001Good afternoon, Sley's family, members of the community. My name is Navarro. I am the very proud administrator of this school. I want to thank everyone here for taking the time today to help the community. If you've had a chance to give your opinion or ask a question, I'm very grateful to Matías Segura, our amazing super-tenant, and his leadership team for making time in today's agenda to give us this opportunity. I'm going to transition now to Cristina Gen, who will repeat the rules for today's meeting. Hello, hello. Hello everyone. Thank you for being here today. I'm going to start with some rules. If you need to go to the bathroom, I imagine you know because it's your school, but if not, here, uh, go out the door and take a right. So, let's take a look
002at today's agenda, and also, uh, those are the rules of the meeting, and from there we'll start with a summary of what we're going to discuss today, and also, uh, information from the comment cards, and we're going to repeat the information from the comment cards to have a discussion. I imagine Matías will also thank the community. You have also communicated and have been a very open group for communication, and we are going to have a very good conversation today. So, these are the rules of the meeting guidelines. I'm not going to read them all right now, but the goal is that we are creating a future, a future together. These are difficult spaces to find ourselves in today. So, I want to work together, to honor the time we have. We also want to create
003one-minute comments. We have about an hour and a half to be here. So, let's think, we can give the opportunity to the maximum number of people, to everyone, to honor everyone. Honor the process, the impact, our space and voice, and create solutions, create open topics, and give empathy to others. If we approach things with empathy, we'll do better. Uh, also with the meeting and the purpose, we are here to answer questions and also talk about future solutions. At this time we are going to talk about the questions that were submitted with the question cards. Our group has already looked at several things, so several people were asking very similar questions and we grouped them together. Also, understand the reasoning and the comprehension to be able to deliver the information next week and also the financial
004proposal that is coming next month. And from here we're going to hand him over to the superintendent right now. Well, first of all I want to thank everyone for being here this afternoon and also acknowledge the difficulty of this conversation. I am a person who strongly loves our schools. You may not know, I'm from the south of Austen. I was there, I lived there, I was a family man in Sunset Valley. My first reference to parents was here in Sunset Valley. I have walked the halls of this school. This is very difficult for many individuals and for the staff as well. I'm hopeful that we can have this conversation and talk about everything and ask everyone for permission to move forward. What we want to do today is develop a school system, to reach a
005point where our resources, which are precious , we can deliver them to the students and school communities that need them, those who need them most. and at the same time create academic experiences across all students, across the entire Austin department, and we can look at all the neighborhoods and we can define the neighborhoods. I want to clarify, we have amazing schools everywhere, but not all students are receiving the resources and support they need. That is not the fault of this administration or this board of directors. This comes from levels 144 of decisions they made to get to this point. So, when we're talking about what it means right now and the plan, uh, that we want to give voice to several points, it's not a perfect plan. There never is, there never is. But we
006do want to align referral patterns. There are parts of OCEN, you know, to the west they know they have lines. Uh, you know that all the uh high schools that go to high school in Merken, in Anderson, in Gorisky, in Buy e but where you don't see them, you don't see them east of Austin. We have middle schools that go to four or five high schools, they split up, the PTA group can't be maintained, and as a school system we've never seen it this way. So, this plan clarifies it. There is also a financial difficulty, it is being felt at the moment, they already know about the budget and we are going to have conversations. Hey, Matias, what did you do 2 years ago, 5 years ago? I want to let you know that the
007board of directors, I too, have been quite intentional in paying for things that align with our values and stopping things that we could to protect our schools. We did it during the past two years, but there are many responses at the federal level, the pressure we have at the state level, that we cannot continue without another, says the real risk, well, financial, a financial risk. I want to be very clear, one of the things that a Texas education is not is not accounting, it is financial literacy, solvency. This plan aims to reduce the number of open spaces in each school. They are areas of boundaries and also of consolidation. It's also about trying to take the weight off any part of OSIN. In the last 20 years there was an argument that was made that
008in the eastern areas of Austin they took all the weight in terms of school improvement. So, since we're talking about movement, then a complete, comprehensive language, so that these plans will be of great help from here to the future, so that all emerging bilingual students can have it and try to create so that they can overcome and not put that burden on just one part of the city in terms of consolidation. On the other hand, we are in a very big difficulty in terms of accounting. You know that our responsibility plan came out in 4 or 5 years and it did make it quite difficult for us and we were able to move the system three or four years back, I think we could reach 70% and maintain teachers. We now have 88%. Uh, I
009was able to hire 34 female directors a while ago, now I'm looking at more than 60, but if I can't talk about these transformation plans—and we'll talk about that a little later— we're at risk of not being able to maintain control. And I tell you this because it is very important to me as the leader of this organization that our board of directors, the people you elected, have the ability to determine how to educate our students, the 70,000 students that are throughout the Austri district. If you are at very high risk throughout the city. I am not willing to downplay its importance. I am ready to face it, but this plan is also taking that into account. Lately, finally, I want to talk about the difficulty of the rules of transfer. They're ugly right now
010, there are some that it's time to retire because they didn't really make sense. They were made years ago. Then they were going from East Austin, other parts of Austin, and transfer rules and procedures that some have too high a registration and that should never have been the case. So this plan is also taking that point into account at the moment. So we're going to face that too. There are multiple levels and steps . So, no, if we are looking at it in isolation it would be different, but we cannot look at it that way. So, I'm going to continue with this slide to give you more detail about this. But in terms of Sunset Valley, this elementary school, this has the school movement, full dual language comprehensive. In the 45, in the postal code,
011I am very familiar with this trying to move access from where you live right now in terms of locations to a place where there is a higher population. We know where it is located, and we also know that historically it has been quite difficult for those families to have access to the necessary schools. So, where we want to create the comprehensive dual language is where there are emerging bilingual students. Uh, we're moving them in a reverse way and the numbers are quite low at the moment. We need to assign these students to Sunset Valley. So, we're going to reassign him to Boun or Conningham. These are two amazing schools in terms of neighborhood schools, and we're not just looking at one school or another, either Joseln's or Boon's or Paul's. We're looking at the entire
