Minutes - Austin ISD

AISD DISTRICT ADVISORY COUNCIL
Summary of Regular Meeting
September 18, 2012
ATTENDANCE
Member Attendance
(See attached list)
Others in Attendance
Dr. Suzanee Burke, AISD, Associated Superintendent for Academics
Bill Caritj, AISD, Chief Performance Officer
Dr. Meria Carstarphen, AISD, Superintendent
Joey Crumley, AISD, Campus and District Accountability
Dr. Paul Cruz, AISD, Chief Schools Officer
Jan Dawes, Christian Churches Collaborating for Change
Marty DeLeon, Parent
Dr. Pauline Dow, AISD, Chief Academic Officer
Carolyn Hanschen, AISD, Campus and District Accountability
Edward Jackson, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Patt Jackson, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Sarah Johnson, AISD, Summitt Elementary School
Debra Ready, AISD, Assessment and Accountability
PROCEEDINGS
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. in the Board Auditorium of the Carruth
Administration Center.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the August 21, 2012 regular meeting were approved.
Superintendent’s Update
Dr. Carstarphen’s update included the following topics:
• Graham Elementary School named by USDE as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School,
only one of 16 schools in Texas to gain such recognition.
• Becker Elementary School has received a $25,000 grant from Target for classroom
technology and a library refresh.
• The City of Austin is expanding its employee program to mentor and tutor AISD
students to include firefighters. Last year, City employees logged in 7,500 volunteer
hours helping AISD students.
• AISD has partnered with UT in our Attendance Incentive Program. UT will provide free
athletics event tickets to district employees who help meet campus attendance targets.
• AISD is continuing in its efforts to award belated high school diplomas to war veterans
who left school to serve their country. There will be a special “graduation” ceremony on
November 12 as part of the district’s observance of Veterans Day.
• A public meeting was held at Lanier High School regarding a potential design for a
district-wide school for young men. There will also be continuing discussion on various
scenarios for other possible single-sex schools

• Currently, there are several possible AAFRs under consideration for 2013-14, but the
list will probably be narrowed down before going to the Board in December for final
approval.
• There will be a public meeting at the McCallum Performing Arts Center on September
20 to discuss a long-term strategy for providing arts-rich educational opportunities.
• For the second year, the district has achieved significant utility cost savings through
summer shutdowns of facilities.
• There is a new “AISD Is Committed to Respect for All” website, underscoring the
district’s belief that all students have the right to learn in an environment free of
harassment, bullying, and violence.
Discussion points included:
• The Superintendent and administration were commended for moving programs
forward; teachers were also commended for doing a tremendous job.
• The tone of the State Legislature toward public education has recently been quite
nasty.
• Our challenge in technology is building platforms to support all of the latest and
greatest things.
• We’re looking at close to a billion dollars in possible new bond programs; for example,
$350 million in basic facility improvements, and $100 million for a new high school.
• We should use students more to help us with technology.
Citizens Communications
Patt Jackson described several free, district-wide services that Mt. Zion Baptist Church can
offer, related to student tutoring and mentoring, dropout prevention, and attendance. She
said it has been a challenge getting inside of schools to offer this assistance, and welcomed
the opportunity to bring this message to the DAC.
Jan Dawes of Christian Churches Collaborating for Change echoed this message, and
wanted to let the DAC know about the joint effort being made to keep students off the road to
incarceration.
District Assessments
Bill Caritj, Chief Performance Officer, stated that the district has done away with the large
majority of its beginning-of-year (BOY) and end-of-year (EOY) tests. He said that short-cycle
tests have been around for a while, but not very formalized. He said that he has worked with
Curriculum staff to improve the credibility of short-cycle tests.
Mr. Caritj explained that these tests are not intended to be practice tests or used for grading;
rather, their purpose is to reflect the standard district curriculum and to make sure kids don’t
fall behind.
Mr. Caritj stated that campuses have noticed the improvement in district assessments, and
STAAR results for AISD were by far better than comparable school districts.
In regard to quantity, Mr. Caritj said that the maximum number of tests per year is 14 in the
8 th grade (total of state and district tests). He explained that not all campuses are required to
administer short-cycle tests, but some campuses choose to administer them.
Discussion points included:
• The at-a-glance chart of assessments is very helpful.
• Formative assessments are very useful – campuses don’t mind doing them now that
they can see the value in the data.
• The watchwords for assessment staff are “valid” and “reliable,” and the input of
teachers has been much appreciated.
• Curriculum and Special Education staff do meet frequently to coordinate.

• There was strong advocacy to modify district assessments, but there was also concern
over maximizing the number of kids taking non-modified tests – ultimately, modified
tests were provided.
• There is now a robust reporting capability associated with district assessments.
• Model and re-teach lessons are made available.
• There is currently a mixture of online and hard-copy assessments – sometimes tests
don’t readily lend themselves to online administration, but the district is definitely
moving in that direction.
• All of this information really helps show that the total time spent on tests isn’t as much
as some might have thought.
• Campuses have flexibility in scheduling tests during the school day, but we should
probably take a closer look efficiencies.
• It is not a policy rather a recommendation that tests not be used for grading, but there
are cases in which grading has been used as an incentive.
• The different categories of testing don’t seem to back up the statement that all kids are
getting the same curriculum.
• Testing isn’t the only delivery mechanism for curriculum.
• The testing categories are largely affected by AYP.
• A home-grown curriculum vetted by our own teachers is much better than one bought
off the shelf.
• How we teach the curriculum is extremely important, as well as authentic literacy.
• Campuses appreciate flexibility and how things have all fallen in place so well.
• Campuses may need some assistance in matching Curriculum Road Maps with
materials and tests.
• Input from campuses is monitored daily, and alignment is taken very seriously – a lot
of time was invested on this during the summer.
• There has been a great level of partnership between several offices and departments,
including Educator Quality, MIS, and the Schools Office.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

