School Board to Prioritize Major Changes
The proposals get discussed tonight at the Austin district's headquarters. Photo by Nathan Bernier/KUT NewsAudio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The Austin school board will meet tonight and talk about all the major changes that Superintendent Meria Carstarphen would like to implement in the next few years. And tonight, for the first time ever, the proposals are being ranked in order of priority.
The name the school district uses for these proposals is a bit clunky. They’re called Annual Academic Facilities Recommendations, or AAFRs for short. You can read about them on AISD’s website.
“I think there are 11 different conceptual ideas that we’re trying to prioritize in conjunction with the work that we’re doing with our Citizen’s Bond Advisory Committee, and our budget process for 2013-14,” Carstarphen said.
The first priority is expansion of the district’s dual-language program. That’s where English-speaking students are placed in classes with Spanish-speaking students and both learn both languages at the same time.
Number two is the expansion of an in-district charter school for high school dropouts operated by Responsive Education Solutions. The third priority is launching a college prep school for boys, sort of like the male version of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders.
Board members will get to give their input on the prioritization tonight. The board meeting is at AISD headquarters and starts at 6:30. It will be broadcast by most cable providers and streamed online.
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