In an emotional ceremony Monday night, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees honored outgoing Vice President Paul Saldaña at his last official meeting as a board trustee. His colleagues made personal statements expressing their gratitude for Saldaña’s service and admiration for him as an individual, and AISD students performed musical numbers, giving his […]
Education
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Despite state decriminalizing truancy, Austin students can still get charged for skipping
Lunch time is wrapping up at Austin High School, just west of downtown. As students walk back in the school, Austin Independent School District Police Officer Christopher Roddy walks out. He heads toward the MoPac highway underpass where there are some trails. He patrols this area daily for kids who may be skipping school. “So […]
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AISD trustee reveals reasons behind resignation
In a sit-down interview with the Austin Monitor, Austin Independent School District Trustee Paul Saldaña opened up about the reasons behind his departure from the board, disclosing his fears of becoming bogged down in bureaucracy and describing a school district entangled in webs of distrust. Saldaña officially announced his resignation at a press conference last […]
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AISD magnet school policy in turmoil
Emotions ran high as Austin Independent School District trustees, school alums and parents weighed in on the district’s magnet school policy at the board’s special called meeting April 3. The board deliberated for several hours before it voted to adopt the Facility Master Plan update Monday night, and one of the most contentious issues of […]
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AISD board adopts Facility Master Plan update
Against the wishes of some trustees to postpone the item, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to adopt the Facility Master Plan update in a special called meeting. The master plan implemented in 2014 set in motion a 25-year trajectory for the city’s public education […]
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Austin’s top magnet school may be dislocated from East Austin home
One of the top 10 high schools in the country, the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, may be relocated from its stomping grounds on the campus of Lyndon B. Johnson High School in East Austin to a more central location if the Facility Master Plan Update is adopted by the Austin Independent School District Board […]
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Draft AISD facilities update miscalculates root of underenrollment crisis, board trustees say
Tough conversations about racial segregation and economic disparity need to be had before the Austin Independent School District’s Facility Master Plan update is approved, some trustees said at the March 27 meeting of the AISD board. Monday night, members of the Facilities and Bond Planning Advisory Committee, formed in September 2015, presented the draft plan […]
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North Austin students want to unify in a school divided
Students at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy and Lyndon B. Johnson High School have developed a set of short-term solutions to increase collaboration and improve relationships between the two schools, which are located on the same campus in Northeast Austin. The students’ suggestions follow a district committee’s recommendation that LASA be moved to its […]
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Austin ISD will no longer suspend pre-K through second grade
The Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees voted unanimously to approve a ban on suspending students from pre-K through second grade at a board meeting last night. Trustee Jayme Mathias moved to approve the ban, which also prohibits placing students younger than third grade in a disciplinary alternative setting, except as required by law. […]
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Austin teachers union pushes back on AISD immigration memo
Teachers and principals should not feel afraid to provide information to immigrant families about what to do if ICE shows up at their homes, the local teachers union said at a news conference Wednesday. Education Austin was responding to a memo that Austin Independent School District lawyers sent to campuses Monday, advising them not to […]
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AISD enrollment expected to decline at slower rate
In the first meeting of 2017, Austin Independent School District staff presented mixed news to the board of trustees in its annual demographic report. This report is used to predict 10-year student enrollment trends within the district based on housing and mobility data. At Monday’s meeting, Beth Wilson, the district’s assistant director for planning services, […]
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AISD greenlights new scorecard
At Monday’s regular board meeting, Austin Independent School District trustees unanimously approved the new district scorecard, a steering document that will be used to evaluate Superintendent Paul Cruz’s performance in the future. The scorecard uses new initiatives to promote the desegregation of AISD schools, create data-driven metrics and improve the quality of teaching at failing schools. […]