012region and understanding how one movement impacts another, the logic behind it, and how to get to that point. Obviously, it's not perfect and needs adjusting, but I want to let you know our thoughts on how we got to this point and the factors we're considering to move forward with this plan. Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Segura. I am the operations officer for Austin IST. Um, I imagine I'll take you through these slides so you're ready, and I know we have plenty of time to do answers, questions, and answers. I'll try to get through it quickly. As you know, the question is, what does this mean for my school? The building would be closed and the students reassigned to Conningham Primary Schools. and boom. And in the boundary zones, we're going to talk about that
013a little more specifically, a little further back. He just talked about the program and how we would be moving this program forward. It would be a little different with Austen ISD. We'll talk about that in more detail in the future. So, in terms of the technical school and Ogan's program. Uh, school. If you live within the current Sunset Valley boundary, as I said before, you can choose to go to the assigned school or you can also enroll in a priority place in the dual language program. If you are a student who has been transferred, you can return to your assigned school or request priority placement in the Language program. And we also have space at Odam Primary School to support everyone, and here too. So now we're going to talk about the boundary change, the
014assist zones, and this is something that was in the proposal in this package. Here on the left are the boundary zones of Sunset Valley, and on the right are the lines that would be changed. So, you would be, uh, you would be ringing in this area to Cunningham and what's in pink, uh, you would be reassigned to Boom. So, certain things that are here. Now let's get down to business. Okay, we're going to ask Cristina, let's start with the questions and answers and what we've heard at a high level from all of you. It's been incredible, the feedback and the organization they've had here at this school. I appreciate your comments and the level at which you shared all the information. Okay, before we begin, I want to introduce the board members. We have our
015secretary, Andrew Gonzalez, and also board member number 7, Dr. Kofman. Thank you. Let's start with the questions section on the cards. All students at School S will also be able to participate in Wal's language program and the new schools. Thank you, thank you for being here and it makes me happy to see so many familiar family members. My name is Beca. I have the honor of supporting parents in dual language programs. It is important to know that we have enough seats available at ODOM to ensure that all students transferring to the elementary school and all students participating in the program here in Sunset Valley have enough seats for the other schools. The other question is, which schools do they belong to? We are committed to prioritizing students coming from school 11, okay? so that they
016have a place, only ensuring we have made a commitment to reduce any disruption where we can and also acknowledge with the committee of commissioners. That is our goal. We know that this plan includes moving and the goal would be to ensure that everyone who chose to stay together has a place reserved in Odom. But these are also basic comments that apply to other programs that we have in full. That's the case. If the people who are here currently going to 11 are automatically approved and given priority. Yes, if you understand me. We just want to know if we can prove the place you have here at the school for the Set school. It must be true, because they would have, for example, in the guaranteed transfer for the But that would include all the transfers
017that are considered and just making sure that one of the languages here is a little softer than what we will need and it would only be to have a little control, but the language transfer would be different things, which is what is in the original plan. I can tell you verbally that we are getting very close to the goal, but I ca n't tell you that it's in the plan, but well, I can already tell you that we are very close to that goal as well. Well, most of our emerging Dual program families coming to this school will have the same patterns for student transportation and will have the same opportunities with the entire community. Some families may live more than 2 miles away. Are there any priorities for this school to ensure they have
018and maintain the transportation program? It's not an original program, we don't have that included, but thanks to Superintendent Segura we have already clarified that this is very important and we have made the considerations not only for the school, they are valid for other schools as well. And we can continue with that, no matter the cost, because it's something we're still working on and it's important, super important for families. Just to be very precise about this, for the four elementary schools that will receive these programs, which are Sánchez and Bun, we want to make sure that we are very close to all the schools that we are going to incorporate so that they have safe transportation in that area so that the students have access. Being close to the school helps them, but transportation could be
019a factor. We can take advantage of transportation at any time, but throughout the district we can look for solutions, and transportation will be provided. It's something that's already been considered and we're taking it into account, and I think we're going to get to that point. This question concerns the dual emerging language students who may be included within the boundaries that Sunset Valley School may include. And in that case, I ca n't say for sure that we're going to provide this transportation service, but it's something that we don't currently have within our policies. However, I can recognize the challenges it may bring us, but specifically regarding that element of that question, we could provide transportation within that consensus, but obviously there is a cost associated with this. We will have to see where the students reside,
020whether it is a program of the enjual or if it is closer for that student or if it would have to be part of another special program so that they have access in another way as if they had it in ODOM. That's already on the table and it's part of the process we 're including because the ODM school is going to be non- sonic. All students who graduate from the dual English language program will help the district. A very good question that has been coming up lately, and of course, we are reading all the little cards on the comment cards that are given to us, but we are looking at Peters, the superintendent has already spoken about Peters, specifically for the schools that are not zoned and those that are already established. That would be
021something we are currently mapping, including them on the maps, but I'm just going to share with you that we are also including schools that are naturally delineated that we are going to include, but we are also part of the conversations we are having and it is very important to continue with the programs so you know that it is something we are considering as we are having more conversations. Now I am very worried about my other daughter, who receives special education for speech therapy. And thanks to the teacher and the therapists who have helped us with this whole process. My daughter has received help. I just want to make sure that this type of population will not be affected. I want to include a little bit in that question, in the special education program that we
