AUSTIN, Texas—Today, Austin ISD welcomes students and families to its newest school, Janis Guerrero Thompson Elementary School. Students and their parents can meet teachers and staff members, tour the school, learn the route to school and practice bus safety.
What: Principal LaKesha Drinks and the Guerrero Thompson school community host a back-to-school event, where the entering class of Grizzlies and their families will be able to meet "Buster" the school bus and pick-up school supplies.
When: 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22
Where: Guerrero Thompson Elementary School, 102 E. Rundberg Lane
Background: In March, AISD's Board of Trustees voted to name the district's new north central elementary school in honor of Guerrero Thompson, a longtime educator whose work in AISD included 17 years of service as a teacher. She also served as the executive director of planning and community relations for the district's central office.
An Austin native and AISD alumna, Guerrero Thompson graduated from Crockett High School and taught in the district's high schools for almost two decades, before being asked to coordinate the central administrative office and school principals' efforts to implement state requirements for gifted and talented education in secondary schools. She also worked in leadership positions for the University of Texas College of Business and the Texas Education Agency and served as a program director for UT's Dana Center. In 2003, Guerrero Thompson returned to AISD as executive director for planning and community relations.
Guerrero Thompson was an active volunteer, serving as vice chair of the board of directors for Central Texas Goodwill Industries, president of the board for Executive Women in Texas Government and on the boards of city, church and community organizations.
She passed away in June 2011.
The school, which sits on 17 acres, is a 98,000-square-foot facility with 40 classrooms. Construction began in August 2012.
For more information, please contact Guerrero Thompson Elementary School at (512) 414-8400.