Dear Friends:
I am writing to you because of your involvement in the successful effort to keep Norman elementary school open.
The AISD administration is now conducting hearings as to which schools it might close. Of course, east Austin schools are most at risk. Despite many appearances at board meetings and meetings with AISD officials, the district is still not putting the resources it should into east Austin schools. The result is that some parents have opted to send their children to eastside charter schools, especially since they will take care of their kids until around 6:00pm when parents come back from work. This attrition has lead to the possibility, if not the probability of closing eastside schools.
The attrition problem could be resolved to a large extent by investing more resources into the schools to raise the quality of education and re-drawing school boundaries to run east-west, which would draw in more students from west of I-35 and alleviate some of the overcrowding on that side of town. Fewer portables at overcrowded schools would help cut expenses. It would also be an easy and natural way to increase school student diversity and lessen the de facto segregation of the schools.
You will note below that AISD is not holding any of these regional sessions in east Austin, the area most at risk from school closures.
We are asking folks to show up for the session this coming Tuesday, June 11, at the Bertha Sadler Means school since that is the one closest to the east side and speak for improving east Austin schools and redesigning boundaries, rather than closing schools. The session is informal and is set up so you need not stay for the whole session. You can come, speak, then leave, but we need a lot of our folks to do this.
James C. Harrington
Community Visioning Sessions
Please join Austin ISD for a series of community visioning sessions, designed to gather feedback on the strengths and challenges of each region. Feedback from these meetings will be used to support the work of the School Changes Think Tanks and will ultimately inform the development of regional scenario options.
Meetings will be region-specific but not geographically exclusive and all are welcome. Meetings will be conducted in a come-and-go format and attendees can participate at their own pace.
Regional meetings
June 4, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Bedichek Middle School, 6800 Bill Hughes Road
June 5, 5:30–7:30 p.m.Burnet Middle School, 8401 Hathaway Drive
June 6, 5:30–7:30 p.m.Akins High School, 10701 S. First St.
June 11, 5:30–7:30 p.m.Bertha Sadler Means YWLA, 6401 N. Hampton Drive
June 12, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Pease Elementary School, 1106 Rio Grande St.
Districtwide meetings
The following meetings are open to the community in all regions and are an opportunity for those who cannot attend their own regional meeting.
June 6, 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.O. Henry Middle School, 2610 W. 10th St.
June 8, 10 a.m.–noon Eastside Memorial Early College High School, 1012 Arthur Stiles Road
Child care and Spanish interpretation services will be provided at all meetings.
