March 3, 2025
Dear AHISD Families-
I love that the month changed and we found ourselves in Spring! Thank you to our elementary parents for making time to visit with our teachers last week for parent teacher conferences. I’m proud that we prioritize this time for meaningful conversations and feedback and appreciate all the efforts of our teachers to make these conferences such a success.
I’m also very excited this week to find our Varsity Mule Basketball team in the state semi-final round of playoffs! This team has demonstrated grit and determination and it is no small accomplishment to make it this far. I hope you’ll consider supporting our team at Goliad High School for the game against Fort Bend Marshall at 7PM on Tuesday night. Wear your blue and gold and help cheer our team onto the State Finals!
2025 AHISD Community Survey Highlights - Feedback February
Thank you to all students (grades 3-12), parents, and staff who participated in the 2025 AHISD Community Survey! Your feedback helps our efforts to continuously improve our schools, and I’m excited to share key insights from this year's feedback.
Academic excellence remains strong, with
85% of parents believing grading is fair and
84% feeling homework expectations are appropriate, both showing an upward trend.
Student engagement is thriving, as 83% describe their teachers as motivating and inspiring.
Safety and belonging continue to improve, with
81% of parents feeling their child is safe at school and
69% of students reporting a strong sense of belonging, an increase from previous years. Additionally,
79% of students understand how to report bullying, ensuring our schools remain supportive and inclusive.
Community support remains a strength, as
97% of parents would recommend AHISD, and
91% take pride in being part of the district.
Social media engagement is also growing, with
72% of parents following AHISD through social media to stay informed.
Teacher satisfaction and retention are high, with 98% of teachers satisfied working at AHISD and 88% feeling trusted to teach as they see best.
As we move forward, several
key areas of focus have emerged:
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Technology in learning – While 73% of parents believe technology use is appropriate, this is down from 83% in 2023. Finding the right balance between technology and traditional learning methods is a priority.
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Construction updates – 25% of parents want more updates on Bond 2023 projects. We are working to improve communication and transparency around these developments.
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Fiscal Operations – Only 50% of parents feel knowledgeable about how Texas school finance impacts AHISD. Increasing communication and education will help ensure families stay informed.
I appreciate your time in providing us meaningful feedback. Thank you for your support as we continue to grow and improve!
Calendar Update
The AHISD Board of Trustees approved the 2025-26 school year calendar last December. It’s available for you to download on our website. You can also
learn more about how the calendar was developed and the key considerations which included our community’s feedback. Next year, based on the feedback we received from our community, our school year will begin on a Wednesday instead of a Monday.
In order to accomplish this, and still fulfill the requirements for the minimum minutes of instruction for students and provide staff with work days around school holidays, we are adjusting school day start times next year. For the 2025-2026 school year, start times will be:
Howard - 7:40 a.m.
Cambridge and Woodridge - 8:10 a.m.
AHJS and AHHS - 8:40 a.m.
We continue to stress the importance of attendance.. Please keep the calendar in mind when scheduling appointments and vacations. Every day a student is absent, there is a cost to learning, to the school environment, and to the district.
Legislative Update
I continue to ask for your partnership in engaging with our elected officials during this Legislative session. It is unacceptable that school districts are funded on 2019 allocations despite years of inflation, increased operational costs, and unfunded mandates. Our students deserve so much more. There are two main legislative issues that are of importance at this time, and I’ll share some background on each below.
Increasing the state per pupil Basic Allotment is one of the main actions we have been advocating for in this legislative session. The legislature last set the Basic Allotment in 2019 at $6,160 per pupil. Since then, inflation has increased so much that we now need an additional $1,340 per student just to be able to fund the same school operations that we did in 2019. As of today, the Senate has not indicated plans to increase the Basic Allotment. The House published HB 2, an omnibus bill that deals with public education and public school finance. HB 2 proposes to increase the Basic Allotment by $220. While that is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough to adequately fund our schools, which has led to higher class sizes and reductions in personnel and programming for students.
Both legislative bodies have published bills to create private school vouchers with taxpayer money. SB 2 sets the amount of taxpayer money that could go to a private school at $10,000 per student, while the current Basic Allotment for public school students remains at only $6,160. Simply stated, this means that students who reside in our attendance zone would have access to more money to attend a private school instead of our public school. HB 3 creates a voucher system that is funded in a different way. Without getting too far into details of both bills, I think you will agree with me that using public dollars to fund private schools is poor public policy. Private schools are not required to give annual assessments or even teach the state curriculum. They are not accountable to an elected school board for use of taxpayer funds. They are not required to comply with federal protections for students with disabilities, nor are they required to serve all students.
Private school vouchers will decrease public school funding in a system that funds our schools based on 2019 allocations.
If you would like to partner with the District's advocacy efforts, please fill out this Google form.
This list has contact information for our elected officials in the AHISD area. Continue to reach out on a weekly basis and ask that they support an increase of the per student Basic Allotment for school funding by an additional $1,340 to adjust for the impact of inflationary costs to our schools from 2019.
Share the importance of this advocacy with your family, friends, and neighbors and encourage them to be a voice for public school students.
Visit our AHISD Legislative website to learn more.
Bond Construction
We continue to post regular updates about Bond 2023 construction projects to our Bond Updates website. Recently, we added a section about Project 2 which will commence this spring and includes work at Cambridge, Woodridge, and the AHISD Athletic Complex at Robbins. You’ll find renderings from our architects and learn more about the scope of work which will continue our AHISD transformation thanks to the voter approved Bond 2023. I continue to be amazed by the progress at Alamo Heights HS as the steel structure has emerged these last few weeks above the construction fences!
On Location
Finally this month, I invite you to
watch our latest On Location video which highlights a unique partnership with our Spanish 6 high school students and our elementary students. The high school juniors and seniors in the advanced level class spend part of their week working with Dual Language and Spanish Immersion students at Woodridge and Cambridge. I’m incredibly proud of our language programs in AHISD and love the opportunity to highlight these students.
It’s the last week of school before our Spring Break holiday. I hope you are able to enjoy time with your loved ones and return refreshed and ready for the rest of our spring semester. There are so many exciting events and memories to be made as we look forward to the end of the school year.