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Happy summer! 🏊♀🍹🎣
A few updates and a June round-up: 🗓
🍽 Austin ISD will be serving free breakfast and lunch this summer at over 50 campuses all around the district. All children 18 and under are welcome, no identification or registration required.
📝 Austin ISD is re-establishing the Ombuds Office to provide impartial and confidential conflict resolution services. Please share your input by Thursday, June 1 so we can tailor this office to the needs of our Austin ISD community.
🏘 Are you thinking about buying a home? Register now for Austin ISD’s free, in-person seminar at 9:00 am on Friday, June 2 at the Performing Arts Center. This seminar will teach employees how to work towards homeownership, regardless of income.
📆 Register now for the Austin EDU pre-conference on June 6 and the SEL and CP&I Symposium “Connected on Purpose” on June 15.
💰 Inspire the Future grant applications are due to Austin Ed Fund by June 23.
📊 Results for End-of-Course STAAR tests will be available through Austin ISD’s Parent Portal on June 30. STAAR results for Grades 3-8 will be available in the Parent Portal on August 16.
This is our last newsletter of the 2022-23 school year. We’ll take a break until the week of August 14, when the 2023-24 school year begins.
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Staff Weekly
By Paul Stinson ● May 26, 2023
Smart Brevity® count: 5 mins...1338 words
Happy summer! 🏊♀🍹🎣
A few updates and a June round-up: 🗓
🍽 Austin ISD will be serving free breakfast and lunch this summer at over 50 campuses all around the district. All children 18 and under are welcome, no identification or registration required.
📝 Austin ISD is re-establishing the Ombuds Office to provide impartial and confidential conflict resolution services. Please share your input by Thursday, June 1 so we can tailor this office to the needs of our Austin ISD community.
🏘 Are you thinking about buying a home? Register now for Austin ISD’s free, in-person seminar at 9:00 am on Friday, June 2 at the Performing Arts Center. This seminar will teach employees how to work towards homeownership, regardless of income.
📆 Register now for the Austin EDU pre-conference on June 6 and the SEL and CP&I Symposium “Connected on Purpose” on June 15.
💰 Inspire the Future grant applications are due to Austin Ed Fund by June 23.
📊 Results for End-of-Course STAAR tests will be available through Austin ISD’s Parent Portal on June 30. STAAR results for Grades 3-8 will be available in the Parent Portal on August 16.
This is our last newsletter of the 2022-23 school year. We’ll take a break until the week of August 14, when the 2023-24 school year begins.
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1 Big Thing: Registration open for new Austin ISD, UT-Austin partnership to train mid-career STEM teachers 🔬
📝 Registration is open now for a new partnership between Austin ISD and The University of Texas at Austin to train 20 new mid-career STEM teachers (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) for its highest-need campuses.
Catch up quick: The new partnership expands the 25-year-old UTeach program, which prepares undergraduate students to be STEM teachers. The new phase, known as UTeach for Texas, will prepare individuals who already hold a STEM degree through a streamlined, five-month program to prepare them for the classroom. 🏫
🔬 What they’re saying: Dr. Michael Marder, Executive Director and co-founder of UTeach, said, “Schools are facing a STEM teacher vacancy crisis right now, and there is no time to waste in helping career changers who want to teach, relieve it.”
How it works: Participants in the program will take online courses from UTeach for Texas and work as STEM Teaching Assistants in Austin ISD secondary schools this fall. 💻
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Starting in January 2024, UTeach for Texas candidates will begin teaching in their own classrooms with continued support from UTeach.
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Austin ISD will provide a $10,000 stipend to cover the cost of the program. 💵
🏫 What’s next: UTeach for Texas is now accepting candidates for the Austin ISD cohort that begins in August. Interested candidates with a STEM degree can sign up to attend a virtual informational session.
Questions? Contact uteachfortexas@utexas.edu.
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2. Trustees expand elementary planning time, fine arts, physical education in Essential Areas redesign
On May 18, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve new time guidelines for elementary school campuses. 🎒
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🗓 Among other changes, the new guidelines will give elementary school teachers more planning time and meet the requirement of furnishing 450 planning minutes every two weeks.
