Lake Travis ISD is pleased to announce that visitors and volunteers may enter our campuses districtwide, effective Monday, October 18. This update to our protocols is the result of a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and the decision by Austin-Travis County to re-enter Stage 3 of the area's COVID-19 Risk-Based Guidelines.

"We understand that many of you are eager to visit your child’s campus and/or start volunteering, and we are excited to welcome you," said Paul Norton, Superintendent of Schools. "Accordingly, our school principals will share specific criteria and expectations for visitors and volunteers via individual campus newsletters within the next few days. Please note, criteria may vary by campus."

Despite the downgrade in stages, all visitors and volunteers on district facilities should remain vigilant as per local health officials. The district will continue to encourage all staff, students and families to wear a mask while inside and on campus in an effort to mitigate community spread of the virus. In accordance with LTISD safety protocols, visitors and students should stay home if sick with any COVID-related symptoms.

"Rest assured, the safety of our staff and students is our highest priority," added Mr. Norton. "We will continue to re-evaluate and update our protocols as needed following each change in our current stage. We appreciate your understanding of and compliance with these changes and look forward to welcoming you into our schools."

Please be advised you may still receive communication from individual programs including after school care, athletics, fine arts and transportation. We appreciate your patience during this transition.

Communication between school and home is critical. Therefore, should you need to update your communication preferences within Skyward Family Access, please follow the steps highlighted in the corresponding link: https://youtu.be/sVq7z3oG1aE

More information about attendance requirements can be found in school board policies FEC (LEGAL), FEC (LOCAL), and FED (LEGAL). We value our partnership with you and appreciate your attention to this matter as we work together to help our students succeed.

Lake Travis High School interim principal Debbie Garinger is pleased to announce that a school-record 71 seniors have been recognized by the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. These students entered the program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) as high school juniors. They were chosen from more than 1.5 million program entrants and represent less than one percent of each state’s high school seniors. According to the National Merit Scholarship Program, these students are the top scorers from each state and show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Lake Travis High School proudly recognizes eight National Merit Semifinalists, 35 Commended Scholars, 28 National Hispanic Scholars, and four National Indigenous Scholars. View the complete listing of scholars on our website.

Now more than ever, so much is expected of our school principals. They are instructional leaders, assessment experts, disciplinarians, campus safety coordinators, community builders, budget analysts, and guardians of policy mandates and initiatives. And they do this while navigating the constantly-changing landscape created by the pandemic.

For these and many other reasons, we join the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals in recognizing October as National Principals Month across Lake Travis ISD:

• Kim Kellner, Bee Cave Elementary School
• Kelly Freed, Lake Pointe Elementary School
• Pam Schaeffer, Lake Travis Elementary School
• Sam Hicks, Lakeway Elementary School
• Angela Frankhouser, Rough Hollow Elementary School
• Keegan Luedecke, Serene Hills Elementary School
• Melanie Beninga, West Cypress Hills Elementary School
• Amanda Prehn, Bee Cave Middle School
• Julie Nederveld, Hudson Bend Middle School
• Lester Wolff, Lake Travis Middle School
• Debbie Garinger, Lake Travis High School

After a brief hiatus due to COVID, the Lake Travis High School Homecoming Parade and Extravaganza was back and stronger than ever on Wednesday, October 13. The community event celebrated students and community featured local food trucks, inflatables, a parade, pep rally and homecoming court presentation.

The event raised funds to support student and teacher initiatives through the LTHS Parent Teacher Organization.

Since 2013, our Video Display Board has enhanced the stadium experience by showcasing the success of our students, staff and programs during events at Cavalier Stadium. Not only has the Video Display Board resulted in revenue-generating partnerships between Lake Travis ISD and the business community that benefit student programs across the district, perhaps more importantly, this initiative has had a direct and lasting impact on our students. By using our own high school students to operate the Video Display Board, students have been provided hands-on, real-world experience in the areas of radio, TV and film production, graphic and digital arts, and other high-tech skills.

The following Video Display Board partners were recognized on the field prior to the Lake Travis High School homecoming game on October 15:

ANCHOR LEVEL

• Watkins Insurance
• Prosperity Bank
• Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Lakeway

FOUNDING LEVEL

• Amber Hart
• Hill Country Oral Surgery
• Lakeway AC & Heating
• Lexus of Lakeway and Austin

PREMIER LEVEL

• Covert GMC
• Hat Creek Burger Company

Joining our Video Display Board sponsors were Lake Travis ISD Superintendent of Schools, Paul Norton; Assistant Superintendent for Employee & Community Relations, Evalene Murphy; and Director of Development and Corporate Relations, Katie Kauffman. District officials also extend special thanks and appreciation to Joe Baker of ESPN/Longhorns Network and Jon DaSilva of Roadrunner Pictures for their volunteer support.

With the theme “Be Safe - Know the Danger Zone," Lake Travis ISD joins the National Association for Pupil Transportation to observe October 18-22, 2021 as National School Bus Safety Week. This is an excellent opportunity for students, parents, teachers, motorists, school bus operators and school administrators to recognize the importance of school bus safety.

In recognition and support of October as Dyslexia Awareness Month, Lake Travis ISD and the International Dyslexia Association share a vision of a world where students with dyslexia are understood and have the tools to succeed.

According to IDA, dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

At LTISD, our campus dyslexia specialists work directly with identified students. Additionally, these professionals support their campuses to increase understanding and care for struggling readers:

• Diane Tilley, Bee Cave Elementary School
• Erin Modde, Lake Pointe Elementary School
• Randi Sherrer, Lake Travis Elementary School
• Alice Johnson, Lakeway Elementary School
• Lindsey Reeves, Rough Hollow Elementary School
• Michaela Buddle, Serene Hills Elementary School
• Clover Yordanova, West Cypress Hills Elementary School
• Angela Aaron, Itinerant Elementary School
• Missy Giambruno, Bee Cave Middle School
• Sharon McMichael, Hudson Bend Middle School
• Monica Wommack, Lake Travis Middle School
• Rachel Lindsey, Lake Travis High School

Lake Travis ISD joins the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) to celebrate October as National Physical Therapy Month.

School-based physical therapists–or PTs–are part of a team of related service providers who support a student’s ability to access his/her educational environment. Using their unique expertise in movement and function, school-based PTs ensure a free and appropriate education for students with disabilities to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

The following physical therapists serve students across LTISD:

• Heather Amitrani
• Christine Urban