austonia newsletter
Get connected with our daily update
Most viewed
Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school, extending virtual classes
The Austin Independent School Board is considering pushing back the first day of school to Sept. 8 and applying for eight weeks of virtual-only classes, citing "local health conditions" and the fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects Hispanics, who represent a third of teachers and more than half of the district's students.
<p>The moves will be voted on in a special meeting called for 9 p.m. Thursday night. The meeting, which will be held virtually, will include a <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">public comment portion</a> at 9:35 p.m. The vote will happen after the public comments. </p><p>The meeting agenda cites the following local health conditions:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>High COVID-19 numbers in Travis County (averaging 367 new cases per day in July 2020)</li><li>Current Austin Public Health Risk Guidance places Austin, Travis County in Stage 4</li><li>3-4 people of 1000 are estimated to be infected with a current multiplier of 3</li><li>COVID-19 disproportionately impacts the Hispanic population in the Austin-Travis County area. Some 34 percent of the Austin population is Hispanic, while 57 percent of hospitalizations are among Hispanic patients. Thirty-two percent of AISD staff and 56 percent of students identify as Hispanic, according to agenda documents. </li></ul><p>"This delay will allow for our community to adjust to the latest in-person requirements in the changing health conditions of our city with safety at the forefront of every decision," reads the agenda item on the vote. </p><p>In addition, AISD will limit in-person attendance for the first four weeks of school as already planned but vote Thursday on <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">whether to ask the state for a waiver </a>to allow an additional four weeks, delaying full access to on-campus instruction through early November. </p><p>Students without access to technology will still be allowed in-person instruction, as per state guidelines, but full access by all students would be delayed if the board approves the action and the state allows it. </p><p>"In the event a board extends the initial four-week transition, at least some on campus instruction must be provided each day during the extended transition period," the agenda reads. </p><p>On Monday, Education Austin, the union representing 3,000 AISD employees, <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-public-schools" target="_self">asked the district to consider pushing back the official first day of school,</a> which Gov. Greg Abbott said was within the rights of local districts, not health officials. </p><p>AISD posted <a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/files/BS63YY0936A1/%24file/Attachment%203%20SY-2020-21-Attendance-and-Enrollment.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> with frequently asked questions, updated July 30, about attendance, enrollment, class size and more during the upcoming school year. </p><p><a href="https://go.boarddocs.com/tx/austinisd/Board.nsf/Public" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out more and learn how to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting. </p>
From Your Site Articles
- Austin couple matches teachers to education pods - austonia ›
- Students with disabilities in the online school debate - austonia ›
- Austin schools may consider staged reopening due to COVID ... ›
- AISD union wants schools to delay first day to avoid virus, help ... ›
- Austin ISD to vote on delaying first day of school - austonia ›
- Austin ISD delays first day of school to Sept. 8, with online only possible through early Nov. - austonia ›
- Austin ISD reports enrollment drop due to virtual learning - austonia ›
- Photo essay: Austin ISD students head back to the classroom with masks and temperature checks - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
Gov. Greg Abbott stresses local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen
04 August
Gov. Greg Abbott stresses local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen
By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott stressed Tuesday that only local school boards, not local governments, have the power to decide how to open schools this fall during the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>"The bottom line is the people who know best ... about that are the local school officials," <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/04/texas-greg-abbott-coronavirus-press-conference/" target="_blank">Abbott said during a news conference in San Antonio,</a> echoing a message he's been relaying in response to questions about the process.</p><p>Texas educators and parents have been confused about who has the power to keep school buildings closed. They have also been frustrated by conflicting messages from state and local leaders.</p><p>Abbott also said that in preparation for the new school year, the state has already distributed to schools more than 59 million masks, more than 24,000 thermometers, more than 565,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and more than 500,000 face shields. He promised schools "will have their [personal protective equipment] needs met at no cost" to them, with the state picking up the tab.</p><p>In general, he described the state's personal protective equipment levels as bountiful even as the state faces an "an even greater strain" on the supply due to the coming school reopenings and flu season.