After seeing a continued dip in enrollment, Austin ISD is asking for feedback on its budget for next school year, which will likely include cuts. School districts get money from the state based on how many students are enrolled; when fewer students enroll in a district, the district gets less money. AISD lost around $60 […]
AISD
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Austin ISD didn’t increase enrollment this year, meaning staff won’t get annual raises
The Austin Independent School District didn’t meet its enrollment goals for this school year, according to data collected for the state in October. The school district lost thousands of students last school year during the Covid-19 pandemic and was hoping to see 77,331 students enrolled in AISD schools this year. Instead, there are 74,727 students. […]
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Superintendent’s evaluation sparks heated testimony on district’s working conditions
The AISD Board of Trustees faced a grueling round of public testimony at their meeting this past Thursday, with more than a dozen teachers calling in to express intolerable levels of stress. Citing administrative micromanagement, understaffing, excessive hours and poor compensation, speakers illustrated a district reaching a fever pitch of low morale. With Superintendent Stephanie […]
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Mask mandate was the right decision to keep students safe, Austin ISD superintendent says
State leaders made it hard to keep students safe this school year, Austin ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said Tuesday during her state of the district address. Elizalde said she wasn’t expecting Gov. Greg Abbott or Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath to mandate masks, but she was “simply having faith” that they would recognize local control. […]
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AISD requires masks for all, despite Abbott’s order
Facing spiking Covid cases and a fast-approaching fall semester, the Austin Independent School District has made the decision to require face masks in defiance of an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. “I am responsible for the safety, the heath and welfare, of each and every one of our students and our staff,” Superintendent […]
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AISD brainstorms ways to increase parent engagement
Austin Independent School District’s annual survey, sent out January through March 2021, was designed to gather feedback from parents and guardians about various topics at their children’s schools. This year’s survey focused on measuring whether parents feel their involvement is welcomed by campus administrators, counselors and teachers. While the large majority of parents who filled out […]
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Austin ISD lost thousands of students during the pandemic. It’s going door to door to bring them back.
Fifty Austin ISD staff members gather outside Mendez Middle School in Southeast Austin on Saturday, fueling up for the day with breakfast tacos and coffee. The group is made up of central office staff, teachers and volunteers. The plan is to walk around Dove Springs and talk to residents with school-aged children about enrolling in […]
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Austin ISD is sued over backlog of special education evaluations
An advocacy group for people with disabilities filed a lawsuit Monday claiming the Austin Independent School District is “failing thousands of students” by not evaluating them for special education within a specific amount of time. KUT reported earlier this month that 800 students were waiting to get evaluated for special education. These evaluations are the first […]
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‘Panic mode’: Austin ISD needs to evaluate 800 students for special ed. It doesn’t have the staff to do it.
More than 800 students in the Austin Independent School District are being denied their legal right to a special education evaluation. An evaluation is the first step in the process to get special education services. Without one, there is no official help in class. So if a child who struggles to read out loud never […]
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Austin ISD votes to switch mental health provider
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees has voted unanimously to switch the school district’s campus mental health provider to Gramercy Specialty Clinic. The current partner, Vida Clinic, has begun to transition out. In order to ensure that services continue without disruption, Gramercy may hire some Vida staff. President Geronimo Rodriguez and the board of trustees voted on the […]
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Austin ISD Board of Trustees postpones vote on real estate consulting services
Four Austin ISD school closures in one year has left parents worried about the district’s renewed interest in seeking real estate consulting services for its properties. Fearing more closures, concerned parents called in to ask for postponement of the vote on agenda item 10.1, which if approved by the board of trustees, would authorize AISD […]
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Austin ISD plans to bring a small group of students back to schools in October
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 […]