022are trying to stabilize the system. I want to point out that these staff placements are something we need, well, not certified workers or certified teachers, these are incorporated, but they are not in the strategic program of the program. There are obviously questions about what 's included in the plan, the positions for special education are included, but the staff, the team we're hiring is included in the plan of what's needed. The staff obviously need the special training to be licensed and have the specialty, but the district is also handling all the other special programs and it's something I just want to clarify that point. Thank you for being here this afternoon. To this question, all speech therapies, occupational therapies, dyslexia, dyslexia interventions, behavioral supports, all these services could even include nursing, will go with their own
023student. These are within the education program and will guide them with all the educational support that the students need. for students receiving special education at this established school. We're going to have our meetings, the AR meetings, which are the meetings that determine what special services will be held during the spring, and those services will follow the child to the schools they are assigned to in a new school. for updating programs that include dual language programs and emerging programs. We are going to test these, we are going to make sure that these services are provided, which include, for example, special education for early childhood and all special education programs will be included. All services will be included and will continue with students through middle and high school, but My Skills and early childhood skills programs will
024be determined by circumstances and will be considered according to where students are placed in the new schools they go to. But speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral interventions, all those services will be prohibited from being provided in all Austin district schools. What is the plan for the transition of teachers in the new programs, in the new schools? I think that's good. We are carefully reviewing all staff locations. There is no set plan to reduce the number of positions or jobs, such as teachers, teaching assistants, or speech therapists. We need to see where these specialists are going to be of service. We have many providers, such as speech therapists or diagnostic specialists, who will be serving. In fact, they already work in different schools, and we will be closely monitoring which schools in this community they will
025continue to serve and what type of specialist therapists are available. But we don't have a specific health provider plan in place for this plan. I don't understand why Jaslin is being kept in one place, an open campus instead of Sunset, because all the paths are fenced off. So, sorry, I didn't hear the question. I always emphasize when we talk about another school and what the campus of another school is. But this, as I said before, this is an original approach in which all schools and all students are told what the goals are that are included in the plan. I want to identify, we have many schools that use the transportation system, it is in high demand and we have a stabilized program so that they can be in the complete education and program they need.
026But when it comes to Dawson, we can narrow down what the movement of other schools is, which school is closest, for example, Seon. Well, stay at Joselin school. There are many schools where everything happens in a small area. We can talk about the facilities, the access, we've already created the rubric of what our alignments will be and try to find an approach. Another thing I can say is, we can identify the schools and the programs in those schools, because we feel like Joseln, the program has supported and there has been a change, I'm not going to deny it, there has been a change from what is currently happening. It's going to be a sonified school, but because of that, the students have transferred to schools that are a little further north, but if we had
027thought about what it would look like in the transfer team, we are slowly creating access to those programs within Austin. What I'm going to say is that it wasn't one of the moves we were trying to make to get closer to the goal, to be able to point out all these points simultaneously, and we're talking about the different details of why it's this street or it would be another street, which would be a conversation within a general approach of how we would do it. I think people want it one way and not another, but we can reduce it all to a rubric. When the rubric came out, we originally started, we had conversations with the consolidation plans, we identified that we have limits in the system and we have the original limits. Each school impacts
028another school. It is the solution and the plans in the draft that we have already outlined for everything we have mentioned in the other meetings previously. In the next question, when will these proposed changes begin? How many students do you expect to be in each of these new classrooms? There is a legal maximum for a classroom. Let's talk about classrooms briefly. This is proposed in August 2026, which is at the beginning of the next school year. We have a short amount of time to do this and we've been working on this for 2 years, so more importantly, we need to make sure that the timing, the timeline , the chronology, we make the right choices. and that the decisions are viable, that they can be made. That would be in August 2026. And the other
029two questions included here, how many students do you expect to be in the classroom? The number of students is not changing so far. I just want to mention that, but to the fullest extent legally possible. Okay, what's the range? It's not what we typically see in the Austin school district, but we do have, for example, compact classrooms; we can have 18, 20, 23 in each classroom according to what is allowed. In terms of leadership at each school, that number can be exceeded if it depends on the agency providing it, but we are trying not to follow this same path; we are trying to address this, but it is not part of the plan and we are not considering it. The last thing I would say is that according to the 2026 school year plan ,
030I want to mention this because there have been many conversations about how much time is needed and it feels like we are rushing things a bit and that a lot is happening in a short amount of time, but I want to put this into perspective. For example, we started community planning in February and March and we're still going to continue taking votes in November and we already have the plan, the right draft. I want you to know what is very important to us, for me it is to make sure that we don't do more things than people really need, the family needs. We need to have a plan in place so we have time to plan it, and we have this system. We're not only preparing for the 2026-2027 school year, but especially since the
031year starts with plans beginning in November and continuing until March, and the election takes place in December. We've already lost one of the four months we have, and frustration with the registration system can escalate. If we don't have the time to implement how we can introduce more problems than someone else will have to deal with, so the next school will have to deal with it. So, it's very important for me to be honest about what we're going to lose if we delay the votes and the action. What I'm going to say is that I will never, ever, ever propose or commit to making a change in the next semester. We've done it before, woman hasn't noted it, but a few years ago and we had some pretty significant changes in Vendes, in Marles and we
