LITTLE ELM, Texas — It is the day before the first day of school at Robertson Elementary in Frisco ISD. And while most classrooms by now are organized, Reagan Meyer is still getting some help with hers.
"Seven days ago last week, I was called to interview. I accepted the first-grade position," Meyer said.
Meyer is one of the newest hires in one of the state's fastest-growing school districts.
"We are adding teachers constantly. We are adding students," said Anna Koenig with the district's human resources department. Koenig's job is to carefully monitor enrollment numbers, which is no easy task because it is a moving target.
It was much easier 21 years ago when Koenig first joined the district, she said. "When I came, we had 3,000 students. Now we have 62,000," Koenig said.
The average class size in the district for kindergarten through fifth grade is 20 students per teacher. As more students enroll, the struggle to maintain small class sizes becomes real. This year the district budgeted for 150 teachers just to reduce class size — 600 new teachers in total.
The district says the passage of the 2018 TRE and House Bill 3 together helped pay for the teachers to reduce class sizes. Meyer's addition means all the other first-grade classes at Roberston Elementary go from 23 students to 19 students per classroom.
"I was just super excited. This is my opportunity. I wanted my own classroom," Meyer said.
It is a dream come true — and just days before school starts.