Austin ISD students are scheduled to take state exams, including the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness during March, April and May.

To reduce distractions and help students focus on their tests, there will be limited access to AISD campuses during the weeks of March 30, April 20 and May 4.

In addition, the district will administer advanced placement exams, also commonly referred to as AP exams, May 4–15.

As has been the practice on test days in the past, the district will continue to limit visitors’ access to schools during student assessment periods.

Angela Del Grande is a high school Life Skills Teacher and director of the Transition to Life in the Community program at The Rosedale School.

She began working as a substitute teacher at Rosedale in 2007 and has been full time since 2008. Rosedale serves many of AISD’s students with disabilities and prepares students to live, work and enjoy life independently in their community.

Del Grande said she has known she wanted to be a special education teacher since the seventh grade, when she led a class of elementary school students through an exercise to learn about blindness.

Coach and physical education teacher Quevette Terrell has worked at Webb Middle School for 12 years and serves as the director of the school’s Physical Education Department.

Terrell said she approaches her teaching with energy and conviction to motivate students and colleagues alike.

“My passion and my purpose is to be a positive influence who inspires my students to be proud of who they are and strive to do better every day, [and] to be a resource and support system to our faculty and staff,” she said.

James Supak is a National Board Certified physical education teacher at Zilker Elementary School. He teaches his students to live healthy lifestyles with compassion and is particularly motivated by a desire to prevent and treat childhood obesity.

Supak earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2004, and continues to work with the university to train physical education teacher candidates. He has worked at several AISD elementary school campuses since 2005.  

Superintendent Paul Cruz surprised three teachers in their classrooms today to announce their selection as Austin ISD’s 2015 Teachers of the Year for elementary, middle and high school.

Being selected as a Teacher of the Year is one of the highest honors bestowed on AISD teachers.