032changed the high school, the international high school and we had problems uh during the summer and we had good to be able to have a successful launch with the program. This is something that is currently under review for us in this timeline, and whether it is appropriate. If we miss the timeline chronology , let's have the opportunity to introduce it at a future time. But I just want to be honest about that, as we're discussing, talking about the timeline and the chronology so you know that we have time for the process and for our team as well, so that we're within this chronology, so that we have the whole plan ready by December because you're the ones who want to know, so that we can move forward, that we have everything planned well. Something that
033can happen when it depends on the votes and how they lean, because the reason for this is because I, for example, do not have the authority to know what the qualification is to change the limits that are delimited. That's why the sequence of the plan is coordinated and we possibly have the vote in December, then in January we could have changes in personnel, but we also work with other communities to be in agreement. I just want you to know that there are many things happening behind the scenes that we don't know about at that level, and it affects us, and well, we can be with all the families. I would also like them to know. I would also like to know if the value of the land, the potential profit from selling or remodeling, would
034play a role in that decision. If that's the case, the community deserves to understand it, right? In this process, the value of the land did not play a significant role. When we think, we have been clear that we want to move forward in this process and plan with the community and to do what makes the most sense with the community. And now, like PIS, I prepared Pis, uh, they're integrated, right? Because the students are still thinking, and we can also have a childcare center there . And now the important thing is that the district supports the teachers too. We are also looking for other solutions. He wasn't part of it, he was never a significant factor. We recognize that this process is a potential that we can estimate, but it is only part of the
035process. But we will never truly separate the decision from what the community needs. What I don't understand is the resonation of those of us who live south of William Hano and west of Westgate to send our children to Sabon instead of Akawan. Living west of West Gate means that the fastest route to Bunnie Elementary likely took many families south of Davis, about 500 feet from the elementary epoch before continuing west toward Brody and beyond. And half a mile for Bonnie improved her within the district that she's considering changing the Bona Elementary boundary, right? A school in their neighborhood with their neighbors. Please excuse me if I forgot to make the introductions. I am Rachel FR, I am the planner for the consolidation board. This is what we are seeing. This is an exact example of
036what can help us work now. We're checking every day and we don't stop, but we're looking for every detail to make sure that if it's a small change, that only affects a few blocks, it's easy, right? And a change will be necessary, but only if it does n't align with another high school, or if the high school, which is the school on the other side, is too full or too empty. All of that plays a role in these changes. So, that's why the details we're talking about are important, because that can be reflected in the changes and the version of what we're discussing. I urge you to please review those boundaries with the district because our area has been uniquely shaped and mapped out, and it aligns with our daily connections. We are also the
037only neighborhood north of Highway 290 that is not assigned to Austin High School. In addition, Barton view appears to be the only small neighborhood that has been reassigned and is completely new, while most other areas are in transition along with another new school. We're also looking at this school, this area, and we're going to review it this week. So, I don't have anything definitive yet, but we want to review your feedback as well and we're not going to make the changes. We're going to tell you why. I'm curious to know if the district is open to working with a two-way dual language program, a whole- school bidirectional program that uses SB 1882, sharing part of the curriculum , professional development, staffing , family involvement, and also the same principal, supervisor, someone who ideally only works
038with these four schools. A partnership would also bring additional funding, which could offset some of the program's costs and allow for that narrow administrative range. We started working on this a few years ago , partnering with different types of schools, whether it was a charter school, I do n't remember the names right now, right? Sorry. So there are some charters that could be linked to an improvement model. Right now there's one in Méndez and the way this has evolved, the access, the way they have their funds, that has been changing and that has something to do with it. I'm not entirely convinced that there's much opportunity for financing. This is hard to see. We reviewed this. Let's see if a partner comes along. Let's see what happens. Then we'll draw up a contract and that's
039how it would happen. One of the things we looked at to ensure everyone had the same leadership style was the way they described it. I had the pleasure of hiring her. He does an excellent job. So we need to connect with the other programs as well, and I want to strengthen them and improve how we support these programs as we move to do more places and also add a supervisor, an executive director for schools, schools that historically have had the same resources as others. the schools that have not performed well. Uh, some challenges, some of us also know that we have 11 to 12 per teacher. So, we want to see how we can have this, uh, how many students per teacher, but the most important thing for education to work well is that these
040details are taken into account . The association that is made is not so simple either, is it? There's a lot we need to review, like these questions, but I understand the anxiety that may arise in this regard. I would also like to invite you to explain a little more about this. I am excited about the curriculum and the special learning opportunities. Ah, there's going to be a small change. We will use high-quality materials and also partner with multilingual education. Also, align the curricula that are checking literacy and also the dual language students. It's a great partnership that I want to have. Uh, when we spoke with the superintendent of schools many years ago. It was about professional learning in the study plan. I also want to mention that it simply requires professional training. We incorporate
041a lot of this professional learning aspect, and in the school setting we have professional learning communities to discuss lessons, and there is a lot of collaboration when we talk about teaching situations. Thank you for being here this afternoon. I want to add that we are very focused on professional training also for executive directors who support high schools so that they follow dual language models, not only in schools where the program is implemented throughout the school. All the supervising directors are very familiar with the program and we have very strong support for the directors and that's why we will also be on the same page with the supervisor of directors for this partnership. Two more comments. How much taxpayer money was spent on renovations at Sans Bade school? And we want him to announce that this
