Join the AISDXP team as they reflect on the interim Superintendent selection process, how the process can be improved, as well as the path forward for the community.

Join Cuitlahuac, Candace, and Emily as they take a look at three of the major issues facing the Austin Independent School district: Essential Areas redesign, selection of an interim superintendent, and the budget. 

I recently got intwined in the snarl that is Austin ISD communication. I attempted to make a public comment based on the requirements on the website and the outgoing instructional recording. However I was informed today that the language is incorrect and my comments do not meet the threshold to be played. Lesson learned; all my future comments will be made in person. Below is the social media post I made along with the recording of my public comment.

@Austin ISD has chosen opacity over transparency. I made a public comment based on the website (now changed see original below) and outgoing message original recorded here along with the comment you will NOT hear this evening. I was informed the process has changed; therefore my call did not meet the requirement. This only further supports the lack of communication within the district itself and with the community.

Candace shares all the feels as Austin ISD moves to optional masking beginning Monday March, 7; the week before Spring Break and SXSW.

The AISDXP team commiserates with our co-host, Emily, a parent at Martin and attempts to analyze and reflect on the Austin ISD's decision to remove 6th grade from  two Eastside middle schools and the community engagement around the decision. 

Austin ISD Q & A on the change:

https://fb.watch/bnvMyKRmMi/ (English)

https://fb.watch/bnvQAOTo9i/ (Spanish)

Candace looks at how stressful it is educating kids, and how the district can start to heal itself and the community.

The AISDXP team talks Covid, scheduling (7/8), community engagement, long range planning and feeder patterns. Accompany resource can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O0kbzhSN3iNDUKoZO9KUnxBO7qJ7_TReKwDO14kxmFQ/edit?usp=sharing 

In this second installment, Candace shares her experiences of the December 11, 2021 High School Fair.

Emily discusses the need for a holistic discussion about feeder patterns in Austin ISD, and touches on a few of the various methods of enrollment design.

Links:

Example of a healthy feeder pattern

Example of a fractured feeder pattern

Segregation Contribution Index

A Vox explainer highlighting the work of Tomàs Monarrez and the Urban Institute on school boundaries 

Dividing Lines: How School Districts Draw Attendance Boundaries to Perpetuate School Segregation

San Francisco United School District's new student assignment policy

This week Candace prepares to take her 7th grader to the High School Fair in the hope of finding a program aligned to her daughter's current course of study in Digital Arts.