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We hope everyone in the ϱ ISD 🏫🍎 community is settling back to normal after a couple of challenging weather weeks. We also wish a happy Maha Shivratri to those who will celebrate the 🛕 Hindu holiday this Saturday!
📅 A reminder that ϱ ISD students get out of school early this Friday, Feb. 17, and that next Monday, Feb. 20, is a staff and student holiday for Presidents Day.
👀 Alright, let's jump in and see what's going on around the district ...
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Staff Weekly
By Paul Stinson●Feb 15, 2023
Smart Brevity® count: 4.5 mins...1242 words
We hope everyone in the ϱ ISD 🏫🍎 community is settling back to normal after a couple of challenging weather weeks. We also wish a happy Maha Shivratri to those who will celebrate the 🛕 Hindu holiday this Saturday!
📅 A reminder that ϱ ISD students get out of school early this Friday, Feb. 17, and that next Monday, Feb. 20, is a staff and student holiday for Presidents Day.
👀 Alright, let's jump in and see what's going on around the district ...
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1 big thing: Feb. 20 deadline to participate in equity focus groups
🏫🍎 ϱ ISD students, teachers and families are encouraged to apply by Friday, Feb. 20, to participate in a series of focus groups on their experiences with equity in the district.
Why it matters: As part of our commitment to improve equitable outcomes for students, we’ve partnered with the nonprofit American Institute for Research to conduct an equity assessment 📝 of district policies, practices, curricula and systems.
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🔊AIR wants to hear what you think about our policies and education outcomes. The information from the focus groups, as well as districtwide data, will help AIR develop recommendations for how we might address equity issues.
Leading from the front: In January, AIR met with trustees, Interim Superintendent Matias Segura, principals and community members to discuss the plan for data collection and community engagement.
📅 What’s next: AIR plans to deliver its recommendations in Fall 2023.
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2. ϱ ISD Celebrates 🎉 the Life of Dr. General Garwood Marshall
This is the third in a monthlong profile series spotlighting Black leaders and pathbreakers for whom ϱ ISD schools are named.
As ϱ ISD continues its celebration of Black History Month, we profile Dr. General Garwood Marshall: prominent member of ϱ’s Black community, mathematical titan and tireless mentor to students in math and science.
🎓 Yellow Jacket and Morehouse Man: A proud graduate of The Original L.C. Anderson High School 🏫, Marshall earned his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1957.
💍 After Morehouse, Dr. Marshall married his former high school sweetheart, Marian Lavon Marshall, and taught math at a Georgia high school, winning statewide recognition for his teaching 🏆.
Following the completion of his master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Texas at ϱ 🐂 in 1966, the Marshalls returned to ϱ. He began teaching at what is now Huston-Tillotson University and earned his doctorate of education in mathematics from the University of Houston in 1976.
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💬 Marshall’s widow remembers the Anderson days: “In high school, because he did so well in geometry, when the geometry teacher would go out of town for games—because he was also a coach—he would allow General and other students to teach his classes. I sort of thought he might help me get through that class,” Marian Lavon Marshall said previously.
🎓 STEM legacy: In 1990, Marshall started what would become a part of his educational legacy with AusPREP—ϱ Pre-freshman Engineering Program—a free summer program for middle and high school students who were interested in 🔬science, technology, engineering and ➕➖ math.
🏫 What’s next: This fall, students will walk through the doors of the brand-new Dr. General Garwood Marshall Middle School in Northeast ϱ. Trustees voted in June 2022 to name the school after Marshall.
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Marshall’s legacy and generosity, remembered: “He did extraordinary things at Huston-Tillotson, not just for the students who were there,” said Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion said prior to the trustee vote. “He took his summers and his evenings to help young people understand math and become mathematicians.”
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3. 🏫🍎Trustees Approve Revised 2023–24 Calendar 📅
✅ ϱ ISD trustees have approved a revised calendar 📅 for 2023-24, incorporating feedback to recognize important holidays for the community. ☀️
What’s new: Changes include the removal of the elementary parent conference evenings, an additional professional development day, and changes to some holidays.
By the numbers: The new 2023–24 calendar maintains the state-mandated number of instructional minutes for students and required duty days for teachers.
👂 Listen and learn: The current calendar incorporates feedback from multiple district advisory councils and Let's Talk.
What's next: In September, the district will convene a community task force to review feedback and develop calendars for 2024–25 and beyond. Learn more about the Calendar Task Force.
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4. 🌟 CTE Spotlight: Navarro ECHS senior Zarqa Fatima takes on the world of computer programming💻
🗓️ February is Career and Technical Education Month. We’re highlightingstar students who are jump-starting their careers in our CTE programs.
How it started:Zarqa had always been interested in computer programming. After finding out that her brother has autism, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in technology and health science.
“For me the greater draw was being able to have an industry partner with IBM because I wanted to make sure that my parents knew I was able to get a job, once I graduated,” Zarqa said.
Class + community: Her years at Navarro ECHS have been very productive, both in class and in our community. Outside of class, Zarqa makes time to serve as:
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President of the Neurodiversity group.
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President of Girls Who Code.
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Co-chair of the ϱ ISD Equity Student Committee.
Special thank-you: Zarqa is very thankful for her mentor, Tara Bordeaux, her former P-TECH teacher, who she said not only taught her about P-TECH, but also helped Zarqa schedule and manage her classes, and helped her grow as a person.
What's next:Zarqa is on track to earn both her ϱ ISD high school diploma 🎓and an associate degree in Computer Programming from ACC. She is applying to colleges and plans to pursue a career in Biomedical Engineering.
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5. Rounding up the news 📰
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Black History Month, Feb. 1-28
Parent Conference Evenings, Feb. 15-16
Student Early Release/Teacher Planning, Feb. 17
Maha Shivaratri, Feb. 18
Staff/Student Holiday-Bad Weather Day, Feb. 20
Tools for Success: Partners Resource Network, Feb. 21
District Advisory Council Meeting, Feb. 21
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22
Tools for Success: ϱ Parent Portal and Enrollment, Feb. 22
Tools for Success: Transportation Services, Feb. 22
2024 Budget/Presupuesto 2024, Feb. 22
Advocacy Advisory Committee Meeting, Feb. 22
Presupuesto 2024 / Budget 2024, Feb. 22
ϱ ISD Board of Trustees Regular Voting Meeting, Feb. 23
African American Heritage Celebration Program, Feb. 24
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🎵 Paul is listening to the second Peter Gabriel album and gradually upping his 🏓 ping-pong game. But not at the same time.
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