The Austin School District will again sponsor the Summer Food Service Program for Children, offering free meals to all eligible children in attendance. Households do not need to apply for this summer program. An area qualifies by having at least 50 percent of enrolled students qualified to receive free/reduced price meal benefits.

Meals will be served, free of charge, to all children ages one through 18 — regardless of family/household income — at the sites, dates, and times below: 

Three Austin students will receive the 2010-2011 State Farm Texas Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame Scholarship Award this year.

Abigail Cain, of the Liberal Arts and Science Academy at LBJ High School, will be presented her scholarship by sponsoring State Farm Agent Karen G. Easterling. The LASA High School Senior Awards and Recognition Ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, and will be held in the Don Haynes Performing Arts Center on campus. Abigail, who plays soccer, is the first senior from LASA to receive this award.

Today, Target Corp.® announced that T.A. Brown Elementary School is one of the 42.schools that will receive a new library as part of the 2011 Target School Library Makeover program. Education experts and advocates such as Alma Powell of the America's Promise Alliance, and Sir Ken Robinson, along with elected officials including Texas Congressman Gene Green, celebrated this announcement at the Library of Congress.

Facility Master Plan

Austin School Trustees approved a timeline presented by Superintendent Meria Carstarphen for completing a comprehensive Ten-Year Facility Master Plan. The schedule is as follows:

Austin parents are reminded that Monday, May 30, Memorial Day, is a Bad Weather Make-up Day for the Austin School District, necessitated by the weather-related closure of schools on Friday, February 4, 2011.

All schools in the Austin School District will be open on that day — Monday, May 30 — and students and staff should report to schools and offices at the normal time.

This day was designated as a Bad Weather Make-up Day by Austin School Trustees when they adopted the 2010-2011 school calendar on November 23, 2009.

Superintendent Meria Carstarphen has named Alejandro (Alex) Sanchez as the Austin Independent School District's Director of Public Relations and Multicultural Outreach. The official appointment is pending approval by the Board of Trustees at its Monday, May 23, Regular Meeting.

When the Austin School District undertook its 125th Anniversary Celebration in 2006, the major goal was to establish an endowment fund that would award college scholarships to AISD graduates in perpetuity.

The first awards were made in 2007, and with awarding of scholarships in 2011, the fund continues to fulfill its annual goal.
Twelve seniors have been awarded college scholarships this year by the citizen-led 125th Anniversary Steering Committee. Scholarship funding was provided by corporate and community sponsors.

Metz Elementary School Teacher Caroline Sweet was named Austin's 2011 Teacher of the Year at the 16th Annual Austin Partners in Education 'Salute' to Educators Reception Wednesday.

Anticipating continued budget challenges into the 2013-2014 school year, and possibly beyond, the Austin Independent School District is requesting sealed bids for the sale of two prime administrative properties.