Happy fall y’all! I know it doesn’t quite feel like it, but it’s officially the first week of fall. It is also Teaching Assistant Appreciation Week in Austin ISD. The teaching assistant role is crucial to our students’ academic success, and I am so thankful for our teaching assistants.  

Last week, I got to meet and honor Ms. Elrod during Allison Elementary School’s groundbreaking ceremony. This year is Ms. Elrod 59th year teaching at Allison Elementary School! She told me that she’s taught the grandparents of some of her current students. How cool is that? 

This past Friday, I was joined by leaders from many nearby school districts and the Austin Police Department, as well as the Travis County District Attorney, José Garza, to deliver a unified message regarding school safety. As we all are working collaboratively to ensure our students are safe, we recognize that we can’t do it without the help of our parents and families. If you missed Friday’s email where I mentioned how you can help from the homefront, please check out the web announcement.  

Monday, September 23 
This morning, I’ll be joining Principal Drummond at Hill Elementary School’s Principal coffee to discuss school safety with the Hill community. After that, I’ll travel to the office, where I’ll meet with my senior staff to discuss ongoing priorities, like the budget, enrollment, attendance and academic progress. During lunch, I’ll be talking with a partner from Winstead, who works with developers and public entities to deliver critical public infrastructure.  

In the afternoon, I will have a one-on-one meeting with Brandi Hosack, Chief of Talent Strategy; among other things, we’ll discuss the ongoing work to fill campus vacancies. I’ll then join the Assistant Superintendents Connect meeting, to strategize together around the work happening in Teaching, Learning and Leading. I then have a one-on-one meeting with Board Vice President, Dr. Kevin Foster.  

This evening, I have an Austin ISD Public Facility Corporation Board Meeting. After that, I will address the Special Education Family Advisory Committee at their first meeting of the year. 

Tuesday, September 24 
Today, I’ll visit a few schools, where I’ll get to see our teaching assistants working with our students. Later on, I’ll have a one-on-one meeting with Trustee Ofelia Zapata. After lunch, I’ll conduct an interview for a key position. I have a meeting later with the Assistance League of Austin, after which I will travel to serve on a panel hosted by CivicSol to discuss workforce and economic development. I’ll then travel to the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center for a media interview with the Statesman regarding Proposition A. I’ll end my day working with our Ad Hoc Joint Community Budget Committee Meeting, where I’ll co-facilitate with Trustee Lugo.  

Wednesday, September 25 
I start off today with a one-on-one meeting with Trustee Candace Hunter. Aftwards, I’ll travel to City Hall for a bi-monthly meeting with Mayor Watson. In the afternoon, I have a one-on-one meeting with Board President, Arati Singh. I’ll move into a meeting afterwards, where we’ll discuss Austin ISD Construction Projects and Renew America's Schools Grant. I then have a one-on-one with Interim CFO, Katrina Montgomery, where we’ll continue to progress our work on the budget. It’s crazy to think about, but the 2025–26 school year budget planning will begin in October.  

This evening, I’ll be dropping my wife off at the airport. She will be traveling to Berlin to compete in the marathon so I’ll be flying solo for the next week. 

Thursday, September 26 
Today, I’ll attend the RP3 Success Summit. I’ll return to the office in the afternoon to meet with my teams and prepare for the board meeting. In the evening, we have our Board Regular Voting Meeting.  

Friday, September 27 
A few Austin ISD leaders and I will be driving down to San Antonio for the Texas Urban Council Meeting. I’ll be co-presenting with Dr. Bardo Montelongo, Graham ES Principal and Trustees Candace Hunter and Lynn Boswell. The presentation is called, Overcoming Challenges by Redefining the Superintendent and School Board Relationship. 

Saturday, September 28 
I’ll be at the Council of the Great City Schools’ Casserly Institute, presenting to leaders from across the country. My presentation is called, The Overlooked High Leverage Aspects of the Superintendency. 

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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.