November 2019

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AISD Humanities Department

Overview

The AISD Humanities Department collaborates with diverse  communities of learners to help design opportunities for authentic engagement with the human experience, helping students connect to the past and impact the present as they become college, career, and life ready.

Defining the Humanities in Austin ISD

The humanities are the study of how people understand and record the human experience. Since the beginning of time, we have used literature, art, history, music, dance, theater, philosophy, religion, and language to understand and tell the story of our world. Access to humanity’s records fosters a connection between the past and present, and provides an entry point for how we might understand and impact our future.

Language Arts Overview

The AISD Language Arts Team is dedicated to creating a community of students who see themselves as readers and writers. During a school day, we believe that all students should have the chance to:

  • read texts that interest them and teach them something new
  • write about what matters to them and makes them feel proud
  • share ideas with confidence and ask questions without fear
  • listen and learn from other students' ideas

These opportunities should be available to all students, so the Language Arts Team works with other district teams, including the Multilingual Education Team and Departments of Special Education and Dyslexia/504, to make sure we meet the literacy needs of all students.

Curriculum

The AISD Language Arts curriculum is aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) set by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Please see the links for more information on the standards appropriate for your student.

Signature Programs

  • Facing History
  • Vision+Voice
  • 5 Book Dive

Social Studies Overview

The goal of the AISD Social Studies Team is to provide students with a deep and relevant educational experience focusing on the duties and responsibilities of being an American and global citizen as well as gaining an understanding of local, national, and world history and its continuing effects on culture and government. Students engage in the study of history through critical historical inquiry, learning to evaluate the diversity of ideas that shape our global society.

Curriculum

The AISD Social Studies curriculum is aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and developed in accordance with the Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd Edition, 2005) framework created by McTighe and Wiggins. This design utilizes a conceptual framework that includes enduring understandings, essential questions, assessments, and exemplar lessons for teachers that support the implementation of inquiry-based instruction and learning. In addition, the Social Studies curriculum framework contains support for English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), 21st Century Skills, Social Emotional Learning, and Response to Intervention (RtI) strategies.

The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) divide grade K-12 Social Studies into eight specific strands. Each strand addresses content needed to understand the historic, geographic, economic, and social issues that students will apply when making effective personal and public decisions beyond the classroom.  

For more information, please see the documents below:

Signature Programs

  • Facing History
  • Generation Citizen
  • Ethnic Studies

Contact  Information

Jessica Jolliffe
Secondary Director of Humanities
jessica.jolliffe@austinisd.org
512-414-1700

Lilliana Kendrick
Elementary Director of Humanities
lilliana.kendrick@austinisd.org
512-414-1700

Austin’s Education Community Celebrate Families with “Fantastico” on November 15

What:  Austin ISD, Austin Council of PTAs and Austin Partners in Education will host “Fantastico,” an event to celebrate families and community engagement.  The event is an opportunity to honor volunteers, parent leaders and community partners who give their time, talent, and energy to strengthen Austin ISD schools.

AISD, along with Austin Council of PTAs and Austin Partners in Education, want to recognize some of our many outstanding campus mentors, campus volunteers, PTAs, campus partners and more.

All Austin ISD classes delayed two hours Tuesday, Nov. 12 / Todas las clases del Austin ISD tendrán un retraso de dos hora el martes 12 de nov.

To ensure the safety of all our students and staff, all Austin ISD classes will be on a two-hour delay, Tuesday, Nov. 12.

All district offices will also be on a two-hour delay.

The decision was made in collaboration with the National Weather Service and with the safety of all students and staff in mind. 

We will continue to monitor the weather and receive updates from the National Weather Service.

For the most up-to-date information, please check back here or follow us on social media. 

School Maps/ GIS

Mapping Austin ISD through GIS

Geographic Information Systems, GIS for short, is a computer mapping system used to analyze and display spatial data. It allows you to view multiple layers of data simultaneously.

Mapping information supports district leadership, the board of trustees and community partners in understanding and responding to geographically diverse students and community needs.  GIS is used in a variety of ways, including: 

District Demographics

Our District by the Numbers

  • 230 square miles in the center of the Austin-Round Rock MSA
  • 72,702 students enrolled in School Year 2024-25 (this include students that live outside of AISD boundaries, but are enrolled in AISD schools)
  • 113 district-owned facilities support (that house 128 school programs):
    • 13 high school programs
    • 18 middle school programs
    • 79 elementary schools
    • 3