December 1, 2023
Dear AHISD Families-
December is a busy month filled with festive events for our families, friends, and school community. I am grateful to celebrate this holiday season with all of you in Alamo Heights ISD. There are many opportunities to get into the holiday spirit with our talented Fine Arts students. Winter concerts are scheduled for these next two weeks at our campuses and are open to the community.
We invite you to join us!
Academic Updates
We recently learned that Alamo Heights High School has been recognized as a Gold Level Advanced Placement Honor Roll High School! Only six percent of eligible schools earned this Gold level recognition based on criteria that reflects a commitment to increasing college-going culture, opportunities for students to earn college credit, and efforts to maximize college readiness.
In a previous message, I highlighted the achievements of the Class of 2023 in earning Advanced Placement Scholar recognition. AP Scholar awards recognize students who have demonstrated both a depth and breadth of knowledge and whose work has shown college-level mastery across multiple disciplines. Academic accomplishments like these remain a top shared priority within our community and demonstrate our commitment to academic rigor. I continue to be so proud of the accomplishments of our Alamo Heights High School students!
Fall Feedback School Climate Survey Results 2023
Each fall, we survey students in grades 3-12. The survey includes questions about school climate and safety, positive relationships and belonging, instructional practice, and rigorous expectations. This was the sixth consecutive year that the District utilized this survey.
Administrators and Trustees had a first look at the results in November. Over the coming months, campus staff will work with students to create actionable goals in response to the survey results. We are now sharing a direct link with our families and community to District level results
HERE.
Insight #1- Overall, student sentiment regarding school climate is more positive in 2023 than in the previous two years.
Insight #2- Students feel like they have positive relationships with their teachers. About 80% of students described their relationships with teachers as “positive” or “very positive”
Insight #3- When asked what their schools do really well, the most frequent themes were about positive school culture, teachers, and safety.
Community Based Accountability
AHISD earned a Superior Rating in the state’s school financial accountability rating system, known as the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) this year.
FIRST ensures that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and that they improve those practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.
This rating underscores AHISD’s fiscal responsibility with all state, local, and bond funds. Despite the challenges of the recapture of local AHISD revenue to the state budget, we continue to prioritize classroom instruction, staff compensation and provide well-funded programs for all of our students.
Bond Update
Construction planning for Project #1 of our Bond 2023 projects is underway and we are committed to sharing regular updates about the design, planning, and construction phases during this exciting time for our district. Later this month, we will launch a
2023 Bond Updates website as a resource for our community.
District staff and Trustees continue to work with architects from LPA Design Studios and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors in planning for Bond 2023 Project One construction which will begin in May 2024, and will start with new construction at Alamo Heights High School.
Campus staff and leaders were involved in more than 10 meetings during the conceptual design process this fall, providing input on needs for more collaborative spaces, a design focused on teaching and learning, increased square footage, and additional outdoor learning spaces.
The new high school schematic design will be shared at the January 2024 Board Meeting. Construction at AHHS is expected to last from May 2024 until August 2026. Project One also includes the relocation of the Excel Academy and Connects program to the current AHISD Central Office and the construction of a new Central Office/Learning Center for our school community.
Project Two includes the Robbins campus, Cambridge, Woodridge, and Plant Services and Project Three includes Howard and the Junior School. The timeline for these projects will be posted on the
2023 Bond Updates website within the next couple weeks.
Teacher Recognition
There’s no place like AHISD because of the excellence in our teaching staff! Please help me congratulate the five AHISD campus teachers of the year-
Sarah Holmes, Alamo Heights HS;
John Sheppard, The Junior School;
Kevin Criss, Cambridge;
Megan Janak, Woodridge; and
Anna Duce, Howard ECC.
We look forward to celebrating these outstanding teachers in the coming months. In January we will announce our 2024 District Teacher of the Year who will go on to compete at the region level. I’m so proud of all five of our nominees and am grateful they choose to share their talents and their hearts with us here in AHISD.
Sending all our AHISD families heartfelt wishes for a wonderful holiday this month-
May all of the blessings of the season be yours!