</p><p>Abbott and other state leaders have backed a legal opinion from Attorney General <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/" target="_blank">Ken Paxton</a> that prohibits local health authorities from issuing blanket school closures for all schools in their jurisdiction before the academic year begins. Local school boards can decide to keep schools closed to in-person learning for up to eight weeks, with the possibility to apply for waivers to remain shuttered beyond that timeframe.</p><p>Under the state's guidance, local health officials can only intervene if there is an outbreak once students return to campus, at which point they can temporarily shut down a school.</p><p>Abbott stressed Tuesday that the policy does not mean that local health authorities are cut out of the reopening process, saying local school boards are free to consult with the health experts.</p><p>"Nothing is stopping them from doing that, and they can fully adopt whatever strategy the local public health authority says," Abbott said.</p><p>The state's guidance has overruled orders from local health authorities to keep schools closed to in-person learning for certain periods. For example, Metro Health in Bexar County had ordered schools to remain virtual until Sept. 7.</p><p>As for the personal protective equipment for schools, the Texas State Teachers Association said it was not nearly enough.</p><p>"The governor's optics today on PPE is a drop in the bucket, compared to what will be needed if schools are forced to reopen before it's safe," the union's president, Ovidia Molina, said in a statement. "59.4 million masks are roughly 11 masks per student. That might get students through the first week of school."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Austin couple matches teachers to education pods - austonia ›
- Austin parents weigh return to school without clear guidance ... ›
- Austin ISD delays in-person school for 3 weeks - austonia ›
- Austin public school teachers, staff union pushes for delay - austonia ›
- Students with disabilities in the online school debate - austonia ›
- Austin teens face unique challenges in high school decision - austonia ›
- Austin ISD should delay school or risk 40-1,000 deaths - austonia ›
- Austin health authority delays school reopening - austonia ›
- Gov. Greg Abbott calls for new crimes, mandatory jail time for certain offenses related to protests - austonia ›
- COVID-19 transmission at Austin schools limited to extracurriculars - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
(Pexels)
The union representing Austin Independent School District employees wants the schools to delay the first day of school, arguing that teachers need more time to learn how to teach their online classes effectively.
<p>The move would also give the community more time to stem the spread of the coronavirus before the state requires schools to start offering in-person classes, said Ken Zarifis, director of Education Austin, which represents 3,000 AISD teachers and employees.</p><p>Austin schools are set to start on Aug. 18 with virtual classes only. Schools across the state are given up to eight weeks to limit in-person instruction before they must start offering in-person instruction as an alternative for any family who wants to return to the classroom—or risk losing funding from the state if they don't have the approval to continue online only, according to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/31/greg-abbott-texas-schools-reopening/" target="_blank">recent rules</a> issued by the Texas Education Agency. </p><p>Schools do have the freedom to set their own official start dates, Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/31/greg-abbott-texas-schools-reopening/" target="_blank">has said</a>.</p><p>The union wants to see the official school start date moved to Sept. 8, both to let the virus subside and to give school teachers time to learn how to best serve students in virtual classes, Zarifis said. </p><p>"You have teachers that don't even know how to operate a Google doc, wouldn't even know how to videotape themselves for online instruction," he told Austonia. "It goes from that basic too much more complicated issues. Then you've got people who are completely adept at this, that know how to do it, and they could be training people on their own campus virtual. This is not happening." </p><p>Requiring in-person classes disproportionately affects families of color, he said.</p><p>The union also wants schools to delay in-person classes entirely until there have been no new virus cases in the community for at least two weeks. </p><p>The entire list of demands, which also include universal school safety guidelines, canceling STAAR and other related assessment tests, and guaranteeing 100% pay for all employees regardless of whether they choose to work from home, <a href="https://educationaustin.org/news/reopening-demands/" target="_blank">can be viewed here.</a></p>
From Your Site Articles
- TEA will allow schools eight weeks of virtual instruction - austonia ›
- Austin couple matches teachers to education pods - austonia ›
- Austin ISD to offer classes entirely in-person or online - austonia ›
- Austin ISD delays in-person school for 3 weeks - austonia ›
- Austin ISD should delay school or risk 40-1,000 deaths - austonia ›
- Texas students will return to public schools this fall, governor says ... ›
- Austin public school teachers, staff union pushes for delay - austonia ›
- Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school - austonia ›
- Austin ISD to vote on delaying first day of school - austonia ›
- Austin ISD delays first day of school to Sept. 8, with online only possible through early Nov. - austonia ›
- Austin ISD enrollment decline may lead to layoffs amid COVID - austonia ›
Keep Reading
Show less
(Image Credit: Angela O'Malley Photography, Austin, Texas)
When their daughter's public school closed due to the pandemic last year, Austin education entrepreneurs Alyssa and Mica Villalon did what everyone else did: They tried to finish her kindergarten year online.
