Akins PTSA Newsletter
March 2022
Welcome to spring!
The Akins Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) is a non-profit volunteer organization which serves to support the students, teachers, and staff at Akins Early College High School through volunteering and fundraising.
Please read below to find ways you might be able to get involved in the school community. Wings up!
PTSA Elections in April
The PTSA will hold elections for officer positions at our April 12 meeting. Officers attend two meetings monthly and the time commitment is typically about 3-5 hours per month. We would especially love some teacher representation on the PTSA Board.
We are still soliciting nominees for the following positions:
-Vice President (serves as back-up to the president, helps with fundraising)
-Secretary (takes minutes at each meeting, maintains records for the organization)
Please contact our nomination committee chair and Parent Support Specialist, Connie Miralrio, at connie.agueromiralrio@austinisd.org if you're interested in either of these positions.
Support Akins PTSA when you shop at smile.amazon.com
Did you know that when you shop at Amazon, you can choose to support Akins PTSA at no cost to you? This quarter, we received $71.63 from this program that will be used to support students and teachers.
Simply visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/74-2974782 and select PTA Texas Congress 10073 W Charles Akins High School as your preferred charity. Then start your shopping at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to the Akins PTSA.
It's not too late to join!
We currently have 73 members and are trying to meet a goal of 100 this year. Please help us meet this goal!
Membership Dues
Adult $15.00
Student $10.00
How can I pay my PTSA dues?
Online PTSA Portal https://txpta.secure.force.com/JoinPTA
District: Austin ISD School: W. Charles Akins High School
PayPal https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/AkinsPTSA
Please be sure to include the name of the person for whom you are paying membership dues.
Check/Cash
Make checks payable to Akins High School PTSA and drop off in the main office or mail to:
Akins PTSA, 10701 S 1st Street, Austin, TX 78748
Ongoing Advocacy Project
So far, we've had four members speak at meetings and would like to have two per meeting for the remaining dates this spring. We're especially looking for students and teachers. The next meetings are:
March 29, 6 - 8:30 pm
April 19, 6 - 8:30 pm
April 30, 9 am - 12:30 pm
May 10, 6 - 8:30 pm
Members of the public may join the zoom meeting 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start to sign up for public comment. Up to 10 minutes of public comment will be allowed per meeting with a limit of 1 minute per speaker. You can find the zoom link for each meeting, as well as recordings of all previous meetings at: https://www.austinisd.org/advisory-bodies/lpc/meetings
Our amazing school social worker, Ms. Meg Kozel, has graciously volunteered to help coordinate a speaker rotation, so if you are interested in providing public comment, you are welcome to email her (margaret.kozel@austinisd.org) or Trudy Richards, PTSA President, (akinshsptsa@gmail.com) to let us know your availability for the above dates.
The Akins needs/wants list is below for you to use as a springboard for your comments. If you have any questions, need more statistics, or would like to add something to this list, please feel free to reach out to Trudy.
Akins Facility Needs List
Building to replace portables and house CTE programs
- Akins was built in 2000 and is one of the newer high schools in the district, yet it has more portables than any other high school (20 portables with 2 classrooms each).
- The average useful lifespan of a portable is 20 years and the condition of most portables at Akins is poor.
- Blazier ES and Murchison MS, each having 16 portables, were funded in the 2017 bond program to receive additional permanent capacity. Akins was not.
- With an enrollment of 2,564, Akins currently operates at 107% capacity.
- About 1,000 students have class in a portable each period.
- In 2017, AISD educational specifications were updated to 800-850 sq ft per classroom to accommodate 22-28 students.
- Due to school overcrowding, there are often 30+ high school students in a portable of about 750 sq ft.
- Link to 2019 Facility Master Plan (FMP) Update—Appendix G, which discusses the district's plan for portable reduction: https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/fmp/docs/FMP-Appendix%20G_02182020-web.pdf
Repair or replace HVAC system
- Per 2017 facility condition assessment, HVAC system is in poor condition.
- Currently, there are significant climate control issues that inhibit effective teaching and learning.
Repair or replace roof and domestic water distribution system
- Per 2017 facility condition assessment, these systems are in poor condition.
Akins Facility Wants List
Upgraded Auditorium
- The most recent Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) gave the Akins auditorium a score of 13 out of 100. The next lowest score was 55.
- Link to 2019 FMP Update—Appendix H, which details this need and other deficiencies: https://www.austinisd.org/sites/default/files/dept/fmp/docs/athletics-fine-arts-cte/2019%20FMP%20Appendix%20H_FINAL%202020Jan27-reduced.pdf
Practice Field Upgrades
- Akins practice fields do not have adequate lighting and are in poor condition.
- An addition of turf and lights would improve equity with other district high schools.
Additional Water Bottle Filling Stations
- Currently, the school only has a few water bottle filling stations. Several more are needed throughout the campus to allow students and staff easy access.
About Us
Email: akinshsptsa@gmail.com
Website: bit.ly/AkinsPTSA
Location: 10701 South 1st Street, Austin, TX, USA
Phone: 512-560-7543
Facebook: facebook.com/AkinsHighSchoolPTSA