Need to Know: TEA Guidelines for Remote Learning
The Texas Education Agency met Tuesday with superintendents across the state via phone conference to outline guidelines for remote learning opportunities. We anticipate further guidance in the future, including information on health and in-person learning. The information from the call included how attendance would be counted, which ultimately affects school districts’ budgets. Attendance is the leading funding source for schools.
Ultimately, TEA announced in its draft plans that both in-person and remote learning would count toward funding in regard to attendance.
While we are preparing for a hybrid model starting Aug. 18, we realize plans may shift quickly based on new data and guidance from our local, state and federal leaders. Therefore, we continue to plan for 100 percent at home learning as well, which will be engaging, rigorous and supported by excellent teachers.
We know our families want a choice in how they participate in learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us know your thoughts on returning to learning by completing the family survey. For assistance with the survey, please email survey@austinisd.org.
We're looking forward to seeing our students and staff return to learning safely, however, it is clear that our school days will not look the same as years past. Social distancing guidelines may result in classrooms of six to eight students per teacher. This means not all 81,000 students will be on our 127 campuses each day and students will learn remotely when they're not physically at school. More information on in-person learning will be communicated as the district receives guidance from TEA.
We will continue to work closely with our state and local authorities and health officials to ensure guidelines are being met and health and safety procedures are in place.
Need to Know: Transportation with Social Distancing
On any given day during the school year, Austin ISD buses transport 23,000 students across the city from their home to school and back. Social distancing and COVID-19 precautions are going to dramatically change how our bus systems operate while still delivering outstanding services to families.
It’s important to note that even with a hybrid model where all students may be going back to school in-person and learning remotely, not all students will go back to campus at the same time. For example, 25% of students may go onto campus on Monday, while another 25% of students go on Tuesday, another 25% go on Wednesday, and the other days of the week, respectively. This distinction is important because we need to be clear — schools will not look like you’ve seen them before.
Preparations for the transportation team will, like always, start at our three transportation hubs. Staff will receive health screenings before working each day. Bus drivers and other staff members will wear masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment. Hand sanitizer dispensers will be installed on every bus, and every other row of seats will be taped off. All buses will be cleaned between routes.
Students will enter the bus one at a time with the first student to enter the bus sitting at the back of the bus. Signage will mark appropriate seat locations. Exiting the bus will follow the same order, beginning one student at a time from the front of the bus.
On the bus, all students must wear masks and sit in every other row to comply with social distancing recommendations. This means the capacity of a traditional bus will allow a maximum of 12 students to ride. Previously, buses could transport up to 71 students.
Traditionally, AISD allows students who are not eligible for transportation to ride buses as space allows. Due to the current plans for transportation, we are not able to allow non-eligible students to ride this year. This includes siblings of students who receive Special Education who would otherwise ride with their sibling. All students must ride their assigned buses only.
Good to Know: Akins Legal Aid Clinic Wins $10K Rather Prize
Akins Early College High School, home to the first high school legal aid clinic in the United States, will now serve as a model to the Austin community after winning the Rather Prize.
The Rather Prize is a $10,000 cash prize to a student, teacher or administrator in Texas who provides the best idea to improve Texas education.
The prize, awarded to Akins teacher Armin Salek, will allow legal clinics to expand in East Austin. Salek’s goal is to establish clinics at Navarro and Eastside Memorial early college high schools by 2023. Salek led the Legal Eagles program as an attorney-turned-teacher and will continue his education as a Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard University next year. Salek will split his time between Cambridge and Austin as he focuses on his Harvard studies and planning the legal program’s expansion in Texas.
To learn more about the Rather Prize and the Legal Eagles, watch the video highlighting the program and award.
Get in the Know: Community Equity Conference
Austin ISD will host a Community Equity Summit to share stories about equity across the community.
The virtual summit, organized by the Office of Equity and Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness, will be held 1–5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30 via Zoom.
Participants will engage with students, families, teachers, staff and community members as they share their individual and collective stories. The topics of discussion include:
- #AISDAtHome: Learning while at home.
- How the district is investing in equity.
- Language access.
- Technology and achieving equitable outcomes.
During the summit, there will be features of student art, musical performances and celebrations.
Individuals interested in participating may register on the summit's Eventbrite page. The summit will be available in 10 languages: Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Pashto, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Vietnamese, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) and English.
For more information, contact the equity office at equityoffice@austinisd.org or 512-414-9572.
Click to Know:
Educa Austin is AISD's Spanish-language TV program that airs on Facebook Live and AISD.TV. The program is geared toward families of the more than 20,000 AISD students who speak Spanish at home.
The AISD Board of Trustees approved new principal appointments for four campuses at its June 22 regular voting meeting. Harris, Oak Springs, Padrón and Pickle elementary schools will all welcome new campus leaders.
The AISD Board of Trustees at its June 22 regular voting meeting approved the adoption of the Fiscal Year 2021 budget totaling $1.6 billion.
Graduates of Austin ISD high schools celebrated their achievement with in-person Graduation Walk events this week. View the photos of the celebrations on the AISD Facebook page.
Summer II sessions are about to begin and registration ends Friday. Visit our webpage to learn more.
Edition 4, 6/25/2020
A publication by the AISD Dept. of Communications and Community Engagement
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Need to Know: COVID-19 models and procedures
Even in the middle of a pandemic, AISD is committed to keeping the focus on student outcomes and achievement. In order for us to keep the focus on high student performance, we need to be prepared for a variety of possibilities. There will likely be a point in time when any one of our 127 schools may need to switch its instructional delivery model based on the health conditions at a particular school site.
