AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Independent School District transfer process starts Friday and lasts for the rest of January, but parents might have a harder time switching their kids’ schools.
About 25 percent of AISD schools are frozen to transfers due to exceeding capacity, construction and programming. As an example for programming reasons, some dual language campuses aren’t accepting transfers.
The frozen schools are:
- High schools: Akins ECHS and Navarro ECHS, Austin, Bowie and McCallum
- Middle schools: Gorzycki, Lively, Lamar and Murchison
- Elementary schools: Baldwin, Baranoff, Becker (except dual language), Blazier, Brentwood, Casis, Cowan, Doss, Gullett (except kindergarten), Hill, Mills, Kiker, Lee (except kindergarten), Maplewood, Mathews (except kindergarten), Menchaca, Oak Hill, Reilly (except dual language through fourth grade), Ridgetop (except dual language), Summitt (except dual language), Sunset Valley (except dual language through fourth grade) and Zilker (except kindergarten)
Parents at Pease Elementary unsure of future
Two months ago, district leaders voted to close and consolidate four schools. One of them was Pease Elementary, which is the district’s only all-transfer school. That means the school is completely made up of transfer students.
The district’s plan is to move those students across Interstate 35 to Zavala Elementary, but some parents don’t like that plan.
“The Zavala option doesn’t work for a lot of people just given the transportation issue, just crossing 35,” explained parent Rose Guajardo. “I think everyone is aware there is a transportation issue in Austin. I will be trying my neighborhood school.”
Fellow parent and PTA member Noelita Lugo said she does not feel the district has done a very good job making Pease students feel welcome at Zavala.
“The district told our campus, you’re going to go here (Zavala) or you’re going to go to your home campus, but they didn’t really do any of the work to help us become a united, integrated campus with Zavala,” Lugo said.
Lugo added that the district’s plan to have Pease operate as its own school within Zavala has left an “unsavory taste in the mouths of parents.”
“How do you join a community and say that you’re not part of that community?” Lugo wondered. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Parents have until Jan. 31 to submit transfer requests.
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