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An additional 90 minutes per week will be added to Professional Learning Communities, or PLCs, for classroom teachers. Special Education teachers will have flexibility to participate in PLCs to the greatest extent possible. 🕰
What they’re saying: “This is a challenging refinement to work through,” Interim Superintendent Matias Segura said. “We certainly acknowledge the value in planning time for our elementary school teachers.”
🎨 More art, PE: The guidelines, known as the Essential Areas redesign, also require 135-180 minutes of both music and art over a two-week period.
📊 Yes, but: Before approving the measure on a slim 5-4 vote, trustees expressed concern over budgetary and other impacts of the new guidelines.
What’s next: The new time guidelines for elementary teachers will take effect in August when the 2023-24 school year begins. 🍎
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3. 🎓Travis ECHS senior finds his passion through computer science💻
🎉Austin ISD continues a month of celebrating the graduating Class of 2023 with a profile of Travis Early College High School senior Samyog Budha Magar, who is proud of his Nepalese roots.
🎮 Curiosity about the world of video games and computer programming is what caught the imagination of Sam, a senior at Travis Early College High School. 🏫
💻Passion for coding: His full name is Samyog Budha Magar, a quiet and studious young man who found his passion through coding.
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"It’s a lot of fun, doing coding, making websites or games," Sam said, adding that the Travis CTE programs in Engineering and Information Technology helped him gain experience in a field that he loves and wants to pursue.
🇳🇵The big picture: At nine years old, Sam left his home country of Nepal, in South Asia. One of Sam's favorite Nepalese celebrations is Tihar.
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Similar to Diwali, but with some significant differences
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"We celebrate our sisters, give them gifts and pray for them," Sam said.
What they’re saying: Sam credits his parents for their work ethic and inspiration.
"My dad immigrated here [to Austin] and has worked hard for us to have a better life.”
🎓What’s next: What was once a dream has become a reality, as Sam prepares to enroll at the University of Texas at Austin to continue his studies. "I'm interested in engineering or computer science," Sam said.
Go deeper with more information about Asian Heritage Month.
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4. 🥦 Austin ISD kitchens, cafeterias stay open to serve free summer meals 🍽
🍎 Austin ISD will serve free breakfast and lunch for children all summer, at more than 50 schools across the district.
🍽 Why it matters: Healthy meals all summer helps students come back to school ready to learn.
What they’re saying: “With nearly 2 million food insecure children living in Texas, these healthy meals are vital to nourishing young Texans during the summer vacation,” said Ryan Mikolaycik, Austin ISD Executive Director of Food Service and Warehouse Operations. 🥛
Who qualifies: 🙋♀
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ALL children 18 or younger, whether or not they are enrolled in Austin ISD
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No need for registration or identification
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Austin ISD enrolled students with disabilities up to 21 years old.
Go deeper: learn more about free summer meals. 🍔
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Staff & Student Holiday—Memorial Day, May 29
Crockett ECHS Graduation, May 30 (10:00 a.m.)
Eastside ECHS Graduation, May 30 (2:00 p.m.)
Austin High School Graduation, May 30 (7:00 p.m.)
Navarro ECHS Graduation, May 31 (10:00 a.m.)
McCallum HS Graduation, May 31 (2:00 p.m.)
Akins ECHS Graduation, May 31 (7:00 p.m.)
LGBT Pride and History Month, June 1-30
Travis ECHS Graduation, June 1 (10:00 a.m.)
LASA Graduation, June 1 (2:00 p.m.)
Anderson HS Graduation, June 1 (7:00 p.m.)
District Offices Closed, June 2
Northeast ECHS Graduation, June 2 (2:00 p.m.)
Bowie HS Graduation, June 2 (7:00 p.m.)
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6. Rounding up the news 📰
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Paul and feline co-pilots Piko and Olive 🐾 wish everyone a happy and fulfilling summer break. 📸 ✈ Paul is reading Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. 🏖
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Shauna Cotte