<p>"It was a real struggle," Alyssa Villalon said.</p><p>Four months later, the couple, both former educators, hope to be a solution for families like theirs, in the face of a looming back-to-school season fraught with fears over a pandemic that has not subsided.</p><p>Their new venture, <a href="https://www.teachers2u.org/" target="_blank">Teachers2U</a>, matches teachers to family groups seeking help with virtual schooling. They are part of the machinery behind the advent of modern-day one-room schoolhouses popping up in homes and backyards across the country.</p><p>The response in the Austin area has been, Alyssa Villalon said, "overwhelming."</p><p><strong>A new wave in education</strong></p><p>Homeschool is nothing new, but learning "pods" is a phenomenon that has exploded during the pandemic, as districts limit in-person schools or offer online courses as an alternative.</p><p>Teachers2U hires teachers with competitive pay and benefits, an easier schedule, less administrative work and, hopefully, a safer environment. Families are responsible for finding their own groups. The company then matches a teacher to the group, and "school" is held at homes—sometimes the locations rotate, sometimes they stay in one spot.</p><p>The idea is hailed as an innovative solution by some parents who fear exposing their kids to the virus at school. It is a particular boon for those who work, or who want to avoid isolation, or who would rather have a professional teaching their kids than stumble through it themselves.</p><p>It is also criticized as a solution that drains teachers and funding from the district and segregates children along racial and economic lines.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="669f399fbd1d5c0f62635207297a5934" id="adaf7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282810143575609345"><div style="margin:1em 0">The alternatives are to educate them ourselves while also trying to keep our jobs going, which we know from the las… https://t.co/20PDIf19cY</div> — Dr. Paige Harden (@Dr. Paige Harden)<a href="https://twitter.com/kph3k/statuses/1282810143575609345">1594680746.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p>While they encourage the families they serve to stay enrolled in their public districts, the Villalons also hope that at least some will use their program long-term—a hybrid of homeschooling and traditional public school.</p><p>"We think this is going to be a new wave and educational model," said Mica Villalon.</p><p><span></span><strong>Meeting a need</strong></p><p>The Villalons have, for the past 8 years, owned and operated Sportball, which hosts sports camps for Austin children throughout the year.</p><p>They hatched the idea for Teachers2U after the pandemic forced them to cancel their school-based activities, which utilized professional coaches, and start running tiny camps for family groups out of backyards. Copying the model for teachers was easy, they said.</p><p>"One thing we're really trying to do is to really benefit the students," Alyssa Villalon said. "We really want to give them success in this crazy time."</p><p>The families pay rates that are similar to most area daycares, and they avoid the pitfalls of doing it on their own—namely insurance issues and the legality of caring for other people's kids without a license.</p><p>The company is seeking grants that would allow them to start offering spots to lower-income families.</p><p>Some teachers are retired, and others come from private schools. Others are taking a district-sanctioned leave of absence for the rest of the year.</p><p>Before their initial launch this month, Teachers2U had 10 family groups and even more teachers already signed up for their services. Just six weeks after the idea was hatched, their business model and license has been snapped up by partners in Denver and Los Angeles.</p><p>The couple has been getting calls from El Paso, North Carolina, South Florida, Oklahoma and other states to set up programs there.</p><p>"We haven't advertised," she said, "at all."</p><p>The Villalons want to continue supporting the public schools. They also want to support teachers who want to keep teaching but are afraid to go back into classes—and families for whom effective home-based learning may not be a viable alternative without help.</p><p>"It's been really nice to see and hear the relief in parents when they see this as a viable solution for the fall," Mica Villalon said. "And actually be excited about it."</p>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5><!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Austin teens face unique challenges in high school decision - austonia ›
- AISD union wants schools to delay first day to avoid virus, help teachers - austonia ›
- Abbott: Local school officials "know best" whether schools should reopen - austonia ›
- Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school - austonia ›
- Virtual kindergarten school at Pflugerville, austin area - austonia ›
- Divorces down in Austin area during pandemic - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
- Private 'school pods' are coming. They'll worsen inequality. - The ... ›
- Texas parents consider learning pods, tutors as reopening plans falter ›
- Amid Coronavirus, Parents 'Pod Up' to Form At-Home Schools - WSJ ›
- Distance learning prompts rush on tutors, learning pods - Los ... ›
- What Are Pandemic School Pods? - The New York Times ›
- Learning Pods: Here's how Bay Area parents are getting creative ... ›
- Parents Develop 'Learning Pods' To Facilitate Virtual Instruction As ... ›
- Some Central Texas families look to form student pods for distance ... ›
Keep Reading
Show less
(Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune)
STAAR decorations adorn the hallways of Wharton Elementary School in 2018.