Our preparations include being able to deliver distance and face-to-face learning, as well as a hybrid approach.
As we move toward reopening, we would like to share with you some procedures you can expect to see on campus:
- A no-touch temperature check and screening of students, by a staff member wearing personal protective equipment, will occur at designated spots before students can enter the school building. Screenings will take place in vehicles when possible.
- Each person who arrives without a mask will be provided one. However, due to a limited national supply, staff and students will be encouraged to bring their own.
- Student capacity in the classroom will be limited. Staff and student capacity will not exceed 25% of the classroom space. Depending on the specific class size and the ability to safely distance, this will average six to eight students per room.
- Meals will be offered in the classroom. This is to ensure safety for students and staff and is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Texas Education Agency recommendations.
- A staff member or student will need to meet the CDC criteria for returning if they are displaying symptoms, presumed positive or have received a confirmed positive COVID-19 test.
- A staff member or student will need to quarantine for 14 days if they have had direct exposure to someone that is displaying symptoms and/or is presumed or confirmed positive for COVID-19.
- Additionally, every student and staff member that has had direct contact with the affected student/staff member in the last seven days will also need to quarantine for 14 days. This includes, but is not limited to, the students and staff in a class, on a bus route and in group extracurricular activities.
- The need to shut down an entire campus, the school’s foodservice operations or an entire extracurricular activity for a period of time will depend on the level of contact, isolation of groups and guidance from health authorities.
Also, we understand the need for families to have options as we reopen, and are working to have at-home learning platforms available as well.
Other procedures have and will be developed, and we will soon be sharing more. We hope this begins to paint the picture of the framework we have been focused on to assure student and staff safety. Please know we have been working nonstop to consider safety measures, teaching models and multiple scenarios that will impact our students, families and staff members.
Need to Know: Where we get our information
As Austin ISD examines its options for reopening, we are looking to federal, state, and local authorities for guidance and directives. Health authorities include the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of State Health Services, Travis County Health & Human Services, and Austin Public Health.
Families should know we are also regularly engaging with intergovernmental partners, including the City of Austin, Travis County, Austin Community College, and the University of Texas. These organizations have experts such as UT Professor of Integrative Biology, Dr. Lauren Ancel Meyers, to gain epidemiological insight on the impact of reopening for the district.
Furthermore, Austin ISD looks to the Texas Education Agency for guidance on instruction on reopening in fall 2020. Interested parents can find TEA resources and instructions for districts on the agency’s useful COVID-19 page. Relevant TEA documents resources include:
- Summer instruction, activities and school visit guidance.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Update.
- General support and guidance.
Good to Know: 2020 Texas Young Master
Every other year the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Cultural Trust names a few exemplary student artists in 8th-11th grades as Texas Young Masters. This year, Austin ISD violin student Keshav Srinivasan was named one of only 15 students across Texas to receive this esteemed title. Young artists from 11 Texas cities received the honor, which includes a grant to pursue advanced study in their artistic discipline.
Srinivasan is the only Austin student to receive the 2020 award. He is a rising junior at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, who came to AISD in the 6th grade at Kealing Middle School. He is a member of the orchestra under the direction of music teacher Mrs. Luzvic Backstrom. Keshav has been playing the violin for 11 years along with his twin sister, Kavya. Together, they have created K2KStrings.org, a student-led program to provide free virtual music lessons. When asked about K2KStrings.org, he said: “I know how much music has helped me through this COVID crisis. It’s a really great service to the musical community in Austin.”
To learn more about arts advocacy and the Young Masters program, visit www.txculturaltrust.org.
Get in the Know: Reopening Conversation Circles Preliminary Feedback Report
Thank you to the 1,600 individuals who participated in our June 8-15 conversation circles dedicated to engaging about reopening. Staff members created a preliminary report detailing what we heard from the community, and it is available at www.austinisd.org/covid19/communications/reopening in English and Spanish. A more comprehensive report is forthcoming.
Feedback heard from all stakeholders includes:
- AISD should survey the community to learn the percentage of staff and families who are comfortable returning.
- The district needs to replicate virtual learning success so that all schools are offering the same high-caliber instruction.
- AISD should provide training before school starts for parents, families, staff and students.
The preliminary report also summarizes feedback shared by specific groups such as parents and families, students, teachers and staff, and those with a special education focus.
Click to Know:
AISD in 3 is Austin ISD’s exclusive, three-minute current events newscast. View the latest episode for the week of June 8.
Educa Austin is AISD's Spanish-language TV program that airs on Facebook Live and AISD.TV. The program is geared toward families of the more than 20,000 AISD students who speak Spanish at home.
AISD.TV won the 2020 Hometown Media Award for overall excellence in educational access for the third time.
RaceTalks is a new monthly collaboration between the AISD Race Equity Council and the Austin Council of PTAs focused on race in our community. The first conversation will be held from 9-10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 19.
Watch the end-of-year celebration videos for athletics, fine arts and the Latino Academic Achievement Awards.
AISD will hold graduation walks June 23-25.
Austin ISD’s virtual graduations were held June 15-16, watch the videos on our Facebook page and read stories for each ceremony at www.austinisd.org.
Edition 3, 6/18/2020
A publication by the AISD Dept. of Communication and Engagement
Austin Independent School District would like to continue connecting with you via email. If you prefer to be removed from our list, please contact Austin Independent School District directly. To stop receiving all email messages distributed through our SchoolMessenger service, follow this link and confirm: Unsubscribe
SchoolMessenger is a notification service used by the nation's leading school systems to connect with parents, students and staff through voice, SMS text, email, and social media.
