Here's how you can weigh in on Austin district's plan to close 12 schools

Aaricka Washington awashington@statesman.com
Superintendent Paul Cruz greets the entire student body of Palm elementary in southeast Austin in 2014. Under a district proposal to shutter 12 schools, Palm is slated to close in 2024 with students relocating to Perez and Langford elementary schools. [RALPH BARRERA/ AMERICAN-STATESMAN]

Austin school district administrators on Monday are launching a series of community input sessions regarding a proposal to close 12 campuses.

The “Community Conversations,” to be held at various Austin schools, run through Oct. 10.

While district officials in recent months organized a number of meetings to gather ideas for new programs and what to do with shuttered schools, the upcoming sessions are the first opportunity families will have to weigh in since administrators unveiled the specific campuses slated for closure. Administrators have made assurances that the proposals, which also include rolling out new programs and revamping admissions practices into sought-after magnet school programs, are not final. They say they will listen to the public’s feedback to complete their recommendations on the 2019 School Changes proposals.

Brooke, Dawson, Joslin, Sims, Maplewood, Metz, Palm, Pease, Pecan Springs and Ridgetop elementaries, as well as Webb Middle School and Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy, are to be closed and consolidated with other schools, according to the plan.

Already, the district has received some backlash from members of the school communities. All but three of the 12 proposed campuses are located in low-income, predominantly black and Latino communities. If closed, students and families are expected to attend a school further away from their homes.

Stretching back to at least 1993, various government agencies, consultants and district committees have called for school leaders to solve the problem of having under enrolled campuses, but those plans have not come without public push back from the communities that would be affected by such changes.

According to the district's guiding principles that are to inform decisions around the proposals, district officials were to “cap the percentage of economically disadvantaged students experiencing school closures,” though critics say low-income students are disproportionately affected under the proposal.

The School Changes plan aims to move thousands of students from deteriorating campuses into modernized school buildings, as well as creating more equitable academic programs. The plan also calls for requiring cultural proficiency training for all teachers.

For community members unable to attend one of the meetings, they can give their input online on the district's website on the 40 preliminary scenarios.

The Austin district is hosting 19 community meetings to gather input on a "School Changes" proposal, which includes shuttering 12 campuses. Unless otherwise indicated, the campus where the meeting is hosted is the school affected by the changes.

• 7:30 a.m. Monday, Pease Elementary School, 1106 Rio Grande St.

•  7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Metz Elementary School, 84 Robert T Martinez Jr. St.

• 7:30 a.m. Sept. 25, Sims Elementary School, 1203 Springdale Rd.

• 5:30 p.m. Sept. 25, Webb Middle School, 601 E St. John Ave.

• 7:30 a.m., Sept. 26, Brooke Elementary School, 3100 E 4th St.

• 7:30 a.m. Sept. 27, Maplewood Elementary School, 3808 Maplewood Ave.

• Noon, Sept. 28, Austin High School, 1715 W Cesar Chavez St. Discussion is open to all districtwide proposed changes.

• 8 a.m., Sept. 30, Ridgetop Elementary School, 5005 Caswell Ave.

• 6 p.m. Sept. 30, Northeast High School (formerly Reagan High), 7104 Berkman Dr. Discussion is open to proposed changes affecting Ridgetop and Reilly elementaries, Webb and Dobie middle schools and Northeast High

• 6 p.m. Oct.1, Martin Middle School, 1601 Haskell St. Discussion is open to proposed changes affecting Brooke, Govalle, Linder, Metz, Pease, Sanchez and Zavala elementaries

• 7:30 a.m. Oct. 2, Joslin Elementary School, 4500 Manchaca Rd.

• Noon Oct. 3, Dawson Elementary School, 3001 S 1st St.

• 6 p.m. Oct. 3, Campbell Elementary School, 2613 Rogers Ave. Discussion is open to proposed changes affecting Maplewood, Campbell and Blackshear elementaries

• 8:30 a.m. Oct. 4, Bertha Sadler Means Young Women's Leaders Academy, 6401 N. Hampton Drive

• 3:30 p.m. Oct. 8, Pecan Springs Elementary School, 3100 Rogge Ln.

• 6 p.m. Oct. 8, Gus Garcia Young Men's Leadership Academy, 7414 Johnny Morris Rd. Discussion is open to proposed changes affecting  Sadler Means and Garcia, as well as Pecan Springs, Winn, Pickle, Sims and Norman elementaries.

• 7:45 a.m. Oct. 9, Palm Elementary School, 7601 Dixie Dr.

• 6 p.m. Oct. 9, Crockett High School, 5601 Manchaca Rd. Discussion is open to proposed changes affecting Joslin, Dawson, St. Elmo and Galindo elementaries

• 6 p.m. Oct. 10, Bedichek Middle School,  6800 Bill Hughes Rd. Discussion is open to proposed changes affecting Palm, Perez, Langford elementaries and Covington Middle School