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I hope you are enjoying the last week of April—which means the end of the school year is approaching. 🎉
This week, we want to tell you about Monday’s Mayday! event to support public education and the district’s proposal for staff and teacher pay raises in 2023-24 —more information below.
Also…the annual Salute 🎊celebration ceremony is on May 10. This is a great event to recognize outstanding Austin ISD team members for their continued dedication to excellence and student achievement in the schools.
Now, let’s get started…
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Staff Weekly
By Paul Stinson ● Apr 29, 2023
Smart Brevity® count: 4 mins...1087 words
I hope you are enjoying the last week of April—which means the end of the school year is approaching. 🎉
This week, we want to tell you about Monday’s Mayday! event to support public education and the district’s proposal for staff and teacher pay raises in 2023-24 —more information below.
Also…the annual Salute 🎊celebration ceremony is on May 10. This is a great event to recognize outstanding Austin ISD team members for their continued dedication to excellence and student achievement in the schools.
Now, let’s get started…
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1 Big Thing: 🗣Speak up for Public Education!📣
📣 Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
Austin ISD is partnering with neighboring school districts to host a regional Mayday News Conference to draw attention to the need for a significant increase in school funding.
This is a distress call to parents, grandparents, public school employees and taxpayers.
By the numbers: Just like households and businesses, schools are facing drastically rising costs.
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Inflation has risen roughly 17% since the last time Texas increased school funding in 2019.
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Texas lawmakers would need to add $14.5 billion to school funding just to keep up with inflation.
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The school funding currently proposed by both the Texas House and Senate falls short by over $7 billion.
🗓 WHEN: Monday, May 1, 2023, 11 a.m.
🏫 WHERE: Del Valle ISD, Smith Elementary School, 4209 Smith School Rd, Austin, TX 78744
📣 Call to action: There’s only one month left in the legislative session. If there was ever a time to call or email your representative or senator, now’s the time.
Find your state representative and senator so you can share your views.
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2. 🏫🍎 District proposes compensation package for 2023-24 School Year
On Thursday, the district presented three compensation packages to the Board of Trustees.
💵 Yes, and…No compensation package is final until the board votes on it.
The agreement includes:
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$4 flat raise for all classified staff—which would bring the minimum hourly rate to $20/hour
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7% increase for Teachers, Librarians, Counselors, Instructional Coaches, Special Education-related services
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3% increase from midpoint for Administrative Professionals
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Above-market adjustments for select Special Education positions
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Increase to Bilingual and Special Education stipends
Of note: This proposal would require us to dip $54 million into our savings since we still don’t know what to expect from the Legislature. 👛
What they’re saying: "Having a $20 an hour minimum wage is just what's required in this town…I’m really proud I get to be a part of this," said Trustee Whitley Chu.
📝 Next Steps: The board will have a deeper discussion of the recommended budget at their May 11 Board Information Session. The final compensation package could be adopted at the May 18 regular voting meeting with the final budget scheduled to be adopted in June.
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3. 🎒International Baccalaureate student prepares to bridge societies, cultures
As Austin ISD 🎉celebrates Arab American Heritage Month, we profile Maryam Zoweil, who is a student at Anderson High School.
When you grow up bilingual and bicultural - or in Maryam Zoweil’s case, bilingual and multicultural - there are some words you prefer to say in one language versus another.
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“My favorite word in Arabic is eayila,” says Zoweil, who arrived in the U.S. from her native Egypt at the age of 6. “It means family.”
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Zoweil, now a junior at Austin ISD’s Anderson High School, remembers that when she was learning English, “banana” was a lot of fun to say!
✈International reunions: Zoweil’s extended family still returns to Egypt for family gatherings, from their new homes in the U.S., the U.K. and Switzerland. Family gatherings are fun, but they are also eye-opening. “[They] make me realize that my life here is very different from life in Egypt,” she said.
💼Preparing for change: Noticing those differences has inspired Zoweil to prepare for a career in sustainable enterprises and businesses that help others. “I want to bridge the gap between societies,” she said.
🌍 Inspired: True, at 17 everyone wants to change the world. But not every 17-year-old has a global worldview. Zoweil said hers is strengthened by the diverse points of view she hears from her teachers and fellow students in Anderson’s International Baccalaureate Program. Zoweil credits the IB program for sharing her, informing her, and helping her grow.
New favorites: That’s why, when asked for her favorite word in English, she responds: “Now, it’s the word identity.” Zoweil is an Arab-American woman—an identity influenced by many cultures—ready to change the world.
Go deeper with the International Baccalaureate program in Austin ISD.
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4. 🏷 💵Padrón Elementary School Garage Sale!
🏫 Saturday, April 29th from 8am to 11am, at 2011 W. Rundberg Ln. Austin, TX 78758
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5. 🎉📚Celebrating National Library Week
📖 “In honor of National Library Week, I hope every student finds what they need in our libraries, for pleasure reading, inquiry and better understanding of their world!”
— Cecilia Neeley, LBJ ECHS School Librarian
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Paul is listening to 🎧 David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ and trying to go a full day without stepping on 🐱🐱 Olive and Piko’s cat toys, especially the plastic balls with bells inside them. 🦶
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