AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Independent School District is taking the next step to make sure there is a smooth transition as the district consolidates and closes campuses.
Some students may be attending new schools as early as the upcoming school year.
Students from Brooke Elementary may be relocated to Govalle or Linder elementary schools. The district plans to merge the Metz and Sanchez elementary campuses and the Norman and Sims campuses. Pease Elementary is expected to close at the end of the school year.
The district was updated on plans Monday night to make sure parents, students and staff were aware of all the upcoming changes.
The district created "School Changes Implementation Teams" (SCITS) to help communicate with the community.
According to the Austin ISD website, SCITS will:
- Respond to the social and emotional needs of students and staff
- Nurture campus and community culture for consolidated schools
- Minimize student disruptions
- Shape academic program design
- Inform immediate and future facility needs
- Ensure the proper historical preservation and memorialization of school histories, artifacts and legacies
One trustee said at the meeting she wished the SCITS were made before the vote to change campuses last November.
"Strategic communication up until the vote could have played a huge role in perhaps alleviating some of the anger and the hurt and the grief prior to the vote and what has happened after the vote," said Ann Teich, an Austin ISD trustee. "I have some very dedicated colleagues up here that have been the victims of Facebook posts that are atrocious."
The SCITS will be a function of each school's campus advisory council and will hold meetings open to the public. The first round of meetings is on Feb. 20.
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