Elgin ISD hosted a Safety Symposium on Thursday, May 10, with over 130 participants in attendance, with 191 thoughts shared and 3,206 ratings by participants. We welcomed the community involvement and feedback.

Some top priorities indicated by participants include: 

• More campus security and student/parent reintegration after discipline and/or DAEP
• More timely and accurate crisis communication
• Discussion between campus administration and students after incidents soon after they occur.

Our forum was a first step in listening to and involving our community in the work of improving the safety and security of our campuses. Our next steps will be to follow up and share decisions that we have made to address these concerns. Items will be posted to this webpage, below, after they have been initiated by the district. 

In the interest of open communication with our community, we wish to provide an update concerning safety and security on our Elgin ISD campuses.

District and campus administration continues to conduct discussions into identifying issues concerning the safety of our students and staff, and finding ways to improve. To that goal, Elgin ISD has recently acquired hand-held metal detectors that will be available for administrative usage in the interest of safety. 

The district is also looking to increase opportunities for community mentorships, for parental volunteerism, and more ways students and parents can lend insight into matters of safety and security. 

Among those steps is a May 10 Safety Symposium and Community Forum, of which all are welcome to attend. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Elgin High School and will include a panel presentation followed by a Q&A session with those in attendance. It will be an important opportunity for input and collaboration between the district leaders and community members, as we must at all times strive to provide ways to improve our district for our students and staff alike. 

As always, we will continue to revisit safety protocol on campus, and we encourage our community members to discuss matters concerning the safety of our students. We have implemented the use of a statewide school threat reporting tool, iWatchTexas, to report any and all matters of concern, including possible threats. Parents and students may access it through our website at https://www.elginisd.net/Domain/2946 . We encourage everyone within our Elgin ISD community to consider the mantra, “See Something, Say Something,” when it comes to safety on our campuses and facilities.

We also have implemented the use of a communications tool, Reach the E, to report any and all matters of concern. Parents may use Reach the E through our website at www.elginisd.net/ReachTheE and are asked to contact myself, Communications Coordinator Marcial Guajardo, through Reach The E for any questions or concerns they would like to see addressed at the May 10 forum. 

We greatly appreciate our community members who have contacted us in recent weeks to provide insight on how we may improve our efforts to keep our students safe. This community has embraced the mantra, “One Town, One Team, One Family,” and as the security of our campuses is paramount, we must consistently and compassionately keep this focus as we move forward together in the education of our students. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Marcial Guajardo
Communications Coordinator
Elgin ISD

After-action report to Elgin ISD Board of Trustees: May 15

Click here for meeting summary

Elgin ISD has become a Capturing Kids' Hearts school district. Through experiential training, expert coaching, a character-based curriculum for students, and personalized support, Capturing Kids' Hearts equips professionals in K-12 education to implement transformational processes focused on social-emotional wellbeing, relationship-driven campus culture, and student connectedness.

When combined with a systemic approach, Capturing Kids' Hearts improves the five key indicators of school performance: fewer discipline referrals, improved attendance, higher student achievement, lower dropout rates, and higher teacher satisfaction.

Elgin ISD will be offering text message notifications starting the 2023-24 school year, for important information about events, school closings, safety alerts and more.

To participate, parents, students and staff members may simply text “Yes” or “Y” to our school district’s short code number associated with text messages: 67587

(Opting out is as simple as texting “Stop” to the same number at any time.)

You may also opt in on your phone by scanning the QR code here:

In the interest of student and staff safety, Elgin ISD campuses will require clear or mesh backpacks for all elementary and secondary campuses. 

The requirement will be in place moving forward, for the 2023-24 school year and beyond, and will pertain to campuses as well as all district buses.   

Thank you for your support in helping us maintain safe and secure learning environments for all students. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact campus leadership. 

June 19, 2023

Elgin ISD has hired Bridgette Cornelius as Executive Director of Safety and Risk Management.

Ms. Cornelius comes to Elgin ISD from Cedar Creek High School, where she served as principal for eight years. She previously led Bluebonnet Elementary in Bastrop as principal and held positions as assistant principal and language arts teacher.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Huston-Tillotson and Walden University, respectively.

“We’d like to extend a warm Elgin ISD welcome to Bridgette Cornelius,” said EISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jana Rueter. “We are excited that her experience as a principal will help her improve the effectiveness of safety systems across all campuses.”

Ms. Cornelius will oversee the overall management, strategic planning, development, evaluation and implementation of the district’s safety and security program. Stakeholder input from the recent safety symposium will help shape the roles and responsibilities of this position. Her hire is effective July 1.