As I begin my first year as Superintendent of the Austin Independent School District, I am struck by the quality of the teachers and principals in this school district, the engagement of parents and families in the education of their children, and the commitment of the Austin community to public education and high achievement for all the students of Austin. I am very excited about joining this great community in working for high academic achievement for all our students.

AISD is in a unique position among urban school districts. All parts of our community have a vested interest-including their children-in our success. The district has made great strides over the past decade. It went from being among the lowest urban performing districts in Texas to being one of the highest.

The next step is to make it a leader among urban public school districts in the nation. Austin already is among the leaders in 4th and 8th grade on the National Assessment of Education Progress (the NAEP test), but we need to lead in all areas-graduation rates, college enrollment, early childhood education, success for English Language Learners, and the eradication of achievement gaps. The Austin community expects and deserves nothing less.

The good news is that we can do this. With our community, business and university partnerships, with our dedicated educators, with our deeply committed parents, we have all the elements for creating a high-performance district across the board.

It will require a lot of hard work. It will require rethinking and revamping some of our operations and systems. It will require being really smart, effective, and efficient with our resources. And it will require the courage to do things a little differently when necessary.

I look forward to working with the AISD Board of Trustees and the great Austin community to meet this challenge. The future of the children of Austin and the Austin economy depend on how well we do our work. Let's get started!

Dr. Meria Carstarphen