Hello Friends,

Take a deep breath, we made it y’all. Spring Break is here! I hope y’all take advantage of the week off and find the time to relax and re-energize. 

• Austin ISD’s Spring Break is officially March 14-21st. 

Reminder: Whether you’re traveling or staying in town during break, keep healthy habits so we can prevent the spread of any illness, including measles! Measles are highly contagious and can spread through the air from an infected person. Learn more about protecting yourself and your family with facts from Austin Public Health. 

Let’s get started….

It’s time again for another installment of the Board Bulletin. Since it’s right before Spring Break, we know everyone may be a little rusty. 

For a quick refresher, the Board Bulletin recaps our Board of Trustees meetings and gives quick, helpful information on the progress of our Scorecard. 

This week we had our Board Information Session where leaders discussed progress on literacy work and caregiver engagement. Let’s get into it! 

• First up, literacy…One of the district’s goals is improving student literacy, specifically decreasing the amount of students who need special interventions or support. 

  • We’re seeing an overall decrease in the percentage of second-grade students recommended for intervention on the MAP reading assessments, which students take at the beginning, middle and end of year.

  • Moreover, we saw these decreases in nearly all student groups year-over-year, showing that our efforts to strengthen classroom instruction is working. 

  • These gains are important as strong reading skills are essential for ongoing academic success beyond early grade levels. 

• Next, we discussed caregiver engagement. As part of our scorecard, we’ve committed to ensuring schools build meaningful partnerships with their families. 

  • This is the baseline year of this goal, which means we measure how our campuses are currently doing with their caregiver engagement goals and use that information to set a goal for where we’d like to be in five years based on where we’ve started.

  • We are looking at six standards of engagement: communication, parenting, student learning, volunteering, school decision-making and collaborating family, school and community partnerships.

  • Navarro Early College High School Navarro — which is the first Austin ISD High School to adopt the Families as Partners program — was identified as an outlier in the data. They aim to double the number of parent “champions” by May 2025 from three to six. The campus is using these parent leaders to help guide and educate families about literacy and CCMR goals and opportunities.

  • The district is using this data to inform a plan to better support campuses in creating and implementing caregiver engagement goals that position families as valued partners and trusted decision-makers in their children’s education — which we know is a driver of student outcomes. 

• Finally, the board completed a quarterly update on the TEA Agreed Order.

  • The TEA Order is comprised of four priorities and the Lone Star Governance framework. As of now, Priorities I, III and IV are complete! 

  • The board achieved a rating of “meets focus” for the fourth consecutive quarter, as part of the Lone Star Governance framework, which means they remain on track to complete the requirements. 

  • As part of Lone Star Governance, Trustees are meeting with schools in their districts this spring to hear feedback from families on the district’s scorecard progress. 

What’s next: Join us March 27 for our Board Regular Voting Meeting where district leaders will continue to discuss budget plans. See you then! 

• On the agenda is a possible vote to move forward with negotiating and drawing up a contract for the sale of the former Rosedale School campus located at 2117 West 49th Street. A sale price is not yet public as the district is still in discussions with the proposed buyer, OHT Partners. More information will be released once the contract is signed by all parties.

There will be a new way to stay connected within Austin ISD as Google Chat launches all staff to explore March 24.

The details: Google Chat is a communication and collaboration tool that allows users to send messages and share files. 

• Once available, look for the above icon via the AISD portal or your Google waffle menu in Google Drive.

• Microsoft Teams will still be available through the end of the school year.

Zoom out: Google Chat is launching as an alternative for Microsoft Teams as part of our larger cost-savings measures. Austin ISD will soon be a full Google district, including Gmail after Microsoft Outlook and Teams will sunset this summer. 

Go deeper…You can find more Information about Google Chat and Google Workspace in general, including training opportunities and other resources by visiting Google Central, our comprehensive Google Workspace website for Austin ISD staff (also found in the portal).

Save the date for our 2025 Teacher Career Fair, March 29, 2025 at the Austin Southpark Hotel!

Women's History Month- March 1 to 31

Spring Break–Staff/Student Holiday- March 17 to 21

Athletic Trainers Appreciation Week- March 24 to 28

Austin ISD Pride Week- March 24 to 28

Skilled Trades Appreciation Week- March 24 to 28

Head Start Policy Council Meeting - March 25

School Safety & Security Committee Meeting - March 25

Tools for Success / Herramientas para el éxito - March 26

Environmental Stewardship Advisory Committee Meeting - March 26

Tools for Success / Herramientas para el éxito - March 27

Board Regular Voting Meeting - March 27

For more events, please visit the Calendar of Events website.

Let's work together this school year to prioritize attendance and create more opportunities and a brighter future for Austin ISD students! 

At SXSW, Austin ISD superintendent lays out challenges, opportunities Austin schools are facing - Austin Statesman

'This is huge', Dak Prescott speaks on Cowboys' latest investment in future - Cowboys Wire

Congratulations to Trustee Andrew Gonzales for being named a finalist of the Austin Under 40 Awards! We’ll be cheering you on!

Before you shut off your computer, today is the last day to submit your input on how the district continues to explore partnerships and other ways to provide all district staff with housing resources and opportunities. 

• To help us better understand your current and future housing needs, please complete this brief, anonymous survey by Friday, March 14.

• By completing the survey you’ll have the chance to enter a drawing to win a $50 HEB gift card.

I hope everyone enjoys their time off next week. I’ll be enjoying the break with friends and family in Northern California. I’m looking forward to cooler weather. 

Have a great Spring Break!

-JJ 

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For questions or comments you may 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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