Austin Independent School District : Recent News

According to Dr. Forgione, the District received more than 200 community proposals, as well as many general comments, about how the funds should be used. Over the next two weeks, these proposals will be reviewed and prioritized, based on the federal guidelines, as well as district budget priorities. “The goal is to be ready with proposals as soon as we know the fund amounts and specific criteria,” Dr. Forgione said. At the same time, AISD is continuing to seek more information from the federal and state government about how these funds can be used when they do become available.

In mid-March, Dr. Forgione attended a briefing at the White House that provided school officials from throughout the country with guidance on the best ways to plan for and use this money. Incoming Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen also attended the meeting in Washington.

Planning for the use of stimulus funds will take place alongside AISD’s regular budget planning process, which also is occurring this spring. “While there are still many uncertainties connected with the stimulus funding, we will continue to move forward with a process that is as transparent and inclusive as possible, and that best serves our students for the short and long term,” Dr. Forgione said.

Dr. Forgione also updated Trustees on Parent Connection, a web-based tool to help Austin parents stay abreast of their child’s grades and attendance records on a daily basis. Over the past several months, the District has initiated a comprehensive outreach plan to urge parents to enroll in the program and to use it frequently. Currently, there are nearly 18,000 active Parent Connection accounts, Dr. Forgione said, about one-third of the total number of parents.

Trustees Name New Schools

Trustees voted to bestow names on Austin’s three newest schools:

The middle school now under construction in Southwest Austin was named for long-time middle school band director, the late Diane Elaine Gorzycki. Ms. Gorzycki was band director at both Porter and Bailey Middle Schools, before becoming Administrative Supervisor of the District’s Fine Arts Curriculum.

The Austin community submitted to Trustees more than 750 nominations for the school’s name, and Ms. Gorzycki received 279 of those. Diane Gorzycki Middle School will open in August, and is a project of the Apple at Work Bond Program.
The two New Tech schools that will open at next year at Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus were named Green Tech High School, a campus emphasizing science, math, and engineering with a focus on environmental issues; and Global Tech High School, a campus with a focus on international issues and world culture. Students of both schools, along with those of the International High school, also housed on the Eastside campus, would share the school colors of black and silver, the Panthers mascot, and extracurricular activities such as athletics, choir, and band.

Academic Intervention Program

Trustees received an initial staff presentation on a proposed partnership with Community Education Partners, based in Nashville, Tennessee, to provide academic interventions and dropout recovery programs for failing students in grades seven through nine.

The proposal was outlined by an administrative team lead by Dr. Bergeron Harris, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Support Services. Others assisting with developing the proposal include Interim Chief Academic Officer Claudia Tousek; Dr. Ann Smisko, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction; Dr. Paul Cruz, Associate Superintendent for Middle Schools; and Dr. Glenn Nolly, Associate Superintendent for High Schools.

The team told Trustees that, while AISD has made significant academic progress over the past few years, it still faces challenges as exhibited by the large number of seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students who are repeating grades, failing to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills, and/or who lack the basic skills to be successful in high school. Although the District has implemented a variety of innovative programs to attempt to solve this problem, the overall impact of these programs has been met with mixed results.

Community Education Partners (CEP) is a 12-year old company that reports success with serving more than 80,000 students in five states. CEP maintains that it has the demonstrated experience and qualifications required to help AISD’s lowest-performing students to:

Improve their basic skills.
Pass courses / earn credits at an accelerated pace.
Improve their scores on the TAKS.
Achieve grade promotion.

According to the staff presentation, CEP is prepared to submit a proposal that will ultimately address the needs of low-performing, grade-retained students, some of whom may also be classified as disruptive. The program would start by addressing the needs of those eighth and ninth grade students who are overage for their grade, credit deficient, and grade-level placed.

If funding becomes available, and if the CEP proposal is approved by the Board at a later date, the Administration estimates that approximately 648 students, from grades eight and nine, could be assigned to the Alternative Academic Program in the 2009-2010 school year.

Dr. Harris told Trustees that there is the possibility that the federal stimulus funding might be available to support the CEP initiative. As discussions continue, Trustees say they want additional information about the causes of AISD’s student dropout problem before moving forward with the CEP proposal.

Community Bond Oversight Committee Report

Tri-chairs of the Community Bond Oversight Committee, Ashton Cumberbatch, Bobby Jenkins, and Eliza May, presented to Trustees a quarterly report on the progress of the Apple At Work Bond Program. Projects — of both the 2004 and 2008 Bond Elections approved by Austin voters — include a wide variety of new construction, additions and renovations to existing campuses and facilities, technology upgrades, and security enhancements.

In the 2004 Program:

In Phase I, 91 of 92 projects totaling approximately $197.7 million are substantially complete.
In Phase II, 65 of 69 projects totaling approximately $67.9 million are substantially complete.
In Phase III, 50 of 61 projects totaling approximately $100 million are substantially complete.
In Phase IV, 16 of 28 projects totaling $54.6 million are substantially complete.
In Phase V, includes 10 projects totaling $18.6 million.

In the 2008 Program:

In Phase I, of 41 projects totaling $174.5 million, or 75 percent of total program cost, five have been combined with Phase V of the 2004 Program.

The CBOC reports that the bond program has adequate contingency funds to complete all projects, and that Central Texas economic experts foresee flat or falling construction prices in the near term. Also, responses from a recent survey of campuses show that respondents overwhelmingly — by a range of 87 to 97 percent — believe renovations will improve the quality of education and meet the needs of the community.

Apple At Work Bond Program

Trustees approved the following projects of the Apple At Work Bond Program:

The schematic design for a detached eight-classroom addition at Hart Elementary School, budgeted at $2.7 million. CasaBella Architects designed the addition.
Selection of Agnew Associates to provide mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services for work on the heating and cooling systems at Allison and Brooke elementary schools.
Selection of ERO International, LLP. To provide architectural and engineering design and construction administration services for renovations at Zilker Elementary School and Fulmore Middle School.

The next Regular Meeting of the AISD Board of Trustees is scheduled for Monday, April 13, 2009, at 7 PM in the Auditorium of the Carruth Administration Center, located at 1111 West Sixth Street. All Board Meetings are carried live on Time Warner and Grande Communications Cable, Channel 22, and on the AISD Website at http://www.austinisd.org