042school is scheduled and now he tells us they're going to close it, right? Parents should have confidence in the district when such poor planning results in wasted taxpayer dollars. So, how does this happen? TRUE? They should know. That comes with all schools. This is truly amazing, and every school has a project, whether it's modernization or simply updating, improving, or renovating them. But specifically, the issue of security is also very important, such as improving the cameras. We will always be looking for ways to improve schools. We started consolidations when we had the bonus. No, definitely not. But really no school district wants to be in this situation we're in right now, but we still have the compliance piece, a security center, and also with the Texas Education Agency, which recently assured us that we have the
043school security features, and that's why we're committed as a school, as a school district, to meeting this compliance requirement. I also want to add just to clarify that if there is a student in the schools, we want to do our best to ensure that it is working, that it is safe, and that it requires any improvements. In 2021 we had the bond program; we did n't know we were going to have this problem in 2025. Now we find out that we have to invest in this form of SB. Now we're facing a shortage of educators in schools and we need to recover, right? We knew we were going to be here, right? I was in charge of the operation at that time. I never thought that at that moment we were going to reach that
044point, because of the pressure on our state, that we were going to have a moment to breathe. What happened at the federal level, that interruption and Title II, Title III, and Title IV, is hitting us hard. The $1,000 loss has impacted special education, supporting many people in Austin who have supported all our educators, and so overnight I had to support them because I didn't know, we didn't anticipate it. We have invested many dollars very carefully. We want to and can build very quickly in a way that many cannot. Hopefully they saw it in 202122. Our ability, our ability to build compared to other disciplines, they are seeing us because we do it very well, knowing, well, realizing that we didn't know what was coming, we wouldn't have been able to make those decisions, but we
045weren't ready for that decision. And to add to this, we also have a community bond that is managed by a committee. They also give us feedback on all projects in financial terms. It's also important that we have a community-wide committee to gather input from everyone who's voting and on how to allocate the remaining dollars right now, and that's our goal . Finally, this is the last question in the card comments. I am deeply dismayed that it appears that PKIEN students have been taken into account in Plan A, but as we review the proposed plan, we see that only kindergarten and above students would be guaranteed a place in ORAM. Um, I suggest that the OSTE include PRKinder students in the consolidation plan to ensure that the dual language model in all schools remains truly comprehensive,
046and that families who have implemented this program continue to do so . Thank you so much for the comment card. If we're looking at pre-kindergarten and the way they're going to continue, and yes, maybe there will be a change in this in this next draft. I also want to say, this pre-index student was included in the plan, but progress towards the plan based on the plan will be clarified in the transfer rules. So, I want to be very clear about all the scenarios you might encounter. We're going to have a very clear and detailed answer on how to make the move and how we can ensure that the disruption for your family is as minimal as possible. The plan we were always going to consider was for the pre-infant, it was going to be a
047comprehensive dual language , it was going to be an answer, it hasn't been, we haven't said it clearly, we're going to do it from now on . Okay, that's it for the comment cards, but before we start asking any questions you may have, I want to draw your attention to what's coming up. This is the first day that Mr. Segura is visiting this school; you are the second. We were in Martin this morning. We're also going to have a workshop on Monday, a virtual meeting focused on East Austin on Tuesday, and another workshop on Thursday, and the board vote is on Thursday. There are many things to come and next Friday will be the updated plan, the new draft. And next week, on November 6, they will have the opportunity to debate and discuss that
048plan. And November 20th is the final date to cast your votes. Okay, if you'd like, if anyone has a question, and yes, I also want to let you know, we 're recording this to share with the community, and for those who also need Spanish, we'll be helping with the microphone for everyone else right now. Who's going to start? Okay, I can start here. Okay, very good. Okay, with this we're going to start and go from one side to the other. Okay. Hi, you mentioned the enrollment timeline. I knew that it was going to take a little longer to find out what the complete and personal plan was going to be at this time. They're not going to do that in November. Well, the transfer process starts in November. I want to clarify, we want to
049be very intentional with the students. They are creating an experience that is not typical. So, when we're going to deliver the plan, we're going to be responding to the enrollment process, because the system, we want to ensure that when you're entering the system, let's say, if you're in Sunset Valley, you'd be going to the school where you're already enrolled, or 50% of those who have the opportunity to go to OREM would be part of ensuring that the system can integrate this, and those adjustments will be integrated in terms of staff before enrollment. It depends on when they're going to register; we want to protect, so we're going to give you options. And you tell me, "Matías, based on the plan, I think I'd like to go now, and chronologically , we're going to get to
050this point, and for some reason in the future, say, 'You know what? I don't want to go all the way there anymore.' We want to support you in making that adjustment because we know it's a change from what you were expecting. Yes, there are certain things we need to organize a little more. The staff does n't usually make the full adjustment until spring. That's why it's important to start with the principal in December because that's where it begins, and we do n't stop until almost the end of February or March, but there's time. There should be options. Thank you. Uh, there are certain notes. The comment, I was more worried. Oh, but it's not here anymore. I have two students who are here, and I understand that maybe they won't continue at this school, but
051I feel that Son Valley is an incredible place for a neighborhood school. The rubric they used at that time was the best of all the elementary schools in this area, and it's the only one that was going to lose." I was told it was very empty. Unfortunately, the situation we 're in is one school against the other. Sunset Valley is in a pretty bad area, in a pretty bad place. We could go to Sunrise right now, and they're doing some really good things and maybe they'll move forward, but everyone who doesn't have a place is defecating, using the bathroom wherever they can. There are mental health issues happening right now. Next door there's a gas station that sells liquor and marijuana. It's like something out of a news report. It's a news report's dream to
052give; it looks like a jail. There's nowhere to park. I'm a student council member from Sunset Valley. We have police parking, we have places to pick up and drop off students. Once a year, or once a week, we can go and talk. We have a spectacular, beautiful campus. I'm a student council member. We give $1,000 to the PIA, and we want to support the school. We wanted to hear from you on the call earlier, I think it was last week. Oro, the parents from Oro didn't even want us to... This program was moved to this location. So, I do n't understand why they're going to remove this school from this community when we're doing so well, we're also getting there with our votes, with our money. I don't know, I can't answer. Yes. Okay. I
