Before the sun fully rose on Schenck Elementary School at 7 a.m., families were already lining up to drop off their students for the first day of school.
Even though several of those students have been Schenck “owls” since kindergarten, they hadn’t physically been on the campus for two years while the school underwent renovations.
In that time, Schenck’s staff and students went to Foster Elementary School, just a few minutes down Pecan Valley Drive and across Highway 281.
Vanessa Pineda was dropping off her 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter on Wednesday, both of whom attended Schenck before being moved to Foster. She said the school now looks very different from what she remembered.
“None of this was here,” she said, referring to the shade structure and lights that cover the walkway where students were lined up. “I’m excited for them to come back. And the inside looks nice. It looks like a high school in there.”
Parents and students wait in line to get into the school building during morning drop-off on the first day of school for SAISD’s Schenck Elementary on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
Siblings Nevaeh and Jace Gonzales were there for the first day of fifth grade and third grade, respectively. They both attended Schenck before the relocation to Foster and were excited to be back.
But when asked what he was looking forward the most the 2026-27 school year, Jace did not say being in a nicer, bigger school. Instead he said:
“Probably being upstairs with my sister and cousin.” At Schenck, lower grades are housed on the first floor and older students on the second floor.
Part of the San Antonio Independent School District, Schenck underwent $33.9 million worth of upgrades funded by the district’s 2020 bond.
That voter-approved money went toward a new, central two-story building with a new library, bigger classrooms, a makerspace or hands-on workshop, a new front entrance and communal areas made specifically for small student groups.
On the outside, upgrades include covered walkways, new drop-off and pick-up locations, new greenery and improved parking.
Construction crews also expanded the cafeteria, Schenck’s kitchens got brand-new equipment, but kept a beloved neon sign designating the cafeteria as the “Sunflower Cafe” in yellow block letters.
Teachers and staff direct students to the cafeteria as they enter the school building during morning drop off at Schenck Elementary on Aug. 12, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
SAISD’s first ‘community room’
Named after longtime teacher and principal Kate Schenck, the school first opened its doors in 1954. At the time, it was celebrated for having the largest cafeteria to date in SAISD.
That didn’t hold true for long, as school enrollment boomed across San Antonio, but now Schenck is boasting another first in the district: having a dedicated “community room.”
The room is intentionally placed right by the school’s front entrance vestibule, a small room where all visitors to the schools must sign in and show identification before being let in.
In the wake of the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas required schools to control visitor access through single-entry points, or vestibules.
But that can feel unwelcoming to families, said Patti Salzmann, SAISD’s deputy superintendent who oversees the district’s bond progress and infrastructure projects.
“How do we keep our kids very safe, but also have spaces where maybe families can meet?” she said.
Parents hug and kiss their children before sending them off for their first day of school during morning drop-off at Schenck Elementary. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
The solution: a room that’s connected to the campus but not inside the school itself.
Schenck’s principal Virgina Parker said all of the school’s public engagement activities — from family meetings with staff to PTA meetings and advisory council meetings — will take place in the community room.
It’s a neighborhood-friendly design that Salzmann says will carry on to other SAISD schools under renovation, like at Collins Garden Elementary School, where students were relocated to the Storm Elementary School campus this year while Collins Garden undergoes its own bond-funded renovations.
There’s also work still to be done at Schenck. As families and students outfitted with new backpacks poured into the school, construction crews carried on working on an annex building with more classrooms.
Construction around SAISD’s Schenck Elementary continues as the campus reopens for the first day of the school year. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
Serving Highland Hills
Schenck is SAISD’s largest elementary school by enrollment. Parker said 764 students were enrolled as of the first day of school.
By comparison, most of the district’s elementary campuses have between 300 and 500 students, and overall enrollment at SAISD has declined for years, leading to recent school closures and consolidations.
More than a large campus, Schenck has also stood as a backbone of the Highland Hills community it serves.
Roughly 90% of enrolled families attended Schenck’s “Meet the Teacher” event on Monday, an unusually high number, Parker said.
Kathy Garcia was there to see her youngest granddaughter start kindergarten at Schenck. Her own children, now in their 40s, also attended Schenck.
Kathy Garcia, a grandmother of a student attending Schenck Elementary, waits in line to see her granddaughter during morning drop-off. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report
“I live down the street, so I pass by here every day, and my husband said they’re not going to be done by the time,” she said, recalling when the school was in the middle of construction. “We were amazed with how everything came out.”
Sandra Pacheco, a special education assistant who’s been with SAISD for 26 years, started to tear up when asked how she felt about the new campus. She started her education career at Schenck and her kids attended the campus too.
“The campus is changed, but for improvement overall,” she said. “It’s very overwhelming.”