Monday, April 14
I’ll start off the week by meeting with my senior staff. We’ll be progressing our work on the FY 2025-26 budget and campus support plans, and discuss legislative updates. Afterwards, I’ll be meeting with Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter, President Boswell and Vice President Whitley-Chu. This afternoon, I have back-to-back one-on-one meetings, first with La Kesha Drinks, Interim Chief of Staff, and then with Brandi Hosack, Chief of Talent Strategy. I’ll then meet with my team to plan for upcoming meetings with principals by vertical teams. These meetings are the first of the many engagements with the Austin ISD community to gather feedback before starting the process of creating a tool for school consolidations. This evening, I’ll be at Dobie MS for a community meeting where I’ll outline why we are faced with such difficult options. I plan to listen loudly to the Dobie community before we turn in a board-approved Turnaround Plan to the Texas Education Agency on April 30.
Tuesday, April 15
First thing today, I’ll have a meeting to discuss some staffing and personnel matters. Afterwards, I have a one-on-one meeting with Trustee Singh, followed by a lunch meeting with Frank Fuentes, Chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association, and Former Senator Eddie Lucio. This afternoon, I have a meeting to progress our work on the Dobie Turnaround Plan after hearing from the community Monday. This will be followed by a meeting with the executive leaders of Athletics and Operations to have a discussion regarding athletics grounds work. This evening, I’ll be meeting with two community members, first with Ms. Barbara Spears Corbett regarding the Yellow Jacket Field House at Eastside ECHS, and then with Rudy Garza, Immediate Past Chair of Austin Chamber’s Board of Directors.
Wednesday, April 16
Most of today will be spent at the April Texas Urban Council Meeting. Then I have a one-on-one meeting with Dr. Jacob Reach, Chief of Governmental Relations and Board Services. In the afternoon, I hope to attend the APIE Executive Committee Meeting afterwards. This evening, I’ll be at the ¡Excelencia!: Austin ISD Latino Academic Achievement Awards (LAAA), which is taking place from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center. The LAAA is held annually to recognize our Latino students, grades 7-12, who excel in their academic work.
Thursday, April 17
This morning, I’ll have three principal meetings, first with the Eastside and LBJ Vertical Teams, then with Travis and Crockett Vertical Teams and then with the Northeast and Special Campus Vertical Teams. After lunch, I will have a senior leadership planning meeting. This will be followed by a meeting with a few trustees to discuss academic planning, and then a meeting to progress the turnaround plan for Dobie MS, and then a one-on-one meeting with Katrina Montgomery, Interim Chief Financial Officer. This evening, I have a meeting with Doyle Valdez, the Board Chair of the Austin Ed Fund, and Russell Valdez, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Moontower.
Friday, April 18
Today is a staff development day and a student holiday. Jewish communities will be observing Passover, which began at sundown on Saturday, April 12th, and ends after nightfall on Sunday, April 20th. It is also Good Friday, a day observed by those in various Christian traditions. In the morning, I have a governance meeting with board officers, followed by a meeting with a few board members regarding budget planning. This afternoon, I’ll spend time in the office reading through contracts, wrapping up priority items from this week and meeting with my team to plan for the next week.
