Hello! I hope everyone had a weekend of rest and spending time with your loved ones. Today is a student holiday in celebration of Diwali, so our kids get another long weekend before heading back tomorrow. Today is also parent conference day, so I hope you were able to connect with your child’s teacher and stay involved in their progress as we continue our year.
We have a lot ahead of us, but first, let’s review what happened last week.
On Tuesday, I met with our District Advisory Council for our monthly meeting. With everything happening in the district, I look forward to these meetings where I can get feedback on how we can support our students and staff and ensure stay true to our Austin ISD values.
On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, we held the School Consolidation and Boundary Change Question & Answer Sessions for North and South Austin schools. I am grateful for our community continuing to show up and have difficult conversations during this process. I know it’s not easy and these are difficult conversations. Please know that I’m committed to listening, taking feedback to our teams and working through this draft plan toward a stronger proposal. Our next Q&A session will be Monday, Oct. 27 via Zoom and our in-person option will be Saturday, Nov. 8 at Delco.
Wednesday, I attended the Austin Chamber Education and Workforce Council meeting. This group works together to ensure educational pathways meet the needs of industries in Central Texas, allowing our students to have opportunities to live and work in their hometown. These partnerships are incredibly valuable, including the work with the Austin Chamber and Austin Ed Fund to host 68 interns as part of the Summer High School Internship Program.
Here’s what’s coming up this week:
Monday morning I’m heading to the Performing Arts Center where the Austin ISD Police Department, Austin Police Department and other first-responders will meet as part of the Uvalde Strong Act. This new law requires local first responders to meet annually to improve cooperation in case of any emergency.
Tuesday, I’ll kick off my visits to the 13 schools proposed for closure through the draft school consolidation and boundary change plan. I’ll spend the morning with Martin Middle School and the afternoon with Sunset Valley Elementary School to hear feedback, ideas and answer any questions our staff and families may have. Wednesday, I’ll visit Barrington Elementary School for their meeting.
Wednesday is Unity Day in Austin ISD as part of National Bullying Prevention Month. Every year, students and staff are encouraged to wear orange to show support for bullying prevention. Check out our social media channels this week to see how our community is showing up against bullying.
It’s also Transportation Employee Appreciation Week! Did you know we operate 578 buses and ensure nearly 20,000 students get to and from school safely every school day? If you see any of our buses or transportation staff around this week, give them a friendly wave and thank them for everything they do!
Check out our Austin ISD calendar for more details on what’s happening in the district. And if there’s anything that needs to be on my radar, let me know!
Recognize our amazing staff each month by submitting a RAVE!
Follow me on Instagram @matias_aisd. #StrongSchoolsStrongerAustin
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