053didn't know if you wanted me to answer. So, what I would say is that there are so many schools that are feeling the impact right now. I want to clarify, there are many people who honestly love or support, to be honest. So, I want to clarify, we recognize that Soner Valley supports the school itself, and we want to support all the schools in Austin right now, and it's not happening right now . I'm at a point, I don't have the ability to give resources to all the schools; there are 116 schools at this point. So, wherever there's a specific school, everyone is going to have difficulties right now. If there are students in the boundary zone changes that are all along the border, and honestly, that's the truth. So, they're in the emerging bilingual 24%,
054quite difficult, and it's moving in that direction. Reverse. So, in logistical terms, we have to have the right access. So, it was never one thing or the other that gave focus to this plan. It was more that these are families who love to be here now, but they can't get there because they're working multiple jobs at the same time. They don't have the resources, they don't have the access. But you don't think this happens here too. But I 'm telling you that everyone has a different experience, and I don't want to... I feel that at this moment, this plan, we've reached this point, this draft is a plan, it's a draft with the process we've created over many months, with the long-term effort of the bond, the bond plan. So, in terms of... it didn't
055start from scratch and we're here now. We're going to listen to more feedback and we're going to make adjustments, but I don't want you to think that I don't understand or that I don't value the immense support you've had in this community. This is what frustrates me the most, and that's why it hurts me that you matter, but I also hate that we're in this position as a district. Thank you for being here. Here. Um, my questions are a combination of these two, but as a community, why not give us this assurance that there's stability, that they're going to say, "Let's offer it to you to ensure we can make the right decision?" I love it. No, we love our district and we support you. Nobody wants you to come in and take away our
056right. If you couldn't assure us, parents, we need the support, here it comes. If you choose it, obviously if you want to come, well, no problem, but why not? Okay. I want the parents, the families, to understand that this is a good question. If I could tell you right now, to the extent possible, to have that support and this commitment from me, being your principal, and I've been able to meet with all the principals going through this change right now. What you want is what I want, too. Right now, we don't have the vote, and we're still getting feedback from all over the community, and maybe it could change. One thing I don't want to do is interrupt, interrupt things in the middle of this The moment when it comes to the transformation plans is
057ready to begin. What do you need from me? And unfortunately, I can't say yes yet because we're not concrete. If we don't reach that point, everyone, many people, are going to be very disappointed. So, at this moment, what you want and what I want the community to want in general is what I think we could get to . At this moment, we haven't specifically arrived because we're missing the board vote and the specific plan, but it's something that can establish that stability and create it in Zavala or elsewhere, but we haven't reached that point yet. But that's precisely why we prefer to see something that can make that decision itself. I value our staff, and I want her to stay here with us. I have no doubt that's true. So, I want you to know
058that we're going to be ready. I can't commit at that point yet because we haven't reached that point in the process. Thank you for being here, and thank you to the Sid community for being so respectful and kind in the comments. When we're talking From the majority of high-income students, how will this impact Title I funding, like ontology, etc., that the community can receive and needs? So, for Title I dollars right now, they're distributed based on the total number of students who are economically disadvantaged. So, something I can tell you is that a few years ago, over 60% were economically disadvantaged, but with the changes across the city, we were 65, 55, 50, 45. We're trying to stay above 50%. The changes to immigration laws are affecting us quite a bit right now. We're below
059that right now because there are immigrant families who have come here who need to come, and there are those who have been told they have to leave. So, many of the families that would be in this group of economically disadvantaged students... we have to be above 50%. So, there are forms. What is this? If we're above 50% and That's the outline of Title I, meaning that 50% of students are identified as economically disadvantaged. So, two years ago, it depended on the city, so it depended on many students because they had transfers, but they were in a place where, based on the census, 50% of families were economically disadvantaged. So, the money can go to the students. Now, based on student need and the student population, 30% of the population identified as economically disadvantaged can receive
060ISD funds. So, coming from Oron, we're going to access the Title I funds. One can receive that amount in Oron at that time. So, we're at about 38-39%. Austin ISD sets it, the federal level sets the minimum, and we can go above that number. I'm sure we're going to have the Title I dollars. It makes a lot of sense with this administration, with this in terms of education. The Title I funds go It has to do with block grants. So that does n't focus on the number of students in need. It's more about proportions across the entire state. There's going to be a lot of movement in that area, anyway . So yes, I'm trying to grab whatever funding I can get. It's a way we can impact them by going from here to there
061, Title I, Title II, Title III, Title C dollars, and also, let's keep in mind that there's going to be more control over Title I dollars. Um, my goal is to create, uh, our funds, so we don't have to be thinking about these funds that we're not going to take into account, and when the state gives us that money. That's part of the way we're trying to create the city going forward. If we think we can have those dollars in terms of comprehensive services right now , we're in charge right now, and we're doing it right now . Well, thank you. I appreciate your time, and to the commissioners, I just want to follow up. One of the first questions you read. There's something we don't like. What is this program? Completely? It's a way
062to change the system or pull a fast one. The rumor is that they can transfer or move during the spring for next year and continue with the priority seating we have in the schools. I want to know if that's true, and if not, can you come up with some mechanism that can help change the program to our benefit? I'll tell you that I'm already aware of several ideas that are being discussed regarding all the transfers. I have n't necessarily heard what you're saying about the spring transfers, because according to the transfer policies, one thing is that this school year transfers have to be through the district. Well, the transfer process can become complicated . We have to look at opportunities to do mass transfers to follow the agreements we have through the committee. The commissioners'
063recommendation is that we hold a vote, but I'll also say that any time someone has a desire to circumvent the plan, we have to do something like a trick or something to try to bypass the system. It aligns with what we're trying to do and the values we have. We need to understand that as well, and I just wanted to mention it and share with you the transfer processes we have in place. We have certain steps, especially for Adam School, and we discussed it because this is a school that's already included in the program, and the expectations, and my team's, are protected. Every time someone comes from another school with a full education program or who is outside of those programs... Well, I had another way of doing this, but anyway, I appreciate your comment
