At SXSW, AISD superintendent lays out challenges, opportunities Austin schools are facing
Keeping children safe and maintaining resources and opportunities for students are priorities for Austin school district Superintendent Matias Segura, he said during a conversation at South by Southwest EDU last week.
An ongoing budget deficit has already forced the district to slash millions in expenses, and the cuts might be different across schools since Austin serves students with varying levels of need, Segura said.
'With the limited resources you have, you're not going to be able to protect everybody equally,' he said. 'Every school community has a different student group they're serving, different levels of privilege, and that means we may have to invest more in certain parts of Austin.'
The discussion with SXSW EDU founder Ron Reed comes as the Austin district faces a $110 million budget deficit, navigates an ongoing state-mandated correctional order for special education, and a slate of new orders aiming to reshape the federal government's role in education.
Since President Donald Trump again took office Jan. 20, he has spoken about cutting the U.S. Department of Education and has signed an order barring transgender girls and women from participating in women's sports.
The Education Department has also unveiled an 'End DEI' portal for students, parents and teachers to submit complaints about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at schools.
Answering an audience question, Segura said he has been intentional about how the district has made decisions in responding to political winds in education.
'There are things that I'm going to be proactive about, which means that they're going to be done immediately,' Segura said. 'There are things that, hell or high water, we're not going to move until there's court injunctions.
'You show love by keeping students safe, and if our educators and if our principals are not in place to ensure that our students feel safe, then none of this matters."
Most of Segura's remarks at the SWSX EDU panel focused on his efforts to create more learning opportunities for students, either through programming or by attracting more staff.
Much of his interest has been on improving career pathways for students by encouraging business partners in Austin to invest in students' futures from an earlier age, he said.
Too often, potential business partners only come to the district when students are ready to graduate from high school, he said, but he's pushing for earlier involvement.
'That process was set, you know, really in middle school, but in many cases of fourth grade,' Segura said. 'I need to see you at the elementary school career fair.'
The district has also been aggressive at tackling its own challenges with Austin's affordability crisis by offering staff compensation, but the issue still needs further remedies, he said.
A third of the district's staff doesn't live in Austin, Segura said.
The district has had two compensation increases in the past two years: a $17 million package in 2024 made possible by a voter-approved tax rate hike and a $64.5 million investment in 2023.
By the time students leave the Austin district, Segura wants them to be well-rounded people, in addition to achieving in academics, he said.
'We want great humans,' Segura said. 'I want students to leave Austin ISD and feel comfortable talking to people who don't look like them. I want students to leave Austin ISD and feel comfortable in their own skin.'
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: At SXSW, Austin ISD superintendent talks challenges, opportunities
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
This is my classroom. ICE isn't welcome here.
By Teresa Puente | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe I teach at a university in Southern California, where almost half my students are Latino. We are what is known as an HSI, a Hispanic-Serving Institution. It's a designation for colleges and universities where at least 25 percent of the full-time students are Hispanic. It's also a designation being erased on some government websites, including the U.S. Department of Education. It's not just the erasure of diversity, equity, and inclusion, known as DEI, that is harming colleges and universities across the country. It's the active threats by the Trump administration to defund universities that support DEI. And it's the threat to deport students and others in our communities. At least seventy international students in the California State University system have had their visas canceled, and that includes some six students on my campus in Long Beach. No explanations were given, but this is part of the nationwide attack on universities by the Trump administration. The Trump Administration then reinstated the international student visas, but their actions have created chaos and confusion. Students who are undocumented or DACA recipients also live in fear, and other students who may have legal status are fearful for their parents who are undocumented. A student told me right after Trump won that her mother is undocumented. 