Austin ISD achieved an overall grade of a high B under the state’s accountability system for 2022.

• 71% of Austin ISD’s campuses increased their ratings from 2019 during the pandemic.

• Six schools improved from Ds or Fs to post grades of C or better.

Why it matters: According to the Texas Education Agency, “The ratings examine student achievement, school progress, and whether districts and campuses are closing achievement gaps among various student groups.”

What they’re saying: “They did this during the pandemic with remote learning as well as complications with that, and then coming back to class with incredible stress. To perform so well under these conditions, I want to say … I admire each and every one of you,” said Interim Superintendent Anthony Mays at a press conference at Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy, which raised its rating from an F to a C.

Go deeper: You can read more about the new state ratings on our website or in these articles:

• “Austin ISD earns a 'B' rating from Texas Education Agency” (KUT)

• “A 'normal' start to the school year: Austin students return to classrooms” (Statesman)

• “Interim AISD superintendent speaks as districts gets a B on TEA report card” (KVUE)

by Paul Stinson 

Austin ISD fifth-grade teacher Kari Johnston is the Region XIII Elementary Teacher of the Year after being recognized for her work at Perez Elementary where she has worked as a dual language educator for the last 4.5 years. 

• What they’re saying: "I'm feeling grateful and excited for this honor," Johnston tweeted following her award. "My students are super brilliant, and my campus is doing important work!"  

Why it matters: The classroom kudo makes her one of 40 teachers under consideration for Texas Teacher of the Year, the state’s top teaching honor first awarded by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) in 1969.   

Go deeper: Johnston is one of two teachers from the region up for the state’s highest honor for educators. Andrea Larson of Round Rock ISD will compete for teacher of the year honors in a separate category for secondary schools. 

• The regional recognition marks Johnston’s most-recent accolade after earning the Austin ISD 2022 Elementary Teacher of the Year honors in May and semifinalist in April.  

What’s next: ASA judges meet annually in August to refine the pool to three elementary and three secondary teachers based on their applications. 

• Finalists will be interviewed in September/October by a panel of judges, followed by the selection of Teacher of the Year honors for both elementary and secondary schools.

by Paul Stinson

Austin ISD students in elementary reading are making longer strides toward pre-pandemic recovery than their statewide counterparts, while still facing an uphill climb to reclaim 2019 achievement levels in math and science.

By the numbers: Austin ISD students eclipsed the statewide average in third grade reading scores by 9%.

• That margin of proficiency grew even further when compared to big city counterparts, with Austin ISD outperforming districts in Dallas (+16%), Ft. Worth (+23%) and Houston (+12%).

What they're saying: “We’re not surprised that all the hard work our teachers and students put in last year helped our third graders recover from the pandemic on reading,” said Elizabeth Casas, Chief Academic and School Leadership Officer. “That Austin did so much more than our peer districts, however, was startling. This is very good news.”

• Overall, elementary reading scores surpassed pre-pandemic performance in five out of six student groups.

• African-American students surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 2% after scoring 13 points higher than 2021 results.

• Reading scores for Hispanic students also exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 4% after scoring 15 points higher than the year previous.

Go deeper.

📲 “Austin ISD outlines efforts to combat TikTok distractions this school year” (KXAN)

🎓 “Travis County honors life of historic Austin ISD principal” (KVUE)

Board Information Session: Aug. 18

Join Austin ISD in the Annual Pride Parade: Aug. 20

DAC Meeting: Aug. 23

Long-range Planning Committees Meeting: Aug. 23

Casis Elementary Grand Opening Celebration: Aug. 25

Bowie High School Grand Opening: Sep. 1

Trustees LaTisha Anderson and Arati Singh joined Dr. Mays on several legs of his two-day, seven-stop Back-to-School Tour on Monday and Tuesday.

• On Monday, we started the day at Zilker Elementary before visiting Linder Elementary, Bertha Sadler Means YWLA, and ending at McCallum High School.

• On Tuesday, the tour hit T.A. Brown Elementary, Bedichek Middle School, and Bowie High School.

ICYMI: Click on any of the links above to see videos from the visits, or check out Dr. Mays’ posts on Twitter and Instagram.

Jason’s thought bubble: I kept confusing people when I would refer to the Back-to-School Tour as the BTS Tour.

• It didn’t help when I said the tour was dynamite.