District Advisory Council
Membership and Attendance Record
AKINS VERTICAL TEAM
Robert Kibbie, Parent, Langford ES (1/1)
Vickie Black, Parent, Akins HS (6/2)
Maria (Lupe) Ramos, Teacher, Perez ES (3/2)
Bonnie Hauser, Librarian, Akins HS (1/2)
ANDERSON VERTICAL TEAM
Alex Winslow, Parent, Hill ES (1/1)
James Wetter, Parent, Pillow ES (2/1)
Christy Cochran, Librarian, Murchison MS (1/2)
Cathryne McNamara, Teacher, Anderson HS (1/2)
AUSTIN VERTICAL TEAM
Raul Calvoz, Parent, Casis ES (1/1)
Shelly Grabe, Parent, Zilker ES (1/2)
Douglas Rhodenbaugh, Teacher, Austin HS (5/2)
Tara Miller, Counselor, Austin HS (1/2)
BOWIE VERTICAL TEAM
Seth Winick, Parent, Kiker ES (2/1)
Danny Rodriguez, Parent, Bowie HS (2/1)
Lisa M. Hernandez, Teacher, Baranoff ES (1/2)
Anna Balthazar, Teacher, Mills ES (1/2)
CROCKETT VERTICAL TEAM
Marcy Santillan, Parent, Joslin ES (1/2)
Janette Miller, Parent, Covington MS (1/1)
Linda Johnson, Teacher, Odom ES (5/1)
Beth Ann Cole, Teacher, Boone ES (2/2)
EASTSIDE MEMORIAL VERTICAL TEAM
Toni Rayner, Parent, Eastside Memorial HS (1/2)
Vacancy, Parent
Sarah Robertson, Teacher, Metz ES (3/2)
Vacancy, Teacher
LANIER VERTICAL TEAM
DeeDee Evans, Parent, Burnet MS (1/1)
2012 2013
6/19 8/21 9/18 10/18 11/28 1/15 2/19 3/19 4/16 5/21
( #/#) = Total number of terms appointed/Year of current term = Co-Chair Bold = Executive Committee Member * = Non-Voting

District Advisory Council
Membership and Attendance Record
Vacancy, Parent
Rachel Korngut, Teacher, Wooten ES (1/1)
Paul Mitchell, Teacher, Lanier HS (2/2)
LBJ VERTICAL TEAM
Betty Johnson, Parent, LBJ HS (3/2)
Linda Sullivan, Parent, Blanton ES (1/2)
John Garvey, Teacher, Jordan ES (1/2)
Blanca Galvez-Perez, Teacher, Andrews ES (1/1)
McCALLUM VERTICAL TEAM
Kevin Manzke, Parent, Kealing MS (3/2)
Wes Amberboy, Parent, Highland Park ES (1/2)
Frederick Bentley, Kealing MS (3/1)
Mary Ghazinezhadiansh, Teacher, McCallum HS (1/2)
REAGAN VERTICAL TEAM
Latrice Pittman, Parent, Reagan HS (1/2)
Mary Ann Howard, Parent, Winn ES (1/1)
Maya McElroy, Librarian, Graham ES (1/2)
Kathy Ryan, Teacher, Hart ES (4/1)
TRAVIS VERTICAL TEAM
Ramon DeJesus, Parent, Travis HS (8/2)
Adolphus (Andy) Anderson, Parent, Rodriguez ES (5/2)
Jill Touchstone, Teacher, Houston ES (1/2)
Jeff Stoops, Teacher, Fulmore MS (1/2)
SPECIAL CAMPUSES VERTICAL TEAM
Jane MacLean, Parent, Ann Richards (1/1)
LaDonna Massad, Parent, LASA (3/2)
Vacancy, Teacher
Michael Eddins, Teaching Assistant, Rosedale (1/2)
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
Tammie Workman, Principal, Highland Park ES (1/2)
Shannon Sellstrom, Principal, Dawson ES (3/2)
Janie Ruiz, Principal, Gullett ES (5/2)
2012 2013
6/19 8/21 9/18 10/18 11/28 1/15 2/19 3/19 4/16 5/21
( #/#) = Total number of terms appointed/Year of current term = Co-Chair Bold = Executive Committee Member * = Non-Voting

District Advisory Council
Membership and Attendance Record
MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
Dr. Sherry Lepine, Academic Dean, Small MS (3/1)
Texanna Turner, Principal, Pearce MS (1/2)
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Anabel Garza, Principal, Reagan HS (1/2)
ACPTA REPRESENTATIVES
Casie Wenmohs (1/2)
Monica Sanchez (1/1)
COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES
Michael Supancic (3/1)
Dennis Petrash (4/1)
BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE
Drew Bixby (1/1)
CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE
Earlynn Williams, Student Services (3/1)
DISTRICT-LEVEL PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE
Dr. Jane Ross, Learning Support Services (7/1)
AT-LARGE MEMBERS
Alberto Gonzalez (6/1)
Holly Barnes (1/2)
Amber Elenz (2/1)
Kali’ Rourke (2/1)
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
Marci McClenon, Student, LASA
Leigh Kim, Student, McCallum HS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES LIAISON
*Lori Moya
2012 2013
6/19 8/21 9/18 10/18 11/28 1/15 2/19 3/19 4/16 5/21
( #/#) = Total number of terms appointed/Year of current term = Co-Chair Bold = Executive Committee Member * = Non-Voting