is such a friendly school. It's such a good environment for the kids."
- Sal Vela, Tynan parent
"I love this school and am so sad they are closing."
- Brenda Ramirez, Tynan parent and grandparent
Elizabeth Leal stands in the classroom that she taught in last school year. It brings back memories to the times that she spent educating Tynan's young learners over last 10 years. This year, the classroom she stands in is being used for testing purposes. With the decrease in teacher allocations, Leal accepted a transition into a co-teach classroom with Bobbie Felsing. Leal's new classroom is located down the hall from her old classroom.
-
Above, Victoria Perez, instructional assistant, lives in the Tynan community, and her three children attended the school when they were young. "My kids loved it here," said Perez. "When they went here, I would volunteer as much as I could!"
After volunteering for several years, Perez was hired as a substitute after being encouraged by Gregorio Velazquez, Tynan principal. Two years ago, she transitioned to an instructional assistant role. She, along with two other Tynan educators, is going to work at Smith Elementary School next year due to rightsizing.
"Smith seems really nice; it has the same kind of environment we have here at Tynan. One of our co-teach classrooms and another instructional assistant are going to Smith, too. I am nervous, but I feel great that I know someone else from Tynan is going with me. The people that are going there, I enjoy their company, and I am excited to work with them."
- Victoria Perez, instructional assistant
-
-
Even though change can be difficult, rightsizing the district has advantages for both students and teachers. As demographers Van Schoales and Brian Eschbacher said in EdWeek,
“Many demographers have focused on the long-term risk to Social Security or Medicare posed by the lower birthrates, but K-12 education is actually the first institution to be dramatically affected. Shrinking is hard. But it does not have to be catastrophic, and if done thoughtfully, can even be an opportunity to restart or build higher-quality schools."
In SAISD, rightsizing will allow the district to reimagine the way students are supported so both children and educators benefit. Combining campuses will all in a more equitable resource division among students and teachers, allow for teacher collaboration across the same grade levels, and ensure thriving schools.
To learn more about rightsizing at SAISD, click here.