EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Leander ISD
COMPILED BY TAYLOR GIRTMAN
Board approves calendar for 2022-23 school year
LEANDER ISD The 2022-23 school year will begin Aug. 17 and end May 26, 2023. The school board approved the final calendar Jan. 27. Unlike the current calendar, the next school year will not include regular early release Wednesdays. Chief Academic Officer Matt Bentz said community survey data about the calendar showed unanimous support for providing time for staff development and teacher planning time. However, campus administrators and the community preferred full days rather than early release days. The district began adding early release days to the school calendar in November 2020 amid the challenges of teaching students both in person and online. “We have attempted to strike a balance by building in four additional professional development days, which actually has meant less students days,” Bentz said.
After board discussions at the Jan. 13 meeting, district staff added an April 10 student holiday to give families a student vacation day and provide staff at least one professional development or teacher collaboration day per month excluding December and May. “I think it will be a much-needed break for those teachers in April,” board member Christine Mauer said. Student holidays, in addition to regular holidays, include Sept. 26, Oct. 10-11, Nov. 8, Feb. 20 and March 20.
TAYLOR GIRTMAN/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS LEANDER ISD The school district partnered with the city of Leander on an essay contest as part of the city’s inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade and Street Festival on Jan. 17. Winners were Sydney Slack from Vandegrift High School, Roopesh Tangudu from Stiles Middle School and Ria Roogi from Parkside Elementary School. LEANDER ISD The district’s second clothes closet location moved from Four Points Middle School to River Place Elementary School in late November. The LISD Council of PTAs, which operates the district’s two clothes closets, opened the second clothes closet in October to serve the southern area of the school district. The PTA clothes closets offer gently used clothes, new underwear and new socks to students from prekindergarten to high school who live in LISD boundaries. The first clothes closet site is located at 324 S. West Drive, Leander. LEANDER ISD The district and Western Governors University Texas announced a partnership Jan. 11 that gives LISD employees pathways to bachelor’s or master’s degree programs. This includes over 60 accredited programs in K-12 teaching, information technology, business and health professions. Additionally, LISD employees can receive exclusive scholarships, career services, events and activities. LEANDER ISD Through Feb. 18, community members can provide feedback on instructional resources in six courses: K-12 health and physical education, sixth grade social studies, AP environmental science, kinesiology, marketing, and nutrition and dietetics. Materials can be viewed online or at the central district office and Cedar Park High School. Feedback will be used as the district adopts new resources. Leander ISD board of trustees Next meetings: Feb. 10 and 24 300 W. South St., Leander 512-570-0000 www.leanderisd.org Austin Community College board of trustees Next meetings: Feb. 21 and March 7 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Room 201, Austin • 512-223-7000 www.austincc.edu MEETINGSWE COVER
DATES TOKNOW
2022
2023
SOURCE: LEANDER ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER AUG. 17 First day of school DEC. 19-JAN. 2 Winter break
MARCH 13-20 Spring break
MAY 26 Last day of school
Early college high school moves ahead LEANDER ISD The district’s early college high school program is expected to start in the 2022-23 school year with an inaugural class of about 125 ninth grade students. The board of trustees approved the submission for the program’s provisional designation application at its Jan. 13 meeting. A partnership between LISD and Austin Community College will allow students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and either an associate degree or 60 credit hours. The program will begin at ACC’s San Gabriel Campus. Applications for the program opened Feb. 7. More
Newschool named for longtime teacher Carol North LEANDER ISD The district’s 29th elementary school will be named Carol Ann North Elementary School after the longtime LISD kindergarten teacher who taught for 22 years at Block House Creek and Knowles elementary schools. The board of trustees approved the school name Jan. 13. The name follows the recommendation of an LISD community naming commit- tee that met in December to discuss name submissions for the school. At the Dec. 16 board meeting, committee co-Chair David James Martin said the committee’s decision to nominate North was unanimous because of the care
Leander ISD will hold two informational meetings about North Elementary for parents with Principal Lara Labbé- Maginel. The school’s vision, namesake and transfer process will be discussed. Feb. 16: 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Larkspur Elementary School Feb. 22: 3:30-4:30 p.m. at Grandview Hills Elementary School SOURCE: LEANDER ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER Learn about North
and work she had put into the district. Co-Chair Kasey Muse also said North had been nominated for several prior schools, and North was known as a champion of foun- dational literacy and education. North Elementary is under con- struction in the Bryson subdivision in Leander.
information is available at https://echs.leanderisd.org.
Trustees extend COVID-19 leave policy for district staff
LEANDER ISD Board members approved an extended five-day COVID-19 leave policy for district employees as a result of rising COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant. The board approved a resolution for additional COVID-19 leave Jan. 13. This will begin retroactively to Jan. 3 and end June 30. The policy gives LISD employees an additional five days of paid leave if they test positive, Chief Human Resources Officer Karie Lynn McSpadden said. Employees who previously tested positive and took leave can use the additional five-day leave if they test
positive again. Employees are encouraged to isolate for five days if they test positive and may return to work after five days if symptoms are resolved or improving and are fever-free for over 24 hours, according to district documents. On average, employees are taking four days to recover from symptoms, McSpadden said, and several staff members have tested positive more than once and required another sick leave period for COVID-19. The previous leave policy expired in December, prior to the surge of the omicron variant.
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CEDAR PARK - LEANDER EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
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