'I'm really worried,' she said. She had missed some assignments, and after she explained the situation, I gave her an extension. Other students have told me they are stressed and have a hard time focusing. After Trump won, some students told me they were too depressed to come to class and felt anxiety. Others were angry. The mood has stabilized as we head toward graduation. We have an annual Latino graduation ceremony and Latino faculty and staff had to consider what could happen if ICE were to crash that ceremony. The organizers decided to go ahead with the event but posted a note on the event website explaining that the university does not share immigration information with U.S. immigration agencies. Fortunately, on my campus, we have some support for our students. We have what is called a Dream Success Center that offers support and free legal services for students and their parents through the immigrant rights group Central American Resource Center (CARECEN). It's hard to know exactly how many undocumented students are on campus, as there is no list. But there are an estimated 9,500 undocumented students at all of the 23 CSU campuses. Only around half of the undocumented students have temporary status with DACA, also known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This program began in 2012 during the Obama administration and grants temporary work and education authorization to certain undocumented minors. While Trump has vowed to end the program, those who already have DACA can renew for now, but new applications are halted under ongoing legal challenges. Our campus felt like a safe space, but threats of raids are unsettling. I always create a welcoming environment in my classroom. I tell my students they can ask for help beyond what's on the syllabus. I can refer them to various campus services, such as immigration lawyers, counseling, and basic needs to help pay rent, or refer them to our food pantry. Our university system has a website with resources for undocumented students that includes legal services, mental health, and admissions information. Additionally, the California Nonresident Tuition Exemption, known as AB 540, allows eligible students to be exempted from paying out-of-state tuition. We have student clubs on campus that support undocumented students. I'm on the board of the Latinx Faculty & Staff Association (LFSA), and we work to support our immigrant community on campus. Since December of last year, we have hosted two 'Know Your Rights' workshops, which include a guest speaker from the local immigrant rights organization ORALE that does trainings and advocacy work, and operates a hotline to report ICE activity in our city of Long Beach. Our union, the California Faculty Association (CFA), recently co-sponsored one of the 'Know Your Rights' workshops with LFSA and has organized campus protests against ICE. About half of the overall student population on the CSU Long Beach campus is Latino, and around 25 percent are Asian American. Regardless of immigration status, we know that ICE does racial profiling, even if they officially say otherwise. I've had to ask myself, what would I do if ICE came to my classroom? This is a real possibility as the Trump administration has said there are no safe spaces from ICE. Under previous administrations, including Trump's first term, ICE had a policy not to raid churches, hospitals, or schools. But that has changed. Rather than worry, I came up with a plan. It upsets me that I have to prepare for the worst. I was concerned after Trump won in 2016, but they didn't raid schools in his first term. I decided to take a stand for my students. I have a No ICE sign in my office and a stack of red rights cards on my desk. If ICE comes to my classroom, the first thing I would do is start recording and ask my students to record me. I would then explain that this classroom is only for students enrolled in the class, and I would ask ICE agents to leave, something I would do anyway for anyone interrupting my class. I would also advise my students of their constitutional right to remain silent. I learned through the 'Know Your Rights' workshops that, as citizens, we protect those who are not citizens by refusing to answer questions about our own citizenship status. We have also distributed the red rights cards on campus. The university administration has emailed some guidance to faculty, telling us to refer any ICE encounter to university officials. They have suggested using language such as, 'I'm not trying to obstruct you (ICE), but I do not have the authority to respond to your request.' Then ask them to go to the administration office. Now, the tricky part is, what if the ICE officers refuse to leave? We have been advised to contact our administrator or dean, or call the campus police. Our campus police chief told LFSA that he and his officers won't help ICE or give out any information about faculty, staff, and students. We need more campus officials, faculty, staff, and students to stand up. We can follow the example of Harvard University, which is suing the Trump administration. Harvard President Alan M. Garber has said the university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. 'No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' he wrote. On the heels of Harvard's pushback, the American Association of Colleges and Universities released a statement signed by nearly 250 higher education presidents to speak out 'against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.' CSU Long Beach is one of the signatories. And in the K-12 level, the California Department of Education announced it will defy the Trump order to eliminate DEI in the state's 1,000 school districts, a system with more than 5.8 million students, of which 56% are Latino. 'There is nothing in state or federal law ... that outlaws the broad concepts of 'diversity,' 'equity,' or 'inclusion,'' wrote Chief Deputy Superintendent David Schapira in the letter to school districts, county education offices, and charter schools. We should not tolerate the attacks on DEI, and we must protect our campuses and communities from ICE. We are already seeing cases of wrongful deportations, random cancellations of international student visas, and egregious detentions of U.S. citizens. I'm reminded of the famous 1946 poem, 'First they came…' by German theologian and Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller. Do not wait until it's you. Read the original article on MassLive.
