EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Austin & Dripping Springs ISDs & Texas
District speech highlights COVID-19 response
Austin ISD teachers tell boardmorale is at an all-time low
TEACHERSWEIGH INONDISTRICT’S MISSION A district survey found that in spring 2021 teachers felt the district mission was less clear than in 2020. The overall view of the district remains positive. 2020 2021
BY OLIVIA ALDRIDGE
School District is the ability to wade through disagreements and then come together,” Elizalde said. She acknowledged that test scores are down but took issue with the term learning loss, stating that students learned life skills during the pandemic. Elizalde also touched on declining enrollment numbers. She said the issue predates the pandemic and is due to the changing demographics of the city.
AUSTIN ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde’s annual State of the District comments Oct. 19 highlighted the district’s relative success in handling of delta variant surge this fall compared to other Texas districts. She also touched on declining enrollment and declining student test scores. “I think the uniqueness of the community of Austin Independent
BY MAGGIE QUINLAN
AUSTIN ISD More than a dozen Austin ISD teachers called into the Oct. 28 meeting of the district’s board of trustees to say that they are exhausted and concerned about retention. “Staff and student morale at my campus is the lowest I’ve ever seen,” said Jennifer Lucas, a teacher in her ninth year at Northeast Early College High School, echoing several other speakers who referred to low morale at their schools. Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said the district will begin working at each of the identified schools and will create a survey to get more feedback. “In 11 years, I’ve never felt this degree of burnout. This year is going to definitely be my last year,” Dobie Middle School teacher Megan Barrett said.
Elementary
90%
85%
Middle
83%
79%
Austin ISD experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the delta variant in mid-August, but cases have since plateaued, according to district data.
DECLINING CASES
200 100 150
High
87%
82%
0 50
Other staff
82%
89%
SOURCE: AUSTIN ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCE: AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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