064and your question. Thank you for being here today, and I appreciate your presence. I have two questions that aren't related to this, but I think they're important for the consolidation plans, and I have a 4-year-old in PRK pre-kindergarten. These students will continue to follow. The dual education program affiliations will automatically transfer with the programs to ODOM. And I'm not clear on what you said earlier. Yes, yes, yes, yes. That's like I want to revisit these scenarios, what the previous gentleman was pointing out, that there are different scenarios or different possibilities where the People are trying to find solutions, and for the example you gave me, we have a precise answer. Yes. So, we continue the programs. Yes. The second question would be, I've been given all the information, but I don't have it very clear
065right now. I understand that, for example, Valal School doesn't have certain educational support, and there are certain gaps. That 's hypothetically, if you move to ADAM as a community, how will the district ensure that we have the educational support that we currently don't have at this school? We all agree that Principal Ton Navarro is an excellent principal, and we all support this move, if it happens. We want to have a good foundation in the community for our students. It's just something we're considering because this is happening throughout the district. I learned a couple of things when I joined this project, that we have to align the academics with the district's guidelines. In some cases, there are things that depend on the academic plan, and sometimes others depend on what happens in the classroom. We can,
066obviously, have the academic program for the principals of each school, but last year we had a very large gap because some students were experiencing some kind of situation at one school, but they were going to different schools and weren't receiving the support they were used to . So this year, we have specialists joining the program, along with the superintendent, to have a better-defined plan for education academics. We have to ensure that we have all the academic support we need, which we haven't had much time for, and this is part of the team we have here. I was reviewing the previous plan that I mentioned from Maxwell, because the plan is written, it's already available, and it's the clearest plan we've had in the Austin school district . The principal knows it and knows the conditions
067of this school and the transition plan, and we've been quite precise about what we expect to happen. So, we have to look at these gaps and see how we're going to address them. We've specifically discussed the gaps in this meeting and others, but well, it's part of the school year. Last year we did And we've revisited these topics, but if you have any specific questions, you can send us your comments on a card, and if this is what I'm hearing. It's important that we know what the community is saying. Thank you for being here. I'm very grateful to the team and the committee for giving us this opportunity and all the opportunities they provide to communicate with the community. I just want to understand a little better what the transformation transition plan is because will
068the OD school be included in this plan or not? Well, I'm going to stop because you left me hanging with the question, right? I just want to understand. Do you plan to raise the school's current academic standing? Because we'll be arriving at this school in a different scenario. Do they have an excellent academic level, or what are you expecting? There are two things I want to say. First, do n't pass on all the information in the rankings. We have excellent schools that may not have an A or B rating, but they have a waiting list because people want to get into those schools, and we have ways to accommodate them. and protect the schools that have high ratings. We have very strong schools in our communities that can stand on their own two feet and
069are highly valued, respected, and powerful, and we are proud to have them in the school district. What I mean is, if a school has a certain rating, it's because the system has failed. We, as the school district, have produced the results we see. We are desperately trying to shift responsibility and remove [the problem], but cleaning this up takes time. What we are seeing is that we are protecting our employees, the librarians, the people who create the curriculum. I know there are people who organize the curriculum, but they are being welcomed by the community. But these transformation plans require three UAs, which means unacceptable. The rating is a combination of events, for example, two FSs, which are two failing grades. If you have UAs, it's unacceptable. For example, one F for failing grade is a failing
070grade. If you have two, that's grounds for having problems next year. school year and we have to implement the plans we're making for the next school year. At the moment, it was the 2024-2025 school year . We're trying to follow the same timeline, and we have a few more challenges right now. For example, we have three FES (Faculty of Education) in these schools, as you already know. For that, we have to have a different approach, a different plan, and different ways to avoid having the fourth failing grade. I just want to see, I want to be honest with you, and I wish you all success in the upcoming schools that are being transferred. In 2023, we had 30, in 2024, 29, and then we had 23. Our systems have been going in other ways, and
071we didn't have the transformation plan in place, so academic performance has dropped a little, but we're providing support, assuming this plan moves forward and can be implemented well. We have the time, and we're modeling. There isn't a transformation plan at this school in Odom. Just so we're clear on this. I answered the question. Yes. I just want to make sure we're limiting the questions to Five minutes to give everyone time to ask their questions. Good afternoon. We are grateful for the way you have come to represent us. We have had several meetings here in Venezuela to try to engage and understand the diverse perspectives and needs of the families living here. There are people who live further afield who have been told, "We do n't have space in San Cerrado," and there are families who
072have said, " We live near San Cerrado, we walk to school," and this is critical for us. We don't trust the transportation system because we have had negative experiences. Although we all love our principal, Navarro, not all families will be able to continue with the new program. So it is very important, as has been said, for families to be able to choose, to have all the information possible about what the plan is for the program in Josing compared to Organs, what is currently planned, which will be like the overflow for those who fit in the southern community without wanting to continue with individual education. So, what more details can you share with us about the model? or educational transfers, how is a large community through needs is repeating the same question that was asked in
073Spanish. It's only being translated into English, although we want our teachers, our principal, uh, how this transition is going to be done . I just want to have more clarity for Joseln, what choices we have to know what educational models the schools have, if they will have dual language or specifically what version and if it will be to have a stronger dual language community, whether for uh Joseln OD or more. We have many programs in 57 of the dual language schools. We're talking about having 78 schools, and 56 of them have dual language, and when they become emerging bilingual schools, we start offering [something]. If there are 18 emerging bilingual students, we offer dual language school-wide. We are looking for resources to ensure we can continue doing that. So we will continue to have this
