The Board of Trustees recently held an information session to discuss progress on literacy and caregiver engagement. The district has reported a decrease in the percentage of second-grade students recommended for intervention on MAP reading assessments, indicating improvements in student literacy. These decreases were observed across almost all student groups year-over-year, suggesting that efforts to strengthen classroom instruction are effective.
In terms of caregiver engagement, the district is focusing on building meaningful partnerships with families. This is the baseline year for measuring current engagement levels, which will inform future goals set over the next five years. Six standards of engagement are being evaluated: communication, parenting, student learning, volunteering, school decision-making, and collaboration between family, school, and community partnerships.
Navarro Early College High School was noted as an outlier in this data. As the first Austin ISD high school to adopt the Families as Partners program, they aim to increase parent "champions" from three to six by May 2025. These leaders will assist in educating families about literacy and CCMR goals.
The board also completed a quarterly update on its TEA Order priorities and Lone Star Governance framework. Priorities I, III, and IV have been completed successfully. The board maintained a rating of “meets focus” for the fourth consecutive quarter under Lone Star Governance.
Looking ahead, a Board Regular Voting Meeting is scheduled for March 27 where budget plans will be discussed further. Additionally, there is an agenda item concerning property at 2117 West 49th Street; discussions with OHT Partners regarding its sale price are ongoing.