Hello Austin ISD Staff,

We are in the home stretch to Winter Break! During this time all District schools and offices will be closed for a well-deserved break Monday, Dec. 22 to Friday, Jan. 2. Students are also off Monday, Jan. 5 for a Staff Development Day. Students return to school Jan. 6. 

Now is the time to recognize and nominate an outstanding Austin ISD teacher or staff member for their work and service. Visit the Austin ISD Salute website to share your nomination!

Mark your calendars: Round 1 of enrollment opens Jan. 12! This first round is for admissions-based and magnet programs. Round 2 for general enrollment and transfers and all K-12 students opens February 16! Visit the Enrollment Dates and Deadlines page for more information.

Let's get into it!

Superintendent Matias Segura appointed principals at Austin ISD campuses impacted by the school consolidation and student reassignment plan, allowing families to have time to plan and make enrollment decisions for next year.

The following principals were appointed Dec. 9:

Wooten Elementary School: Leyla Olano, currently serving as principal of Reilly Elementary School, was appointed to serve as principal of Wooten for the 2026-27 school year. 

Wooldridge Elementary School: Nick Martinez, currently serving as principal of Wooten, was appointed to serve as principal of Wooldridge for the 2026-27 school year. 

Sánchez Elementary School: Travis Barrett, currently serving as principal at Becker Elementary School, was appointed to serve as principal of Sánchez for the 2026-27 school year. 

Pickle Elementary School: Kara Schultz, currently serving as principal of Ridgetop Elementary School, was appointed to serve as principal of Pickle for the 2026-27 school year. 

Pecan Springs Elementary School: Paula Noe, current principal of Maplewood Elementary School, was appointed to serve as principal of Pecan Springs for the 2026-27 school year. 

Odom Elementary School: Elaine Navarro, current principal of Sunset Valley Elementary School, was appointed to serve as principal for the 2026-27 school year.

Williams Elementary School: Michelle Good, current interim principal at Williams was confirmed as permanent principal, effective immediately. 

Paredes Middle School: Jordan Curtin, current interim principal at Paredes was confirmed as permanent principal, effective immediately. 

Guerrero-Thompson Elementary School: Briana Garcia, current principal at Guerrero-Thompson was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately. 

Rodriguez Elementary School: Monica Mills, current principal at Rodriguez was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately. 

Galindo Elementary School: Natascha Barreto-Romero, current principal at Galindo was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately. 

Blackshear Elementary School: Tiona Bell, current principal at Blackshear was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately.

Andrews Elementary School: Audrey Guerrero, current principal at Andrews was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately.

Kealing Middle School: Tim Estes, current principal at Kealing was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately.

Covington Middle School and Fine Arts Academy: Cedric Maddox, current principal at Covington was confirmed as permanent principal of the campus, effectively immediately.

Additionally, leaders were appointed at the following campuses: 

Zavala Elementary School: Tamsyn Michaels, current Assistant Principal at Zavala, will serve as interim principal for the campus after current Principal Samantha Hill retires in January.

Rosedale School: Dominic Infante, current interim principal at Rosedale was confirmed as permanent principal, effective immediately.

The following campuses will continue with a principal search to identify the best leader for the community: Reilly, Maplewood and Summitt elementary schools. 

Families can learn more about options for enrollment with one-page resources on the Austin ISD Consolidation website. 

Celebrating Inclusive Schools Week with a big shoutout to Coach Eric Sloan at McCallum High School!

As an adaptive PE teacher, Coach Sloan creates spaces where every student feels welcomed, supported, and empowered to play. His work reminds us that inclusion isn’t just a value, it’s something we practice every day on the court, in the gym, and across our campuses. Thank you for helping all students feel like they belong and that sports are for everyone.

More information on Special Education, visit: www.austinisd.org/special-education

You may have noticed a new icon in your Gmail inbox and/or perhaps the lack of one in Google chat. Here is more information and some helpful updates from our district’s Information Technology department: 

In Gmail, if you see the above icon on the right hand side of your inbox, this is a new easy way for you to report a suspicious email.

Just click on the icon and follow the prompts to report the email and our teams will investigate. Thank you for helping us keep our systems secure!

In Google Chat, you may have noticed a change in the layout. The call button that was once in the top right corner of a dialogue is no longer there. You may still start a call in the chat, however, by hovering over the name of a person and clicking on the Google meet button in the pop-up window. 

For more helpful Google tips and resources, please visit Google Central located in the Austin ISD portal.

All entries are due by 5:00 pm on Friday, January 16, 2026. The African American Heritage Committee will conduct the final judging.  

Admissions-based and magnet program applications open in January!

Ad Hoc Joint Community Budget Committee Meeting - Dec. 15

Dobie Middle School Beauty Academy - Dec. 16

Family Empower Hour: Texas Transition and Employment Guide - Dec. 17 12pm-6pm

Family Empower Hour: Texas Transition and Employment Guide - Dec. 17 6pm-7pm

SHAC Meeting - Dec. 17

Board Regular Voting Meeting - Dec. 18

Winter Break - Dec. 22 - Jan. 2

Campus Staff Development / Student Holiday - Jan. 5

Austin ISD selling two school sites in bid to lower budget gap - Statesman

Why does Austin ISD send half of its property tax revenue back to the state? - Statesman

Ribbon-cutting events at Williams and Cook Elementary - Austin ISD 

Waymo to issue voluntary software recall after close calls - ABC News

Happy Holidays, y’all! I love this time of the year. There’re always so many festive events and things to do! One of my favorites is a Christmas Carol at the Zach Theatre and the Austin Trail of Lights down at Zilker. 

Big thank you to HEB! Austin ISD will be giving out 5,000 tickets for Trail of Lights this year. We are very thankful to HEB for their donation and we’ll be distributing them through our Parent Support Program! 

Have a great weekend! 

JJ

Have a story idea?

Got a great story about an Austin ISD student, staff, parent, or community member? Share it with us! It could be featured on our website, in our newsletters, on social media, or even on the news!

For questions or comments please email me at jorge.maldonado@austinisd.org

For languages other than English and Spanish, we use an AI-powered translation tool. As a result, there may be some contextual inaccuracies or other errors. We apologize for this. Please email translation@austinisd.org if you are in need of clarification. To change your preferred correspondence language, contact your school's front office. 

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