PSJA ISD board approves Optional Flexible School Day Program to help students recover attendance and credits

PHARR-SAN JUAN-ALAMO ISD — The PHARR‑SAN JUAN‑ALAMO Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the district's Optional Flexible School Day Program (OFSDP) during its regular meeting in June. The program lets students with excessive absences or those who have failed core courses make up instructional time through after‑school sessions, Saturday tutorials and summer or enrichment days.

The OFSDP presentation was delivered by Laura Farias, a district presenter, and Dr. Orlando Noyola, who described how the program is used each year to restore attendance and recover credits. “This is a program that places students that have excessive absences in an after school or Saturday tutorials to make up lost instruction time,” Farias said. Noyola added, “It allows the students to make up time. If they are absent a day, they can come after school or they can come in on Saturdays.”

District staff showed attendance and participation figures used to justify the application. As of the most recent reporting period cited to the board, 1,972 elementary students, 908 middle school students and 1,869 high school students had 18 or more absences (the district’s threshold for not meeting the 90% attendance criterion). The presenters said the preliminary district attendance rate for the current year was about 95.6 percent. The board was also shown that the district reported 2,243 graduates across campuses for the most recent year.

Staff described how time is recovered: during the regular year, students can make up one day of attendance by completing four hours of approved after‑school or Saturday instruction (district staff explained that an instructional day runs about 6½ to 7 hours, and four hours satisfies the make‑up requirement). Summer options include daily summer school sessions in June and August and shorter “enrichment days” offered in June and in August. Campus staff hire the teachers who run make‑up and enrichment sessions, and high schools were asked this year to staff targeted courses (for example Algebra, U.S. History, Biology, English I and II) to address End‑of‑Course and credit recovery needs.

Board members asked for operational details and confirmation that the sessions provide direct academic instruction. Trustee comments noted appreciation for improved attendance and asked how students are identified and scheduled. Farias said students are identified at the end of each six‑week grading period and that campuses run their own attendance recovery sessions. Trustee Gutierrez moved to approve the OFSDP application; the motion carried unanimously.

The board agreed to continue the program for the coming year. Staff said program participation is tracked for funding purposes and to document hours recovered for each student.