From the Austin ISD Equity Officer

First and foremost, I am grateful to be a member of the Austin ISD team and excited
about the opportunity to continue serving the district and our community as the
inaugural equity officer. Over the past four months, I have had the privilege of listening
to the perspectives and perceptions of families, students and staff as they have
experienced the School Changes process and the district over time. The individual and
collective voices of both our external and internal communities have helped inform the
equity analysis of the school closures and consolidations process.

The analysis is now public, however, it is not the report I had initially planned to release
publicly. Having worked closely with the Austin ISD leadership team since August, I was
preparing to finalize a comprehensive report about the process after the board vote and
before the winter break this month. The report was intended to be used internally for
introspection and reflection. The published report was rushed due to an urgent request
from a board member and mounting public demands from families and the media.

The delay in any previously anticipated distribution has allowed our team members time
to reflect, question, critique, contribute and make relevant edits that I requested. Our
team was able to apply our developing racial equity lens to the reports' contents to
ensure this document directly informs the next phases of our work. The postponement
also allowed the necessary time to develop the translation of the report, which is now
being released in Spanish simultaneously with the English version. We are working hard
to have translations completed in Arabic and Mandarin.

I believe we are all in different places of understanding our key roles as conscious racial
and social equity leaders at AISD — but ultimately, we are all in agreement that
supporting our students' social and emotional well-being and academic success are our
highest priorities during this crucial transition. We are also committed to supporting our
families, teachers and administrators as we facilitate the consolidation of school
communities over the next few years.

The feedback from our community is needed to best support our most vulnerable
student populations during this time. Thank you for continuing to challenge, engage
and partner with the district throughout this process.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Hawley, Ph.D.