Fueled by its Exemplary accountability rating of last school year, Lake Travis ISD got off to a rocking and rolling start with a music-filled district convocation Aug. 18 as it braced for an uptick in enrollment on the first day of classes Monday.

The district ended last school year with 6,541 students, and it reported a student enrollment of 6,836 to start off 2010-11. Officials said they anticipate enrollment to possibly approach 7,000 students.
“We expect the numbers to fluctuate in the next couple of weeks, and we’ll have a more stable enrollment just after Labor Day,” said Marco Alvarado, LTISD director of communications and community relations.
Music, muffins and motivation powered teachers, administrators and staff members at its annual convocation last week in preparation for the onrush of students and schedules.
Board of trustees members served up a hearty breakfast as harpist Whitney Souery, Lake Travis Middle School seventh-grader, filled the Lake Travis High School cafeteria with soothing sounds to kick off events.
Later that morning, energy levels soared when Lake Travis Fiddlers sent some of the audience into a dancing frenzy akin to the front rows of a rock concert without the stage diving at the district’s Performing Arts Center.
Lake Travis High School band members, cheerleaders, Van Halen-themed slide shows and words of encouragement kept spirits high.
Rosemary Torres, District Teacher of the Year at the elementary level, told the convocation audience that she relished teaching because she loved kids.
“I can reflect on years like this past school year with great joy. I had an amazing class that was loving and compassionate,” said Torres, a second-grade teacher at Serene Hills Elementary School last year. “They created an environment within the classroom that allowed them to explore their world with an open heart and open mind.”
Inspired by her students, Torres was eager to begin the new school year as ESL/reading specialist for both Serene Hills and Lakeway elementary schools.
“I look forward to the new school year, one that I’m sure will be just as memorable as last year. I am very, very fortunate to be a part of two great families,” she said.
Lou Anthony, District Teacher of the Year at the secondary level, bubbled with enthusiasm at seeing her peers gathered at the high school where she is a physics and calculus instructor.
“This is why teaching at LTISD rocks the world,” Anthony said of the gathering at the convocation.
She encouraged veteran and first-year teachers to not let unruly students unsettle them by “getting their goat” but instead give those students even more of their attention and understanding.
LTISD Superintendent Dr. Rocky Kirk pointed to the district’s employees as the primary reason for its previous achievements in and out of the classroom and its potential for excellence this year.
“Our success both in and out of the classroom can be attributed to a number of things, but its very root is simple; it’s about people,” Kirk said. “It’s people who make a commitment each and every day to go above and beyond the call of duty in the name of our for kids and their success.”