3 days ago
New York won't rescind Native American mascot ban, despite Trump's funding threat
NEW YORK -- New York education officials won't rescind the state's ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding. Instead, New York officials suggested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday that they could broaden the state ban to include names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups that the department deems offensive. The federal agency last week determined New York violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by issuing a statewide ban on the use of Native American mascots and logos. The department's civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots that are still permitted are also derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots." New York officials said they're willing to work with federal officials to 'reach a resolution as to the appropriate standard,' wrote Daniel Morton-Bentley, legal counsel for the state education department. Morton-Bentley also noted in his letter that the federal government's current stance in support of keeping Native American team names and mascots runs counter to the agency's previous stance on the issue — not to mention those of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, tribal leaders, state governments, and professional organizations that have long deemed them harmful and offensive. What's more, a federal judge in New York earlier this year dismissed a lawsuit brought by some local districts that have refused to comply with the state mandate to rid their schools of offensive Native American mascots and team names, Morton-Bentley wrote. The education department and its civil rights office, he argued, is 'not a court of last resort for unsuccessful litigants.' Spokespersons for the federal education department didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week visited Massapequa, a Long Island town that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot, and was among the local districts that unsuccessfully challenged the state in federal court. McMahon said she would give New York ten days to sign an agreement rescinding the ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting to 'erase' their history. New York school districts have until June 30 to commit to replacing offensive Native American mascots or team names, or risk losing state funding. They can be exempt from the mandate, however, if they reach an agreement with a local Native American tribe. The state education department said as of Thursday, three districts have sought and received extensions as they work to comply with the mandate. Massapequa was not among them.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
New York won't rescind Native American mascot ban, despite Trump's threat of cutting federal funds
NEW YORK (AP) — New York education officials won't rescind the state's ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding. Instead, New York officials suggested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday that they could broaden the state ban to include names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups that the department deems offensive. The federal agency last week determined New York violated Title VI of the federal civil rights law by issuing a statewide ban on the use of Native American mascots and logos. The department's civil rights office found the state ban is discriminatory because names and mascots that are still permitted are also derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the 'Dutchmen' and the 'Huguenots." New York officials said they're willing to work with federal officials to 'reach a resolution as to the appropriate standard,' wrote Daniel Morton-Bentley, legal counsel for the state education department. Morton-Bentley also noted in his letter that the federal government's current stance in support of keeping Native American team names and mascots runs counter to the agency's previous stance on the issue — not to mention those of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, tribal leaders, state governments, and professional organizations that have long deemed them harmful and offensive. What's more, a federal judge in New York earlier this year dismissed a lawsuit brought by some local districts that have refused to comply with the state mandate to rid their schools of offensive Native American mascots and team names, Morton-Bentley wrote. The education department and its civil rights office, he argued, is 'not a court of last resort for unsuccessful litigants.' Spokespersons for the federal education department didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week visited Massapequa, a Long Island town that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot, and was among the local districts that unsuccessfully challenged the state in federal court. McMahon said she would give New York ten days to sign an agreement rescinding the ban and apologizing to Native Americans for having discriminated against them and attempting to 'erase' their history. New York school districts have until June 30 to commit to replacing offensive Native American mascots or team names, or risk losing state funding. They can be exempt from the mandate, however, if they reach an agreement with a local Native American tribe. The state education department said as of Thursday, three districts have sought and received extensions as they work to comply with the mandate. Massapequa was not among them.
