Hutto recruits future teachers in apprenticeship program
HUTTO — Rising student enrollment in the Hutto Independent School District fueled by rapid growth and economic development is expected to start cooling off, trustees heard during a recent session.
However, because the trend in downward attendance is gradual, Hutto ISD will continue with plans for new campuses and is even instituting a program “to build tomorrow’s teachers today” to match the needs of pupil enrollment projections.
One aim of the program is to encourage current students to begin apprenticeships to eventually become teachers with the hope they return to the district.
Meanwhile, Paul Cash from Zonda Education, a consulting firm that specializes in demographic analysis and enrollment projections for school districts, presented trustees with market data and housing trends during the Dec. 11 session.
“Hutto is a fast-paced district that is continuing to grow, but those projections are starting to slow,” he said. “The economy is not there to support the number of homes that need to be sold to maintain the pace that (Hutto ISD has had) in the last three or four years.” For the 2025-26 school year, the district saw an increase of 414 students from the previous academic cycle.
Hutto ISD currently has a student population of about 10,000. Over the next five years, enrollment is estimated at 13,000 students but only slightly more than 15,000 in the next 10 years.
“We use the housing market to guide how we make enrollment projections. Across the U.S., (the housing market) has gone up a little bit since July, but sales are not what they were even just a year ago,” Cash said.
In a related matter, Gaye Rosser, who oversees Hutto ISD’s talent management and personnel support, and Jen Jasper, a strategic staffing specialist, shared an update on the district’s apprentice and highly qualified teachers program.
“We developed our (education preparatory) program at Hutto High School and then ultimately a preapprenticeship program that could lead into a paraprofessional role and then to a future teacher role,” Rosser said.
Jasper noted Hutto’s program is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor and meets several key elements, including apprentices learning on the job while also earning wages.
In October, three Hutto High School seniors in the district’s ed prep program received letters of intent to join the apprenticeship and become paraprofessionals next year.
“Our ultimate goal is degree completion and teacher certification,” Jasper said.
School board meetings are held in the Administration Building board room at 200 College St. The next session is Jan. 22.
Trustees hold a closed session at 6 p.m., then open the meeting to the public about an hour later. Meetings can be streamed live or watched at a later date at huttoisdtx.new. swagit.com/videos.
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“Hutto is a fastpaced district that is continuing to grow, but those projections are starting to slow.”
— Paul Cash, Zonda Education
