Whoooooooooo are some of the of wisest students in AISD (and the most fit too)? The Doss Owls, of course!
I began Day 2 of the Back-to-School Tour at Doss Elementary, a northwest Austin school with a real connection to both the global and the local community. Let's start with the local one.
Doss partners with local organizations, like Austin's Mellow Johnny's bike shop, to help run the Boltage program, an initiative that encourages students to walk or bike to school. The students and parents at Doss have truly embraced the program, as I saw hundreds of kids making their way to school on their bikes—so many, in fact that there were hardly enough bike racks to hold them all. Based on the parents' and students' enthusiasm for biking to school, I wouldn't be surprised if Doss once again led the nation in total miles walked or biked to school. Keep it up Owls!
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I began Day 2 of the Back-to-School Tour at Doss Elementary, a northwest Austin school with a real connection to both the global and the local community. Let's start with the local one.
Doss partners with local organizations, like Austin's Mellow Johnny's bike shop, to help run the Boltage program, an initiative that encourages students to walk or bike to school. The students and parents at Doss have truly embraced the program, as I saw hundreds of kids making their way to school on their bikes—so many, in fact that there were hardly enough bike racks to hold them all. Based on the parents' and students' enthusiasm for biking to school, I wouldn't be surprised if Doss once again led the nation in total miles walked or biked to school. Keep it up Owls!
Once the students settled in, I joined Principal Jana Griffin on a tour of the campus where I caught a glimpse of the school's efforts to connect its students to the global community. Our first stop: Connie Soong’s first grade Chinese Immersion class. Only two days into school, I could already see how excited these students were to be involved in the Chinese Immersion class and how much they have learned in such a short period of time. Innovative programs like these are what keep our kids engaged in school. The passion for learning starts as early as kindergarten and first grade and can continue on through the rest of their lives. I’m proud to be a part of a district that can offer such dynamic and diverse opportunities to its students.
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Later, I had the opportunity to see the portables on campus, as well as new furniture AISD provided to Doss this year. Doss benefited from the 2013 Bond Program like all other AISD schools, but I could easily see the school needed Proposition 2 for construction of new classrooms to get relief from overcrowding. Of the 830 students at Doss, half are in portables. In three to four years, they anticipate the school will be between 145 to 155 percent capacity. For next year, we will work with the Doss school community to identify potential strategies to mitigate this space issue for next school year. For the longer term, this will be a priority for my staff and me as we continue to develop a Facility Master Plan for the district.
Then we transitioned to the class of Ms. Gustafson, Doss' Teacher of the Year. Students there shared their good news of the day with me and we discussed efforts being made at the campus to support their No Place for Hate designation.
Later, I had the opportunity to see the portables on campus, as well as new furniture AISD provided to Doss this year. Doss benefited from the 2013 Bond Program like all other AISD schools, but I could easily see the school needed Proposition 2 for construction of new classrooms to get relief from overcrowding. Of the 830 students at Doss, half are in portables. In three to four years, they anticipate the school will be between 145 to 155 percent capacity. For next year, we will work with the Doss school community to identify potential strategies to mitigate this space issue for next school year. For the longer term, this will be a priority for my staff and me as we continue to develop a Facility Master Plan for the district.
Then we transitioned to the class of Ms. Gustafson, Doss' Teacher of the Year. Students there shared their good news of the day with me and we discussed efforts being made at the campus to support their No Place for Hate designation.
From there we went to the gym where 5th graders were exercising their bodies and their team building skills. It's good to see the focus on health flows through every element of campus life.
Whether the students at Doss are exercising their bodies or their minds, it's clear the smaller world continually connects with the bigger world outside the walls of this innovative elementary school.
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