| Welcome back and happy March! 🏆 Do you know a superstar student or staff member who uses social media creatively? Nominate them for The Class Intercom Content Generation Award! 🏫 Congratulations to Hill Elementary on the grand opening of their modernized campus! I loved seeing the cool new spaces and all the smiling faces. 💪 And check out this awesome profile of our Superintendent in Austin Woman magazine.Let’s get to it. |
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| Family Newsletter |
| By Cristina Nguyen + Jason Stanford ● Mar 04, 2022
Smart Brevity™ count: 3.5 mins... 918 words
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Welcome back and happy March!
🏆 Do you know a superstar student or staff member who uses social media creatively? Nominate them for The Class Intercom Content Generation Award!
🏫 Congratulations to Hill Elementary on the grand opening of their modernized campus! I loved seeing the cool new spaces and all the smiling faces.
💪 And check out this awesome profile of our Superintendent in Austin Woman magazine.
Let’s get to it.
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1 big thing: We’re going mask-optional on Monday
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Our first day of our new mask-optional approach is Monday.
Why it matters: Masks got us through Delta and Omicron, and now the CDC says wearing a mask should be your choice in low-risk areas such as Travis County.
We still have plenty of tools to keep our students safe, including vaccinations, tests, and HEPA air filters.
In addition to masks, there are other changes to our health protocols that will go live on our website Monday. But in short, they can be summed up like this:
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Stay up to date on your vaccinations.
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Get a test if your child is showing symptoms (or even for peace-of-mind).
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If you’re sick, stay home (that was always the case, but a good reminder).
Dive deeper: Learn more by reading our FAQ.
Scott’s thought bubble: This weekend is a good time to sit down with your child and discuss if you think they should keep wearing their mask.
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My partner and I know that consistency is huge for our five-year-old, so we’re going to send her to school with a mask for another few weeks. If cases stay low, we’ll talk with her about removing the mask.
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But that’s just us, it’s your choice!
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2. COVID-19 cases decline for 7th straight week
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We’re continuing the trend of declining COVID-19 cases with a combined 59 cases this week.
The week of Feb. 22-28: Student cases saw a decrease of 14%, going from 55 to 47 cases.
Scott’s thought bubble: We may always have to live with COVID, but we’re moving to a phase where it doesn’t have to control so much of our lives.
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My family and I are still taking measures to protect ourselves, but we’re seeing more friends and family, going out more, and planning some (safe) travel for Spring Break.
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It’s good to be back.
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Students honor Bernice Hart
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Students at Hart Elementary recently honored their schools namesake Bernice Hart, an educator, counselor, and and school board member.
Why it matters: We have dozens of schools named after amazing people. It’s important for the students to know who they are.
The event included songs, poetry readings, crafts and more, all honoring the trailblazer.
Hart was a native of East Austin, who was elected for school board in 1982 after a career in education.
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As a trustee in 1987, Hart took the controversial stance of supporting the district’s new student assignment plan—eliminating busing of elementary students outside their neighborhoods for desegregation purposes.
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While the bussing issued proved to be contentious at the time, she was always known as a champion for students and Austin’s east side.
Dive deeper: Learn more about Hart on our website.
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Question of the Week: Why include a statement on transgender students?
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In last week’s newsletter, a few of you asked me why we included our statement about supporting transgender students, and asked that our newsletter stay out of politics.
Answer: For us, this wasn’t a political statement. Instead, it’s about reassuring parents of transgender children that we won’t be reporting anyone to the state for treating their kids how they want to be treated.
What’s more, the Travis County District Attorney said he won’t be abiding by the opinions either.
The bottom line: We wanted to support our families of transgendered youth.
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🏫 Join us next week for LRP Talk: Long-range Planning and Equity by Design.
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We’ll focus on the long-range planning process, and how we’re using Equity by Design to guide the work.
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Watch live on Facebook Tuesday, March 8. Spanish will be 6:30-7:15 p.m., followed by an English session at 7:15 p.m.
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Campus Report Cards now Available
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Two report cards about your campus are now available for you to review.
Why it matters: These report cards provide information about student performance on the STAAR test, as well as enrollment, class size averages, and financial expenditures.
Visit www.austinisd.org/src to access your school’s report card.
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Like this style and format? Request access to Axios HQ — the tool and templates you need for more engaging team updates.
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