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AISD: Mainly Out-of-State Proposals for Eastside Memorial

At their headquarters on West Sixth tonight, AISD will consider the role the STAASR test should play in determining students' grades.
KUT News
At their headquarters on West Sixth tonight, AISD will consider the role the STAASR test should play in determining students' grades.

The Austin Independent School District has received five proposals from outside partners to lead the school improvement plan at Eastside Memorial High School, most of which are from organizations outside Texas.

The five companies include John Hopkins University, Turnaround Solutions Inc., Editure Professional Development, American Institutes for Research, and a local company, Southwest Key Programs, Inc.

A 15-member panel was selected by the school district to evaluate the proposals and give recommendations to the Austin School Board. The committee will read the proposals, conduct interviews with the applications and the community. If the board approves a proposal, it then goes to the Texas Education Commission for final approval.

The need for a new outside partner comes after a short contractual relationship with the charter school – IDEA Public Schools. Last spring, the board approved a contract with IDEA to improve some eastside schools, including Eastside Memorial. But in December, the school board voted to cancel the contract.

“Our goal is to strengthen students going to Eastside Memorial,” said board president Vincent Torres.

“We are open to any and all models. It could be someone that says we just want to work with teachers… It could be a model just like Allan [Elementary] that says we want to grow a program…or it could be something totally different,” Torres said.

The first time Trustees could vote on a proposal is at its April 22  board meeting. AISD is planning to give oral presentations to the public on Saturday, April 20. The names of the committee members are listed below.

Committee Members:

  • Nicole Conley, AISD Chief Finance Officer
  • James Sessions, AISD Director, Contract and Procurement Services
  • Montserrat Garibay, Educator of Lucy Read Pre-K
  • Edmund Oropez, Associate Superintendent
  • Suzanne Burke, Associate Superintendent
  • Robert Dominguez, Campus Advisory Council Representative
  • Toni Rayner, PTA Representative
  • Susie Duarte, Parent Representative
  • Mary Alvarez, Parent Representative
  • Vincent Tovar, Parent Representative
  • One more parent representative to be named
  • James Haynes, Educator representing an elementary or middle school in the Eastside Memorial Vertical Team
  • Yvonne Kelso, Educator representing Eastside Memorial High School
  • Nancy Maniscalco, Administrator from an elementary or middle school in the Eastside Memorial Vertical Team
  • Bryan Miller, Administrator representing Eastside Memorial High School
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