By Aliyya Swaby, The Texas Tribune
Texas students will still have to take the STAAR test next year, but fifth and eighth grade students will be able to move on to the next grade even if they fail, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.
<p>State education officials <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20200630/coronavirus-or-not-texas-students-must-take-staar-in-2020-21" target="_blank">announced earlier this summer </a>that third through 12th grade students would take the state standardized exams, or STAAR, this upcoming academic year. Normally, fifth and eighth graders must pass the STAAR in order to move on to the next grade or else they must re-take it later that year or over the summer. But Abbott said that next spring, the fifth and eighth grade math and reading exams would only be administered one time, in May.</p><p>He also said schools and districts would continue to receive an A-F rating based on students' test scores, "albeit with certain adjustments due to COVID-19." The statement did not elaborate on those adjustments.</p><p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/03/18/texas-lets-school-districts-say-whether-students-can-graduate-without/" target="_blank">Last spring</a>, after school buildings began closing because of the pandemic, Abbott gave school districts flexibility to decide on fifth and eighth graders' promotions based on students' grades, academic information and teachers' opinions. Student scores on the STAAR also determine whether high school students and graduate and whether schools can remain open. In normal circumstances, high school students must pass five subject-specific standardized tests in order to graduate. Abbott's release did not mention waivers for those students.</p><p>Parents, educators and lawmakers from both parties have been urging Abbott to call off testing requirements for the upcoming school year because of how the coronavirus pandemic has interrupted students' usual learning environment.</p><p>But Abbott said the test was necessary to provide a high-quality education for students. "By waiving these promotion requirements, we are providing greater flexibility for students and teachers, while at the same time ensuring that Texas students continue to receive a great education — which we will continue to measure with high quality assessments," he said in a statement Monday.</p><p>The decision to continue administering the STAAR came days after federal officials said not to expect a waiver from federal testing requirements next spring. Jim Blew, an assistant secretary to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos,<a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/07/devos-not-give-testing-waivers-next-year.html" target="_blank"> told reporters at an event</a> Friday that testing provided many benefits, including showing where students fell behind due to the pandemic.</p><p>Last spring, the Trump administration announced it would not enforce federal standardized testing requirements that school year because of the coronavirus.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/27/staar-texas-fifth-eighth-grade/" target="_blank">Originally published</a> in <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/" target="_blank">The Texas Tribune</a>, a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans—and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.</em></p>
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
One Austin family's struggle: The plight of students with disabilities in the virtual-school debate
24 July
(Dr. Stephen Sherwood)
When the pandemic shut down Austin student Grant Sherwood's school along with the rest of the district in March, continuing his education online was simply not possible.
