AISD reopening plan amidst a pandemic
Dylan Ebs, Election 2020 Editor
October 14, 2020
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees met on September 28 to discuss the plans for the return to in-person school on October 5 and to vote on a proposed change to the 2019-2020 school calendar. When students and staff return to in-person school, they will be required to undergo a screening process. Any...
Reopening Phase 2 allows limited students and staff to return to campus
Cade Spencer and Arushi Sharma
October 6, 2020
Monday, Oct. 5, the dormant halls of campus were awakened by the arrival of the initial group of students and staff to return officially since the facility was closed on March 13. The individuals have been allowed to return to campus, with strict COVID-19 precautions followed, as part of Phase 2 of the reopenin...
Google Fiber outage and unstable WiFi connections present challenges to students in remote learning
Sammie Thompson, Reviews Editor
October 2, 2020
A student’s computer screen, displaying all of the people in their first period Zoom meeting, suddenly freezes. Moments later, the audio cuts out. A message pops up over the now-frozen faces of their classmates: “Please check your network connection.” Panic sets in. For many students in Austi...
The Dispatch guide to enhanced productivity in an extended summer
Arushi Sharma, Dispatch Reporter
August 17, 2020
It is an understatement to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives. Stay at home orders, social distancing, and a fear of getting sick has made it difficult to enjoy this summer break. And now, with the start of school extended to Sept. 8, students have even more time to relax. But if you are like me and need something to do, I have ...
AISD Board votes to delay the start of school and extend period of remote learning
Faith Lawrence and Cade Spencer
August 7, 2020
The Austin Independent School District (AISD) Board of Trustees unanimously voted early Friday, August 7 to delay the start of virtual learning until Tuesday, Sept. 8 and to petition the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to give the district a waiver for an additional four weeks of virtual learning. “I ...
Two phase school reopening plan announced for Fall semester
Cade Spencer and Faith Lawrence
August 6, 2020
In order to ensure the health and safety of all students and staff, the Fall semester of the 2020-2021 school year will follow a modified format described in Principal Mark Robinson’s Star Newsletter. In the first phase of the plan, campus will continue to be closed to the public as students participate in three...
Senior Send-Off Salute allows the Class of 2020 to take one last lap around campus
Cade Spencer, Managing Editor
June 8, 2020
No senior of the Class of 2020 could have predicted that the end of their senior year would consist of self-isolation and social distancing. Although there is yet to be an official graduation ceremony, loud cheers of ‘congratulations!’ still rang across the Bowie campus during the Senior Send-Off Salu...
Reopening Task Force formed to plan for the 2020-2021 school year
Cade Spencer, Managing Editor
May 29, 2020
Since March 13, all Austin Independent School District (AISD) facilities have practiced a form of remote learning in response to prolonged campus closures. Last week, the AISD Board held a meeting to discuss school education in the 2020-2021 school year. “The board has approved a calendar,” AI...
Online school poses a threat to accessible education
Maya Amador, Commentary Editor
May 26, 2020
Public school has its fair share of problems. From bullying to overwhelming amounts of work, students often talk about their grievances with public schools. While those problems are very much real, along with a few others, online school has raised more issues than expected. Due to the Coronavirus, schools in Texas have been out since late March and will be for ...
The Dispatch's coverage on the upcoming election.
The Austin City Council has recently taken action by unanimously voting to deprive the Austin Police Department (APD) of 150 million dollars in funding, around one third of the original 434 million dollar...
In a time where we are dependent on technology it can be a pain to not be able to use it. There are constant issues that can ruin anyone’s entire week and force them to fall behind in all your classes....