| Happy Fall, y’all! We’re still getting phishing messages and they’re getting more sophisticated. Don’t forget to check the “from” email address whenever you see a suspicious message.Let’s get into the news… |
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| Staff Weekly |
| By Cristina Nguyen ● Sep 22, 2021
Smart Brevity™ count: 4.5 mins... 1216 words
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Happy Fall, y’all!
We’re still getting phishing messages and they’re getting more sophisticated. Don’t forget to check the “from” email address whenever you see a suspicious message.
Let’s get into the news…
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1 big thing: new employee mental health services
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An on-site mental health counselor is now available on-demand to support our campus and central staff.
Why it matters: Mental health is essential to our work as educators so Austin ISD is providing this to support our staff, especially as stress has increased during the pandemic.
Meet Joy Campbell: Joy has over 12 years of experience counseling people of all ages to address depression, anxiety, stress, communication, family and interpersonal issues, and addiction.
You can contact Joy during normal business hours, 7:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Go Deeper: In addition to Joy, you can access the Employee Assistance Program for free services and resources to help you maintain a balanced and healthy life.
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Principals and others, including assistant principals and central office administrators, will visit classrooms at least four times each semester as we continue to improve instruction and work to close achievement gaps in the district.
Why it matters: When teachers receive biweekly observations and feedback, a teacher gets as much development in one year as most receive in twenty, according to Leverage Leadership 2.0 Author Paul Bambrick-Santoyo.
Go deeper: The Professional Pathways for Teachers Oversight Committee worked last year to review the PPfT appraisal process.
You should know: These walkthroughs are not scored as part of the PPfT appraisal score.
The bottom line: The visits will be short and informal to provide teachers quick actionable feedback.
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Administrators will follow the formula of “Praise, Probe, Polish” during the walkthrough.
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Teachers will get recognition, “Praise,” questions, “Probe,” and quick actionable feedback, “Polish,” to improve instruction and student outcomes.
Our thought bubble: Dr. Elizalde often says, “The teacher is the program.”
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3. Superintendent to principals: focus on academics
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Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde had a message for principals at their Sept. 14 meeting in the Performing Arts Center: This year’s primary focus is on academics.
Why it matters: Elizalde told principals to stay focused on academics after more than a year of COVID-19, which can easily distract administrators and campus staff.
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“Do they need social-emotional learning? 100% yes. Do they need true culturally responsive, culturally relevant instruction and practices, 100%,” she said. “It’s not an either-or, it’s a both-and.”
Dive deeper: Read more about her speech and how she addresses school collaboration and more on our website.
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4. Parent volunteers are welcome on campus
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The question of the week asks Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde about who can help on campus while during COVID-19.
Are parents allowed to volunteer on campus this year?
Answer: Yes! Though we try to limit visitors generally, we are happy to welcome our parents to volunteer to do things like monitor lunch.
Big picture: Having students eat and learn outdoors is one part of our COVID protocol so having parent volunteers help monitor our students, when done properly, is immensely helpful.
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5. COVID cases continue to decline
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We had a total of 146 COVID-19 cases this week, which represents about 0.17% of our students and staff.*
Why it matters: We’re working to make two years’ worth of academic progress this year. We can only do that with healthy students and staff who are ready to learn each day.
By the numbers: Student COVID cases stagnated this week, staying at 126 total cases.
The bottom line: Vaccination is still one of the best ways to prevent COVID-19.
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Get your shot at one of our vaccine clinics.
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Once you’re vaccinated, don’t forget to submit your information so you can get $250. You must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15 to get the money. Click this link to apply for the $250 vaccine incentive.
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Some of y’all have sent me your vaccination cards directly. I’m happy that you’re fully vaccinated, but I can’t give out the $250. Be sure to submit your card through the form.
*The data is calculated with the latest sum of students and staff (81,932) and will be updated officially in October once the district submits the official snapshot to the Texas Education Agency.
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6. Lend a hand to build picnic tables
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We’re looking for 30 volunteers who can help build picnic tables at the Austin ISD Service Center on Oct. 2 either between 8-11 a.m. or 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Why it matters: Students are at lower risk of COVID-19 transmission when they eat or learn outside so we’re building tables for campuses to use as outdoor lunch or learning spaces.
Sign up for a shift building picnic tables via our interest form.
How else you can help: You can donate to the Austin Ed Fund AISD Crisis Support Fund or if you’d like to buy a new picnic table and deliver it, we’ll take that too.
The big picture: Schools have requested around 1,800 tables to transition to outdoor meals and learning. So far, the district has purchased 500.
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Table distribution is prioritized for schools in COVID-19 hotspots, schools receiving Title I funding, and elementary schools, wherel students are not eligible to get vaccinated.
You should know: Not every campus can accommodate outdoor lunch because of logistics or staffing issues.
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