<p>For Grant, a 20-year-old with cerebral palsy and severe cognitive disabilities, education is almost entirely social and emotional skill-building, practicing communication and finding joy in being with people like himself. </p><p>So when his teacher at Rosedale School attempted Zoom video sessions with him, as educators across the district were instructed to do, Grant was so dismissive that it was almost comical, said his father, Dr. Stephen Sherwood, a pediatric dentist in Austin. </p><p>"He would just start saying 'goodbye!'" his father said with a chuckle. "His learning is very, very delayed. He has the ability to learn, but learning online is not even an option for him." </p><p><strong>In-person or not at all</strong></p><p>Earlier this week, Dr. Mark Escott, interim health authority for Austin and Travis County, told county commissioners that he strongly agreed with a recent national study urging schools to prioritize younger children and special education programs as they come up with ways to reopen schools to in-person classes. </p><p>They were welcome words for the Sherwoods, who are outliers in an increasingly tense national debate, as parents and politicians weigh the pros and cons of sending kids to school in person during a pandemic or keeping them home to learn virtually until COVID-19 cases flatten.</p><p>For Grant, who will need round-the-clock physical and medical care for the rest of his life, there really is no debate, and there is certainly no "pro" to online learning.</p><p>This fall, Grant will be entering his third year at Rosedale, an Austin ISD campus that specializes in teaching and caring for children with severe disabilities up through age 21.</p><p>Without the doors open, there is little role that Rosedale—which Sherwood described as a warm and nurturing place—can play in Grant's life.</p><p>"He enjoyed riding the bus, he was at school all day long," he said. "His teachers, his classmates—he just really thrives on having his regular social interaction with the people in his life." </p><p><strong>Social distancing is difficult</strong></p><p>Sherwood, whose wife Krista stays home to take care of Grant and their other three kids, ages 13, 16 and 18, while he works, also recognizes how difficult it would be for students like Grant to follow health guidelines at school. </p><p>In Grant's case, he coughs a lot, and he won't keep a mask on, which means the family can't really take him anywhere that requires it, Sherwood said.</p><p>"They don't have the ability to really control how they spread their germs," he said. "It's just a hard situation because we want our teachers to be safe, too, and don't want to put them at additional risk." </p><p>He believes the school will advocate for Grant and the other students, and that administrators will work to bring them back as soon as possible. </p><p>Sherwood said they'll take anything they can get, because while the tight-knit family has enjoyed some aspects of so much togetherness, the isolation has taken its toll on everyone. </p><p>"His cognitive disability is such that he can't tell us, 'Man, I really am bummed out because I can't see my teachers and my friends,'" Sherwood said. "But we've noticed that he's not really been himself."</p><p>With no plans announced and no real idea when Grant will be able to go back, there's not much to do but play the waiting game that's been dragging on through an exhausting summer. </p><p>"We'll just keep doing what we've been doing," Sherwood said. "One day at a time." </p>
<h5>Want to read more stories like this one? Start every day with a quick look at what's happening in Austin. Sign up for Austonia.com's free daily morning email.</h5><!-- Begin Mailchimp Signup Form -->
<link href="//cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/classic-10_7.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<style type="text/css">
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }<br />
/* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.<br />
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */<br />
</style>
<div id="mc_embed_signup">
<form action="https://austonia.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b&id=ad2a1dda78" method="post" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" class="validate" target="_blank" novalidate="">
<div id="mc_embed_signup_scroll">
<div class="mc-field-group">
<label for="mce-EMAIL">Email Address </label>
<input type="email" value="" name="EMAIL" placeholder="️✉️ Enter your email address" class="required email" id="mce-EMAIL"></div>
<div class="mc-field-group input-group" style="display:none"> <strong>Austonia </strong>
<ul>
<li><input checked="checked" value="1" name="group[11998][1]" id="mce-group[11998]-11998-0"></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div id="mce-responses" class="clear">
<div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div>
<div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div>
</div>
<!-- real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups-->
<div style="position: absolute; left: -5000px;" aria-hidden="true"><input type="text" name="b_4d0e7a7bb7e797f1d00b45a6b_ad2a1dda78" tabindex="-1" value=""></div>
<div class="clear"><input type="submit" value="Sign up now" name="subscribe" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" class="button"></div>
</div>
</form></div>
<!--End mc_embed_signup-->
From Your Site Articles
- Austin teens face unique challenges in high school decision - austonia ›
- Poll results: School should be held online-only this fall - austonia ›
- Austin ISD should delay school or risk 40-1,000 deaths - austonia ›
- Austin schools may consider staged reopening due to COVID ... ›
- Austin ISD considers delaying first day of school - austonia ›
- Virtual kindergarten school at Pflugerville, austin area - austonia ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Keep Reading
Show less
