Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day! Today, we celebrate and honor indigenous American peoples and commemorate their histories and cultures. This Smithsonian magazine article explains the importance of Indigenous People’s Day and provides thoughtful suggestions for how to celebrate this holiday.
We’re just 22 days away from Election Day, November 5. In case you haven’t heard, our students who are age 16 and older can serve as Election Clerks on Election Day. Student Election Clerks can earn $20/hour as they make an impact on their community. Here in Austin ISD we celebrate our voting rights! Early voting begins Oct. 21 so I encourage you to start getting familiar with what’s on the ballot if you haven’t already, including Austin ISD’s Prop A.
This past week, I got to hang out with almost 40 entrepreneurship students from Crockett ECHS and Austin HS. These amazing students got to see what it takes to put on a major festival during the Austin City Limits Immersion Day event sponsored by C3 Presents. After hearing from the experts, they got into groups to plan and present their own festival ideas. I had a blast being on the judging panel, and was so impressed by their creativity and business acumen! I would definitely attend any one of their festivals!
Finally, I want to invite everyone to participate in the 10th Annual Central Texas Dyslexia Conference, which Austin ISD is co-hosting with the Texas chapter of ALTA in celebration of Dyslexia Awareness Month. Access the recorded conference presentations on the CTDC 2024 YouTube channel through October 31, 2024, at midnight.
Monday, October 14
Our students are off today, and I will be as well. If you remember from last week’s communication, I’ll be at Mount San Jacinto State Park with some friends after having hiked the Cactus to Clouds trail.
Tuesday, October 15
I will be flying back into Austin this morning and will head directly to a meeting with our 2022 Bond program managers, who oversee many of our bond projects. This meeting helps me understand how to help them improve and streamline processes. After that, I’ill be meeting with my senior staff. We will dedicate a large portion of our meeting to progressing the work of the budget process. In the evening, I have two committee meetings: the District Advisory Committee and the Ad Hoc Joint Community Budget Committee. I very much appreciate their partnership and the many hours these committee members are putting in.
Wednesday, October 16
This morning, I’ll be meeting with Representative Eddie Rodriguez. Afterwards, I have a one-on-one meeting with Trustee Singh. The focus of our meeting today will be progressing the work on the Board Monitoring Report. This will be followed by our Board Governance meeting. In the afternoon, I have a debrief meeting with the team that facilitates the Ad Hoc Budget Committee meetings to ensure we’re aligned. I will finish my day holding the first Superintendent’s Quarterly Informal Chat with our principals. I decided to hold these chats based on the feedback I received from the Austin Association of Public School Administrators. I was more than happy to create the space to talk with principals and hear what’s top of mind for them as this is a priority for me.
Thursday, October 17
I will start off the day at Reilly Elementary school to welcome a delegation from the Texas Association for Bilingual Education. I will sit on a panel alongside some amazing principals who lead dual language programs - Chaolin Chang (Joslin ES), Leyla Olano (Reilly ES), and Tracy Sheridan (Doss ES). Immediately after, I’ll be traveling to Dallas to serve on a panel alongside Trustee Kauffman at the Council of the Great City Schools’ 68th Annual Fall Conference. The title is “Hiring the Board's Only Employee: The Superintendent Search”. Depending on traffic, I hope to make it back home to catch my middle schooler’s volleyball game.
Friday, October 18
Today, we have a meeting with WestEd to collaborate on the next steps in our equity assessment. This work is a priority for the district and has been a long time in the making. In the afternoon, I’ll take part in a run through to prepare for the Vanir Conference Owner’s Panel which will be held on Nov. 1. After that, I’ll be meeting with a few trustees and chiefs for a budget meeting.
Sunday, October 20
From 4-7 p.m. this evening, I’ll be at our 5th annual Trunk or Treat Halloween event at the Nelson Athletic Complex. This free event is an opportunity for children and their families to come out and enjoy a safe trick or treating environment while getting to interact with Austin ISD police officers. Police vehicles will be on display for children to enjoy, and officers will hand out candy from decorated vehicle trunks. Numerous community partners will also be present, offering giveaways for the whole family. Hope you can come and join us. I may or may not be in a dunking booth. 😉
If you’d like to opt out of future Matias’ Weekly emails, please fill out this form.
Recognize our amazing staff each month by submitting a RAVE!
Follow me on X @Matias_AISD. #StrongSchoolsStrongerAustin
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.
