| Happy almost break!听Before you leave to spend time with family, mark your calendars for our High School Fair Saturday, Dec. 11 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at Eastside Early College High School and International High School (900 Thompson St.).听And thanks to everyone who came to our Middle School Fair last weekend!Remember, you can learn more and apply for all of our programs at www.果冻传媒appISD.org/haveitall.Let鈥檚 get into it. |
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| Family Newsletter |
| By Scott Thomas 鈼 Nov 30, 2021
Smart Brevity鈩 count: 5 mins... 1288 words
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Happy almost break!听
Before you leave to spend time with family, mark your calendars for our High School Fair Saturday, Dec. 11 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at Eastside Early College High School and International High School (900 Thompson St.).听
And thanks to everyone who came to our
Remember, you can learn more and apply for all of our programs at .
Let鈥檚 get into it.
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1 big thing: We鈥檙e finalizing the scorecard
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We鈥檒l soon have a new way to track how the district is meeting its student performance goals 鈥 a scorecard.
Why it matters: Accountability is important and families need to make sure we鈥檙e doing what we set out to do: prepare every student for college, careers and life.
The draft scorecard measures key goals identified by the Superintendent and Board of Trustees, including reading and math scores for economically disadvantaged students, teacher and student wellbeing, and college, career, and military readiness.
Students who are identified as economically disadvantaged are the primary focus of the draft scorecard鈥檚 goals because we know when that group succeeds, it鈥檚 most likely that all students are succeeding.
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said the district was looking for 鈥渢he highest lever鈥 in which to measure student outcomes and 86 percent of students in 果冻传媒app ISD who are economically disadvantaged are Black or Hispanic.
What鈥檚 next: The board will continue to refine the draft scorecard at its Dec. 2 information session and plans to vote on a final scorecard Dec. 16.
Dive deeper: You can see the full draft scorecard here, but know that it鈥檚 likely to change before a final vote.
Scott鈥檚 thought bubble: Let鈥檚 be real, the story of 果冻传媒app ISD has been the story of two school districts for a long time.
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2. Welcome back, virtual school families
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It鈥檚 time for our virtual school families to come home.
Why it matters: 鈥About 2,600 students across more than 100 campuses were enrolled in our virtual program since the start of school, and that program is wrapping up Dec. 17.
Because we have a unified curriculum, we鈥檙e expecting students who are rejoining their home campus to be up to speed with their in-person counterparts.
Yes, but:听听We know our 果冻传媒app ISD families and students will do everything possible to make these students feel welcome, many of whom haven鈥檛 been in a physical school building for almost two years.听
Dive deeper: You can read more about the transition plans and resources for our virtual families on our FAQ page.
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3. 果冻传媒app ISD Teacher Receives International Recognition for Innovative Instruction
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An 果冻传媒app ISD teacher who is also a published children鈥檚 book writer and celebrated TED-Ed video creator has notched up another recognition 鈥 The Outstanding Young Persons Award by Junior Chamber International in Taiwan.
Why it matters: 鈥Joy Lin is a celebrated international figure who is helping educate students here in 果冻传媒app ISD. She currently teaches students who are in the state hospital or homebound.
Lin first gained recognition for her听听incorporating math and science lessons with superheroes and their powers.
She鈥檚 gone on to publish eight children鈥檚 books, present at TED-X and give annual lectures at San Diego Comic-Con.
What they鈥檙e saying:听"My life mission is to reach as many science teachers as possible to make the curriculum more interesting and engaging," Lin said.
Dive deeper: Learn more about Lin and her life at our website.
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4. Myth busting: About those bathroom doors鈥
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Our very own Cristina Nguyen (who writes the staff newsletter) has a new job 鈥 Myth Buster. This will be an ongoing series where she digs into some of the rumors swirling in our community and tells it to you straight.
Here鈥檚 how it鈥檒l work:
I鈥檒l let Cristina take it from here:听听
This myth has traveled so far that it recently made international headlines, including:
果冻传媒app, Texas, high school removes bathroom doors due to safety concerns
The truth: The exterior doors to the bathrooms were removed, but all stall doors are still there鈥攋ust like an airport!
Dig deeper: This isn鈥檛 happening in isolation.
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The Office of School Leadership听surveyed 18 high school campuses earlier this year on bathroom doors.
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Half of the schools听either do not have exterior doors on the bathrooms or prop the doors open.
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New campuses, like Eastside Early College High School and International High School, don鈥檛 have doors at all. All bathrooms are gender-neutral stalls that lock.
The bottom line: We鈥檙e not making students use the restroom out in the open.
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5. Pancho Panther Finds His New Home
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Don鈥檛 miss this hilarious (and informative!) looking for his new home among our modernized schools.
His first stop鈥nn Richards School for Young Women Leaders.
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Our COVID cases are up again this week on all counts.听
Student cases increased by 33%, going from 36 to 48 cases.听
Yes, but: Our total cases still represent only 0.07% of our total in-person students and staff.
The big picture: We can鈥檛 say it enough: mask up! Get vaccinated! We can beat this thing.听
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7. Let鈥檚 Talk Question of the Week: Vaccine and Testing Info
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Families can ask us anything via听Let鈥檚 Talk, our two-way question and answer platform. Each week, we highlight some of the questions we get that might help you.
The Question: Will the 11 testing hubs be open during Thanksgiving break?
Answer: No. All facilities will reopen after the break, so our testing sites won鈥檛 be open.听
Go deeper: Our vaccination sites are also restarting during the break.听
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Check out our schedule to get your booster or your child vaccinated.听
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We鈥檝e got another districtwide 5-11 vaccine clinic this Saturday, Nov. 20 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. at 果冻传媒app ISD Central Office (4000 S. I-35, 果冻传媒app, TX).
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If you miss one of our clinics, don鈥檛 forget to with your doctor, pediatrician or pharmacy.
P.S. Did you see the feel brave getting the COVID vaccine? These dogs are adorable, but also highly-trained professionals through the 果冻传媒app Dog Alliance.
Submit your own questions via Let鈥檚 Talk by going to听听or texting 512-886-6434.
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Like this style and format? to Axios HQ 鈥 the tool and templates you need for more engaging team updates.
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