074program in schools and throughout the school, and when we talk about whole-school dual language, we want you to know how important it is and how beautiful it is, and we want to support it. That's not a point of contention , is it? And it's going to be very much alive for decades to come. And I want to tell you that our bilingual students, whether it's 8 or 9% and also the board's standard , passed legislation that every educator wants certified and two years ago what will happen is that in two years we will have certified dual language teachers in the classroom environment. And if not, I have to cover it by law, I have to make sure that we have certified teachers in every class, in every classroom. We have an urgent need to address
075something we are encountering. The law is changing and certifications are limited. So, we are trying to find these educators who will serve our students. It's something we want to talk about, something that's happening. And if I don't have enough educators, then I have to have these teachers and our students are here. The board will support the administration. We need to know where emerging bilingual students are located in order to have that program. Our transportation service carries 20,000 students every day, and we want to know why families are n't taking advantage of this. There are opportunities to access school, but we transport students all day, every day, so they can have access. If there's anything you haven't seen that would be useful, please let us know. We want to be aware of what we can do
076and we are committed to helping you. And thinking about when there is overpopulation, uh, I don't think Joslin is going to be overpopulated, but we want to provide these opportunities in South Austin and we want the programs to be vibrant and also timely. We're going to offer them in the north as well, but in South Austin we see the schools we have and we want to give families access to them. so that they have more schools open in their own area , but to see the balance, the equilibrium that we have to create. Uh, I'll see, she'll answer you. Um, we want to give more clarification in the next draft, and the dual language programs are looking for native Spanish speakers in one language and non-native speakers in another, so that we all have an
077agreement in these programs. Wow, it really is very impressive. The students are learning to write in two languages. They are not separate classes. All students are learning the same thing. They are learning together. An emerging program follows a similar design, but primarily it is for students whose first language is English. They may not be surrounded by only students who speak like that, but many times they will be speaking the language they speak at home. But most of them speak English, but they value learning Spanish in this case, or Mandarin too, for families who value it, right? Uh, in spring, sorry, in elementary school we have these programs and they are focused on also supporting native English speakers and they are fully investment programs . The design is very similar; it's an instruction in English. It's
078very similar to immersion in dual language learning, but there are no emerging bilingual students. When we speak the dual language of the whole school, we also want to ensure there are enough students in the program that is being implemented. When we talk about the support given, we do n't want the dual language offering to be withdrawn, because that would also create other types of pressures for us. In certain areas, these problems will persist in the long term. I want to tell you first of all not to envy your position at this time. I know these are very difficult decisions and thank you for going through this process. Speaking for myself, we know that the families of S are in shock that our school is closing. Questions like the one I wanted to ask have already
079been asked. and the role that security plays in the conversation. Honestly, there are things I'm more confused about than before I came here. One thing I heard is that even if there is a student in the school, we are going to keep it safe. And I'm grateful, I'm grateful for this, right? Because I want my son to be safe at school, and I think all parents want the same thing. I 'm not rejecting Joseln, I'm sure they have a good culture, they have good teachers, but what they did find was that needles in the playground and what happens in that area, the police are called frequently. We know that the Austin police have a lot of work, right? Too much. But mainly my question is whether we have this school where the police station is
0803 miles away, or if it always depends on traffic and whether they walk and so on, and also if they don't have enough students enrolled in that school. that belong to the neighborhood. I'm confused. In other words, it's going to be non-sonicated, meaning it's going to be less safe if the district building doesn't meet the same standards as this building because that non-sonicated school isn't put here, which is safer. The security component could actually be a security measure; it's a decision. Why don't we put Joseln's program here? S has been proven, right? That does n't matter, the financing is provided here. What would happen to the land, the building? So, it wouldn't just be another concrete extension that we can see in our neighborhood. Let's tell her to answer the second question. No, our answer
081is not like, let him have all this. It 's not a case of leaving it here next to Burger. He's talking about Bigol, the early childhood center, but we look at the community and the needs, but also balance what's happening in the district. All we want is for the community and the eastern district to agree so that everything makes sense. But I want the community to understand that I'm not going to work to have a disease here, right?, in the district, but I want the place, the location, the vibrancy and for everything to look good. But we need this conversation and for the board to receive this information, and that's why we have this process. Regarding security, I know it's difficult because it's important for education. There are many schools in the district; some are
082safer, some are less safe. It's misleading, isn't it? When you see different information in general. We talked about all the things that come into play, talking about security, I'm aware of the things that happen. I understand that. That's all I want. We know that we will always encounter challenges. What's safe inside the school, the principal is good, but what happens outside, well, that might not be up to us, right? They understand the things around them, but we know there are things beyond our control. But I want to acknowledge and have more clarity on all the elements that come into play because we chose this school. Uh, when we expand these limits to add more students to Joselin, we have to pull more schools. And I also want you to understand that this is happening because
083we are talking about the need to modify the boundaries and to allow for more expansion of certain areas. So, remember that we are mainly basing our conclusions on these changes. Right now we have, you know there are more questions and I'm going to encourage you to fill out a comment card. They can take this code and we are trying to incorporate these ideas. our next proposal. Uh, I like to close. I want to say thank you. I appreciate how you are handling this part of the process. I really like the way, the strategy, how they are working. It's difficult with the people we're working with to close any school, but I appreciate their help in making certain adjustments as well. Thank you.