Very best day in Austin with Michelle Amezquita-Navarro
Travis Heights Elementary, an Austin ISD school, recently won top marks from the state for its academic performance. We checked in with Michelle Amezquita-Navarro, the school's principal, about her very best day in Austin.
Zoom in: Amezquita-Navarro has worked more than two decades in the district — including seven years as head of Travis Heights Elementary.
She has long lived in East Austin, by the intersection of Robert T. Martinez and Cesar Chavez, next door to her in-laws. "It's like 'Everybody Loves Raymond' but the Latino version," she jokes.
Over 15 languages are spoken at Travis Heights. "It's very much in that Keep Austin Weird vibe. We're surrounded by multimillion-dollar homes, but we also serve" students from public housing, Amezquita-Navarro says.
The school is 43.7% Hispanic, 30% white, 12.2% Asian and 7.2% African-American.
76% of students can read at or above grade level and 66% perform math at or above grade level.
This interview has been condensed for clarity.
Is your ideal day a weekday or on the weekend?
"My best day involves being able to go to work. I get up around 5:30 and get myself settled. I have a daughter in middle school — at Ann Richards. We leave the house by 6:30am and talk about what are the points of gratitude in our life."
What are you having for breakfast?
"Sometimes oatmeal my husband has prepared for me. Sometimes tacos from my mother-in-law next door. Sometimes we're headed to McDonald's."
What time do kids arrive at the school?
"7:10am. I'm greeting them and then I try to get out into the classrooms, check on teachers, check in with students. I like hanging out with the kinder or pre-K, they're sometimes offering a glass of milk and slice of chocolate cake."
What are you doing for lunch?
"I'm very taken care of by my office staff, assistant principals, by my families. Sometimes it's something one of our Afghan families has dropped by. Or it might be P. Terry's or Home Slice. My favorites are the chicken pot stickers in the cafeteria. Our cafeteria manager, Claudia, will hold on to some for me."
Tell me how your afternoon looks.
"No day is ever the same. It's always based on kids' needs, families' needs, my teachers' needs. I try to be as visible and out in the community as I can be. Kids leave around 3:10pm. That's when my day begins — reports need to be done for the district. Mondays and Tuesdays, I'm running a volleyball team or cheerleading squad. I won't leave till 5 or 5:30pm."
What are you doing for dinner?
"I don't cook. My husband does — he makes a delicious meatloaf."
How about to unwind?
"We'll take a walk in the evening or I'll talk to my father-in-law — he's been bedridden after suffering a stroke. Or we'll be outside in my backyard with my daughter — I coach her in volleyball and we'll just be bumping."
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