Happy February! This month is Black History Month, and we will be celebrating the month in various ways to honor the experiences and contributions of our Black students, staff and families. On Febrary 26 at 7 p.m., we will have our annual African American Heritage Celebration with the theme “Unity in Diversity: Celebrating Trailblazers in the Community” at the Performing Arts Center. I hope you’ll join us as we recognize our African American scholars from every grade level and present awards to the winners of the essay contests.

Last week, I got to join H-E-B to surprise two of our amazing exucators who are finalists for the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. We first visited Ms. Karen Terry, counselor at Sadler Means YWLA, who is one of four counselors in all of Texas to move onto the final round. Ms. Terry is known for finding innovative ways to reach students, always thinking of ways to improve her counseling program and the lives of the young ladies at Sadler Means YWLA.

Ms. Karen Terry, counselor at Sadler Means YWLA, who is one of four counselors in all of Texas to move onto the final round of the HEB Excellence in Education Awards, hold her check with students cheering around her.

We then visited Mr. Wendell Norris, bilingual Spanish teacher and soccer coach at Lively Middle School. Mr. Norris is an excellent teacher and role model for students in the classroom and on the field. Fun fact — I learned that he speaks four languages!

Mr. Wendell Norris, bilingual Spanish teacher and soccer coach at Lively Middle School, cheers with his students

They each won $1,000 personally and $1,500 for their schools. If they win the next round, they will get $10,000 personally and $15,000 for their schools!

This week also happens to be the National School Counseling Week, and the 2025 theme is School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive. Our counselors’ work and contribution is so important and an integral part of student success. Thank you, counselors, for all you do to help our students thrive!

Finally, I wanted to give a shout out to the Lively MS theater program. I was on my way out after surprising Mr. Norris when I got pulled into the theater room. Out of nowhere, students started coming from all corners of the room and converged on the stage to perform a number from their spring musical, “Mean Girls Jr.” These students are so talented, and the number they performed after just one day of practice blew my mind. I can’t wait to go back in May to see the full musical.

Lively MS theater program takes a photo with Superintendent Matias Segura

Where I’ll be and who I’m Meeting

Monday, February 3

The first thing this morning is the Pan-African Flag Raising Ceremony to kick off Black History Month. The rest of the morning will be time with my senior staff for our standing meeting. We’ll be discussing budget, student support planning, legislative updates and other district priorities. I’ll have a lunch meeting with the mayor and other elected officials. When I get back to the office, I’ll have a one-on-one meeting with Board President Boswell. Afterwards, President Boswell and I’ll meet with our Lone Star Governance coach, Ashley Paz. The last thing today is a meeting with Trustee Quintana.

Tuesday, February 4

I’ll start off today meeting with Interim Chief of Staff La Kesha Drinks. After that, I have a meeting with some community partners at the Central Office. This afternoon, I have a one-on-one meeting with Ken Zarifis, president of Education Austin; followed by a phone call meeting with Doyle Valdez, president and founder of Advancing America, LLC; and a professional development planning discussion with Sonia Beatty and John Jenkins of New Leaders. Afterwards, I have a meeting with my staff to discuss the Long Range Plan (LRP) work to date and action plans. I’ll end the day with a one-on-one meeting with Chief of Governmental Relations and Board Services Dr. Jacob Reach.

Wednesday, February 5

This morning, I have a couple of back to back one-on-one meetings — first with Chief Technology Officer Oscar Rodriguez and then with Chief of Operations Christine Steenport. After that, I’ll be interviewing a campus principal candidate. Next is a governance meeting with the board officers, and then a one-on-one meeting with Interim Chief Financial Officer Katrina Montgomery. In the afternoon, I’ll meet with the Operations staff to get an update on the 2022 Bond Program. And finally, I’ll be meeting with campus principals in the evening for my quarterly informal chat with them. At the same time that this is happening, the Ad Hoc Joint Community Budget Committee will be convening for their bi-monthly meeting.

Thursday, February 6

I’ll start off the day at the Austin ISD Counselor Day of Learning. Earlier, I mentioned that this week is National Counselor Appreciation Week. Did y’all know that one middle school and six elementary schools in Austin ISD have received Texas School Counseling Association’s Counselors Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas (CREST) awards? This was for their continuing work around effective communication and commitment to obtaining results. Congrats to the following counselors who received the CREST Award: Robin Johnson, Courtney Cardosa and Kristin Wilson (Murchison MS), Daniel Alvarez (Allison ES), Natalie Perez and Kara Wilkinson (Doss ES), Stephanie Winfrey and Hannah Curran (Hill ES), Stephanie Arrellanes (Norman-Sims ES), Ana Lee (Oak Springs ES) and Lisa Adams and Katie Sieber (Summitt ES).

When I return to the office, I’ll have a check-in meeting with our special education executive directors, Dr. Cherry Lee and Dr. Jennifer Baker. This will be followed by my regular meeting with TEA Monitors. In the afternoon, I have an Austin Ed Fund board meeting, and then a meeting with Vertical Team Lead Principals. In the evening, I’ll meet with the assistant superintendents in the Office of Teaching, Learning and Leading, and then with Board Secretary Andrew Gonzales.

Friday, February 7

The first thing on the schedule for today is a one-on-one meeting with Board Vice President Kathryn Whitley-Chu. I will then meet with her and other team members to discuss Austin ISD real estate monetization options. In the afternoon, I have a one-on-one meeting with Trustee Quintana, and then a meeting with Dr. Mary Ann Maxwell, assistant superintendent of elementary academics, and Dr. Susan Diaz, assistant superintendent of secondary academics. This evening, I hope to attend the Lunar New Year Celebration at Summitt ES.

Saturday, February 8

This morning, I hope to attend the Black History Month Kick-Off with Kickball event at Rosewood Neighborhood Park.

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