![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TraditionElementarySchool_EastCentralISD_SchoolKidsLearning_StudentsClassroomsEducation_TEASchoolRat.jpeg\")
Tradition Elementary School Principal Karen Kopeck reads to students during an interactive story hour in the school\u2019s library on Oct. 31, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\nBefore walking into Tradition Elementary School, visitors are greeted with a huge banner informing them: \u201cThis is a \u2018B\u2019 rated campus.\u201d Inside, colorful hallways broadcast student work and a constant buzz of movement blankets the campus. <\/p>\n
Last year, Principal Karen Kopeck wouldn\u2019t have celebrated her school\u2019s F-rating, which is considered a failing grade by the state of Texas.<\/p>\n
Tradition, located in a rural town called St. Hedwig on the far East Side, scored a 57 for the 2023-24 school year. For the 2024-25 school year, the campus scored an 85, doing what often takes others years to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of factors,\u201d Kopeck said when asked why the school had previously struggled so much and what led to the growth. <\/p>\n
Fast-growing enrollment strains system<\/p>\n
Part of the East Central Independent School District, Tradition opened its doors in 2018, replacing John Glenn Elementary School, a space that now serves as an annex for East Central High School.<\/p>\n
Unlike most San Antonio-are school districts, ECISD\u2019s student population has been quickly outgrowing the district\u2019s facilities, increasing demand for new school buildings and teachers. <\/p>\n
The district had an enrollment of roughly 11,500 for the 2024-25 school year. In August, officials said it had 12,900 students for the current school cycle. <\/p>\n
By the 2033-34 school year, ECISD expects enrollment to skyrocket to over 25,000 students. Several of its schools are facing overcrowding or will soon be over capacity, including Tradition.<\/p>\n
Tradition\u2019s current enrollment sits at about 700 students, and the school ended the 2024-25 school year with 600 students. Before that, the school\u2019s enrollment had reached over 1,000. The building\u2019s capacity sits at 901 students without using portable classrooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like to make excuses,\u201d Kopeck said, sitting in her office with the rest of Tradition\u2019s administrative team one October morning. \u201cBut we were growing so fast we couldn\u2019t get our bearings down\u2026 there hadn\u2019t been a sense of normal.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tradition Elementary School Principal Karen Kopeck reads to students during an interactive story hour in the school\u2019s library on Oct. 31, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Kopeck joined Tradition for the 2019-20 school year, starting the position just months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close and move learning online. <\/p>\n
When students were allowed back in the classroom, Tradition\u2019s administrative team went through turnover as teachers dealt with the fallout of COVID. All the while, student enrollment kept growing.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s public school accountability system doesn\u2019t kick in until the second year a school campus is open, meaning the public doesn\u2019t know how well Tradition performed during the 2018-19 school year. Because of COVID, schools weren\u2019t rated for 2019-20, and later ratings were caught up in lawsuits after the Texas Education Agency updated the accountability system in 2022. <\/p>\n
Even though Tradition seemed to be steadily improving after COVID, earning a 72 for 2022-23, Kopeck\u2019s team struggled to keep up with the growth.<\/p>\n
From 2022-23 to 2023-24, Tradition went from having 993 students to 1,141. That\u2019s when it got an F-rating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were surviving, not thriving,\u201d Kopeck recalled. \u201cThe teachers were tired. You could see it on their faces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kopeck was also forced to regularly hire teachers mid-year to keep up with growing enrollment.<\/p>\n
Tradition was using portable classrooms, and students spilled into administrative office spaces for additional instruction. Kopeck\u2019s current office used to house five campus employees \u2014 others used broom closets as offices and some migrated from desk to desk wherever there was space. <\/p>\n
Focusing on the data<\/p>\n
By the end of 2023-24, Kopeck\u2019s team decided it was time to reflect and make changes. They implemented more leadership and professional development for themselves and master teachers and pushed teachers to develop their \u201ccraft\u201d instead of relying on reading from a script.<\/p>\n
The building of Honor Elementary, a couple of miles away, opened in 2024, which helped with the overcrowding.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763294656_933_TraditionElementarySchool_EastCentralISD_SchoolKidsLearning_StudentsClassroomsEducation_TEASchoolRat.jpeg\")
East Central ISD teacher Darlene Embrey reviews plot elements in the novel \u201cDon Quixote\u201d with her fifth grade class at Tradition Elementary School on Oct. 31, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763294659_115_TraditionElementarySchool_EastCentralISD_SchoolKidsLearning_StudentsClassroomsEducation_TEASchoolRat.jpeg\")
Fifth-grade students at East Central ISD\u2019s Tradition Elementary School sit at their desks and listen to instruction from their teacher as they review chapters from the Spanish novel \u201cDon Quixote.\u201d Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n