SATX-BNE: Impact 9/22/2025

The emergent bilingual program at Boerne ISD has a total enrollment of 710, comprising mostly elementary school students.

On Sept. 15, Director of Multilingual Programs Triana Fontecha said Boerne ISD is home to 33 languages other than English, with the top three being Spanish, Telugu and Mandarin.

The breakdown: Results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, show 70% of emergent bilingual students are approaching grade level in reading, while 73% of students are approaching grade level in math.

In the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System, or TELPAS, Boerne ISD emergent bilingual students exceeded the target rate in the 2024-25 school year by 15 percentage points at the elementary school level, 14 points at the middle school level and 21 points at the high school level.

Overall, the district achieved a 61% progress rate in the 2024-25 school year, surpassing the progress rates of surrounding school districts and the state's 50% progress rate.

A local bar and community hangout has an uncertain future as its longtime owner plans to retire soon.

What’s happening: Longbranch Saloon, situated at 817 N. Main St. in Boerne, was purchased by the current Owner, Catherine Bentley, over 30 years ago.

She said she is planning to retire and will eventually sell the saloon in around one month.

“People have to retire,” she said. “But I desperately want it to remain the Longbranch Saloon after I leave.”

Bentley hopes that someone from the Boerne area will purchase her business and continue its tradition of community and fun, “keeping it as it is.”

If there are no local takers, she said she may have to sell it to a commercial developer that may want to build something entirely different.

“That’s the worst-case scenario,” Bentley said. “We need something that keeps Boerne, Boerne.”

Regardless, Bentley is fond of the decades she has spent running the Longbranch Saloon.

817 N. Main St., Boerne

Sierra, an outdoor clothing and backpacking retailer, is opening its first Texas location at the Rim on Sept. 20.

The details: Part of the TJ Maxx brand family, Sierra offers a wide variety of active-wear apparel and footwear for men, women, children and pets at a 20-60% discount when compared to full-price department stores. Brands include Carhartt, Timberland Pro, Lucky Brand, DaKine and Burton, according to a news release.

• 17815 La Cantera Pkwy Suite 120, San Antonio

From a Whataburger coming soon to New Braunfels to road projects wrapping up, learn more about some of the top trending San Antonio area stories published by Community Impact the week of Sept. 15-19.

• Cool Vibes Smoke & Flame smokes BBQ with a Bahamian twist in New Braunfels
• Whataburger to open new location in New Braunfels
• The Pumpkin Parlor offering new fall service in San Antonio
• $1.9M road project almost complete in Cibolo
• New coffee bar and children's play space coming soon to Fair Oaks Ranch