Welcome to the second volume of our award-winning Austin Packer Bulletin! This communication tool is another opportunity to stay in contact and share information with families/caregivers and the greater Austin community. It is an exciting time in the Austin Public Schools, and it is essential to know what is happening.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joey Page, Superintendent

You can follow Dr. Page online on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
  
• Twitter
  
• LinkedIn
  

Austin Public Schools has been recognized by the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) with multiple Digital Media Excellence Awards. NSPRA's Publications and Digital Media Excellence Awards "recognize outstanding education publications and marketing/informational materials, video/TV/radio programs, social media, and websites."

NSPRA's Digital Media Excellence Awards are given out at three levels (Excellence, Merit, and Honorable Mention), and all three of Austin's awards are at the Excellence level, a huge achievement for the district.

Austin Public Schools received the following awards:

• E-Newsletter Award of Excellence recognizing the Austin Packer Bulletin,
• Internet Website Award of Excellence for Accelerate Austin, the district's 2022 referendum information site,
• Video Award of Excellence for What is the Packer Profile, an informational video describing the district's Packer Profile strategic priority.

As the academic year begins, we would like to take this opportunity to provide you with our annual notification notice. Minnesota Statute requires that we provide annual notifications on various topics. This notice aims to inform you about various important matters and ensure you are well informed about the policies, procedures, and activities of the Austin Public Schools. Please visit our annual notifications site for further review.

APS policies are routinely reviewed and/or revised. These policies provide the governance structure and guidance in school district matters and decisions. Please check this site periodically to be sure you have the most current version of any given policy.

Our mission is to Inspire, Empower, and Accelerate, and we know one of the first steps toward that goal is to ensure all stakeholders know and understand the policies and procedures used in the district. These Student Rights and Responsibilities and Student Handbooks outline student behavior expectations that we believe can help ensure the safe school environment students deserve and which allows them to learn and grow. These documents are periodically updated in response to changes in the law and other circumstances. The School Board policies referenced in the handbooks can be accessed here.

If you have questions or want more information about a specific issue, contact your Principal or the Executive Director of Academics and Administrative Services. For details regarding consequences for violations affecting sports, clubs, or activities, please get in touch with the AHS Activities Office. Please review this information with your student(s) so you understand the rules of acceptable behavior and the consequences if rules are not followed.

Austin Public Schools are committed to working with you to make our schools a place where you and your student feel safe, welcomed, and valued. Please visit our Handbook page for additional information.

Like last year, we invite you to the Austin Public Schools Workshop Week Staff Kick-off. This will be held on August 24 in Knowlton Auditorium at 1 pm. This year, our keynote speaker, Ross Bernstein, is the best-selling author of nearly 50 sports books. He is an award-winning peak performance hall of fame business speaker who's keynoted conferences for Fortune 500 companies on all seven continents and has been featured on CNN, ESPN, Fox News, and "CBS This Morning," as well as in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. Ross weaves sports stories about the DNA of champions and stories of companies he has worked with worldwide — and shares best practice ideas on overcoming disruption while ultimately building stronger relationships. We hope you can make it!

The School Board meeting scheduled for October 9 has changed to October 10. Check out more information on the School Board page.

Austin Public Schools strives to address your questions and concerns quickly and effectively. Therefore, we have developed communication protocols to promote direct, open, and respectful interactions to work through problems and concerns efficiently. Please visit our Report A Concern webpage to review our communication protocol.

Austin Public Schools is committed to providing its passengers with a safe and enjoyable ride. Please visit our Transportation informational site for any assistance you may need.

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Please click below for some important information from the Technology Services department.

🎉 Are you an alumnus of Austin Public Schools? If so, we'd love to hear from you!

🤩 We're excited to hear about your accomplishments and are eager to share your successes and advice with our current students, families, and the Austin community.

📜 All you need to do is take a minute to answer a few quick questions at https://www.austin.k12.mn.us/alumni-spotlight.

Thanks, and we look forward to hearing all your wonderful stories!

At Austin Public Schools, our mission is to inspire, empower, and accelerate every one of our learners, and we know that the only way for us to reach this goal is through the efforts of all our incredibly hard-working staff.

In this week’s Staff Spotlight, we’re highlighting Austin High School teacher Emily Hovland.

"She puts her heart and soul into everything she does. She pushes kids to create authentic and relevant tasks to showcase their abilities. She built CEO from the ground up in Austin and rocks student council. She gives AHS students the confidence to use their voices. She truly is one of a kind."

Congratulations!

If you’d like to nominate an outstanding Austin Public Schools staff member for our weekly Staff Spotlight, please take a moment to fill out the form at https://www.austin.k12.mn.us/district-resources/staff-spotlight. It only takes a minute and can truly make someone’s day. Thanks!

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APS offers a wide range of student activities, including competitive athletics, intramurals, academic clubs, fine arts, and performing arts. View schedules and learn more here.

Austin Public Schools is committed to creating an inclusive environment that values the diversity of its employees and does not discriminate against any employee or candidate based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, age, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, familial status or membership or activity in a local commission. The school district strongly encourages anyone interested to apply to join our teams. Reasonable accommodations to access job openings or to apply for a job are available. Click here to learn more.

You can review previous issues here.