Lee esta historia en español. When the Austin Independent School District begins phasing students back into school buildings Oct. 5, it will prioritize special education and lower grade levels within each school as the first to return. At a school board information session Monday night, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said each school will be able to […]
Claire McInerny, KUT
Posted inAISD
Austin ISD’s school year delayed until Sept. 8, first eight weeks could be online-only
The Austin Independent School District’s Board of Trustees voted to delay the start of classes for the school year until Sept. 8. Virtual classes were supposed to begin Aug. 18, but the board wanted to give teachers more time to prepare for online learning. School board members also took into account recommendations from local health […]
Posted inEducation
‘This is an issue of health’: Teachers union demands Austin ISD offer only online classes in August
The union for Austin Independent School District employees is asking the district and the state not to send employees back to school buildings in August. Union members say it is unsafe for employees and children to be in classes together. During an online news conference Wednesday, Education Austin President Ken Zarifis said the union is […]
Posted inEducation
Schools in Travis County are not just segregated. They’re the most segregated in the state.
Valerie Sterne has always known anecdotally that schools in Austin are segregated. She used to be a teacher and an administrator with the Austin Independent School District, and saw firsthand that students of color and low-income students were all attending the same schools. When she left to get her PhD in education policy, she decided […]
Posted inEducation
Austin ISD school board approves $1.6 billion budget, after public calls to defund AISD Police
The Austin Independent School District’s Board of Trustees passed a $1.65 billion budget early Tuesday, taking $47.6 million from the district’s reserve funds to make up for a shortfall partly caused by COVID-19 expenses. The budget also includes 2% raises for staff, more money for dual-language programs and more funding for certified academic language therapists, […]
Posted inPublic Health
Here’s what Central Texans need to do to not overwhelm our hospitals
We know there will be an outbreak of COVID-19 in Austin, but the severity of the outbreak is up to us. A new report from UT finds that if everyone in Austin reduces their human interaction by 90 percent, the city’s hospitals would be able to treat everyone who gets sick. If people reduce their […]
Posted inAISD
As Superintendent Paul Cruz prepares to leave Austin ISD, his school closure plan remains unresolved
Even though Superintendent Paul Cruz said he’s leaving the Austin Independent School District, the process of school closures that started under his watch likely will not end. But where the plan goes from here is unknown. At a press conference Thursday, Cruz said the decision on how to move forward with eight schools under consideration for closure […]
Posted inAISD
Austin ISD considers opening a school for young adults with autism
A local nonprofit wants to start a school in Austin that serves young adults with neurological conditions like autism. Easterseals of Central Texas is seeking to start the school within the Austin Independent School District. The school would help students older than 18 who have autism or other conditions learn important life and workplace skills. […]
Posted inAISD
Chief equity officer calls Austin ISD’s school closure process inequitable and ‘short-sighted’
School closures and consolidations are not “equity strategies,” the Austin Independent School District’s chief equity officer says in a report released Monday. “They are short-term and often short-sighted approaches to cost savings that are seldom reinvested in programming in the very school communities that are displaced and dispossessed,” Stephanie Hawley continues. The report was dated […]
Posted inAISD
Austin ISD equity officer calls closure plan ‘racist’ before board votes to close four schools
The Austin Independent School District’s Board of Trustees voted 6-3 on Monday to close Brooke, Metz, Sims and Pease elementary schools at the end of this school year. Trustees Ann Teich, Arati Singh and LaTisha Anderson opposed the closures. Parents and community members have pushed back for months on the proposal; that continued during public […]
Posted inAISD
Under new proposal, Austin ISD gives itself more time to consider closing eight schools
Instead of closing 12 schools over the next five years, the Austin Independent School District is now proposing to close four schools over two years. In a revised school changes plan released Friday, AISD says it will take more time considering whether to close the eight other schools on its original list. The revisions come […]
Posted inAISD
What’s next in the process to close Austin ISD schools?
The Austin Independent School District finished its third week of community meetings to get feedback on its plan to close and consolidate 12 schools. Now, district staff will revise the proposal before the school board votes in late November. Here’s a wrap-up of what was discussed last week. Appetite for a November 2020 Bond? The […]