I hope everyone had a great weekend. I was able to spend some time with my family hanging out at the Pecan Street Festival. Great food and great vibes! I really enjoyed getting to know many Austin artists and artisans. There's so much talent in this city!
National Hispanic Heritage Month began Sunday, September 15th, and runs through October 15. There are celebrations happening throughout the next month at our campuses. Please reach out to your campus administrators to find out what they have in store. The list of our district celebrations can be found on our website.
Some exciting news. We recently learned that two of our schools, Rosedale School and General Marshall Middle School, were awarded Stars of Distinction by TASA and TASB and will be part of the 2024–25 Exhibit of School Architecture, which celebrates excellence in planning and design of the learning environment.
Finally, I know it’s only the 5th week of school, but our seniors and their families are eager to get graduation dates on their calendars. You can now find 2025 graduation details at austinisd.org/graduation.
Monday, September 16
I’m so excited that I get to start the day at Becker Elementary School for their Mariachis y Pan Dulce event to celebrate the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. From there, I’ll travel to the office to meet with my senior staff, where we will primarily focus on the budget. During lunchtime at the central office, we have quite the treat — the Crockett ECHS Mariachi band is coming to perform! Let’s go!!!
After lunch, I’ll meet with the special education team to ensure we’re ready for our next deliverable for the TEA Agreed Order. Next, I’ll meet with the enrollment team to progress enhancements to our Enroll Austin platform. Priority registration begins on November 6, so we’re working diligently to ensure all the feedback we received is meaningfully implemented for next year. Later in the afternoon, I’ll meet with the 2022 Bond team to get updates and provide guidance on our construction projects.
Next, I have a one-on-one meeting with Board President, Arati Singh. From there, President Singh and I will transition to a meeting with the Lonestar Governance coach, Ashley Paz and Dr. Jacob Reach, Chief of Governmental Relations and Board Services.
Tonight, the 51st Annual Austin ISD Marching Band Jamboree is happening at Burger Stadium at 7 p.m. I hope many of you can make it out! Get your tickets online.
Tuesday, September 17
Did you know today is National Voter Registration Day? If you’re a student who will be 18 by Election Day, I encourage you to register to vote. An easy option for you will be to talk to one of your social studies teachers; many of them were deputized as Voter Registrars over the summer.
I'll start my day off at the Linder Elementary groundbreaking ceremony to kick off their $56.4M full modernization project. From there, I’ll visit some campuses to see our students engaging in meaningful learning. In the afternoon, I have a governance meeting with the board officers, followed by a one-on-one meeting with Board Secretary, Lynn Boswell. After our meeting, Trustee Boswell and I will be meeting with Dr. Melvin Bedford, principal of Austin High, and Jeremy Striffler, Director of Real Estate and Asset Management, to discuss the proposed MoPac South extension and the impact it might have on Austin High School, especially concerning the safety and security of the students.
I’ll then move into the bi-weekly Special Education Quality Assurance/Quality Control meeting. We’re continuing this regularly scheduled meeting from last year to ensure we’re on track to meet our targets regarding the TEA Agreed Order. Afterwards, I’ll be attending the District Advisory Committee meeting and the School Safety Security Committee Meeting back-to-back.
Wednesday, September 18
My day will begin at the Allison Elementary School groundbreaking ceremony to kick off their $56.3M full modernization project. In the afternoon, I’ll be meeting with our auditors from Gibson to receive updates on their work to find cost savings and efficiencies in our budget. Thier analysis will inform decisions around our long-range budget planning. Later in the afternoon, I’ll attend the Austin Chamber’s Education and Workforce Council Meeting; the topic of this September meeting is school finance.
Thursday, September 19
Most of today will be spent progressing the Equity Assesment work with my senior staff, the Office of Organizational Transformation and our consultants WestEd. In the afternoon, I’ll join the monthly TEA Superintendents call. This evening, there is a Board Special Meeting, followed by a board retreat. If time allows, I hope to go watch my 8th grade daughter’s volleyball game.
Friday, September 20
This morning, I’ill attend Trustee Zapata’s Lead with Love and Coffee with the Principal at Sanchez Elementary School. From there, I’ll travel to the Austin ISD PAC to attend the first UpClose session of the year. UpClose started in 2007, and offers participants an opportunity to learn about Austin ISD’s infrastructure, programs and services, as well as the challenges and opportunities for growth. I encourage you to learn more by visiting the website and apply to be part of the UpClose Class of 2026. I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon back at central office, to meet with my team to strategize around our initiatives and plan for the next week.
This evening, I hope to attend Summitt Elementary's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival, or the Harvest Moon Festival, is a festival that honors the full moon and typically includes a family reunion under the moonlight to share food, give thanks and pray for longevity and good future. The Mid-Autumn Festival is referred to as Zhong Qiu Jie in Mandarin,Tết Trung Thu in Vietnamese and Hangawi or Jungchujeol in Korean. I’m excited for the opportunity to hang out with our Summitt students and community.
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This document has been translated using an AI-powered machine translation tool through Thrillshare. As a result, it may contain inaccuracies, errors, or inconsistencies that do not reflect the original content accurately. Austin ISD strives for high-quality translations and has a dedicated translation team, but sometimes we might have to use AI tools for critical or time-sensitive communications.
