By KRISTI LEE NORDIN, Four Points Contributor

In the face of a compelling need to prepare our students for a global workforce, I believe we need classrooms where teachers are energized and empowered to teach. The Leander ISD February Conference enables this to occur.

In a recent Site Base Committee meeting at Steiner Ranch Elementary, I gained a new appreciation for LISD’s February Conference. The faculty and staff conveyed an excitement and enthusiasm that was simultaneously captivating and contagious.

For those unfamiliar, this annual event is three days at the beginning of February that the district has set aside for training. In practice, the first two days are comprised of seminars and sessions with speakers and subject matter experts while the third day is spent back on the home campus.

Many families traditionally use this time to travel or do things locally taking advantage of favorable pricing and reduced crowds as this time off is unique to LISD.

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By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Nearly 100 young sailors were part of the 2014 Roadrunner Regatta at Lake Travis hosted by the Austin Yacht Club.

The two-day sailing competition is one of the largest youth regattas in the state. This year’s event on April 5 and 6 had a record-number of local racers, with 23 Austin Yacht Club sailors, many of which are from the Four Points area.

Wendi Froelich from Four Points.
Bill Records photos

“This is probably the most competitors we’ve had from Austin Yacht Club,” said AYC sailing coach Kate Noble.

The event is part of the Texas Sailing Youth Association’s youth regatta series that take place throughout the state all year.  

“This is our home event,” Noble said. “It’s usually one of the most attended ones. We get people in from Louisiana and the surrounding states. It’s a really big event and it’s really fun to see all the kids out there.”

By the event’s end, each sailor, ranging in age from 7 to 18, had raced between eight and 13 races in their designated fleet.

For Fleet Captain and Regatta Chair Stefan Froelich and his wife, Stephanie, sailing is a family sport. Five of their seven children competed in the weekend competition.

“The coolest thing we like about it is just the camaraderie between the families,” Stephanie said.

Vandegrift High School sophomore Jules Bettler competed in the Laser 4.7 fleet. He’s in the middle of this Laser start.
Bill Records photos

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By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Student absences in the days surrounding Winter Break cost the Leander ISD $196,844. Absences in the Four Points schools alone made up $56,257 of the district’s total.

Winter Break ran Monday, Feb. 3 through Wednesday, Feb. 5. During that time, LISD teachers have a professional development conference, while students are off. Some LISD families refer to this break as “ski week,” and for others, it is a popular time to take big trips.

Like in years past, the trend continued this year with a high number of student absences surrounding Winter Break.

“The high absences are a concern to all of the board members. We have spoke about it in open session several times,” said Pam Waggoner, LISD board president.

Pam Waggoner, Leander ISD School Board President

“We want our families to enjoy their time-off, but we want our parents to set an example for their children that school is important and vacation can wait,” Waggoner said.

Thursday night at the school board meeting, the 2014-2015 calendar was changed from a three-day Winter Break to a two-day Winter Break. Next year, the LISD staff development time will be condensed to two staff development days and students will be off two days.

“We’ve looked at the calendar and made adjustments based on community feedback to maximize student instruction time,” said LISD spokesperson Veronica Sopher.

“We have eliminated one day from February conference in hopes that those who take the week off in February will think twice about missing three consecutive days of school,” Waggoner said.

“If parents don’t prioritize education, we cannot expect our students to,” Waggoner added.

                                  Absences around 2014 Winter Break

Leander ISD students  35,281  

Absences:  Average 1,286   Friday Jan. 31  1,729    Thursday, Feb. 6   3,509

Four Points area students   7,453

Absences:  Average 239   Friday Jan. 31  504    Thursday, Feb. 6    993

All data reported as of March 24, 2014 by Leander ISD.

Four Points absences add up

This school year, the average number of absences on a given day is 239 out of the 7,453 students who attend Steiner Ranch, Laura W. Bush, River Ridge, River Place and Grandview Hills elementary schools, Canyon Ridge and Four Points middle schools and Vandegrift High School.

Unexcused absences surrounding Winter Break are significantly higher.

Twice as many Four Points area LISD students, or 504, were absent than average on the Friday before Winter Break, more than four times as many, or 993, were absent on the Thursday following Winter Break. School was cancelled this year on the Friday following Winter Break due to bad weather.

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By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

A Four Points property owner has been gathering signatures to protest a rezoning request from Foundation Communities to build a new 124-unit affordable housing apartment complex at 11108 Zimmerman Ln. The land is near Rudy’s Country Store and BBQ and currently zoned as single-family residential.

Foundation Communities is an Austin-based, non-profit organization that currently manages 10 affordable housing communities throughout Austin. The communities are for individuals and families with low to moderate incomes​—​ 50 to 80 percent of Austin median family income. Foundation Communities has one apartment complex under construction in downtown Austin and another planned in South Austin. If approved, the Four Points property would be their first in northwest Austin.

Four Points Against More Traffic

Marc Chase

River Place resident Marc Chase has started an effort called Four Points Against More Traffic. He has collected 350 signatures from local residents who are opposed to the rezoning request and is hoping to get at least 1,000 signatures. The zoning case is set to go before the Austin City Council in May.

Chase, who owns a development company called Kailey Development Partners LP, admits that he has a financial stake in the issue ​—​ he owns nine single-family lots across from the proposed site on Zimmerman Lane, which he hopes to develop and sell. Four of the nine homes are completed and are all listed for at least $400,000. But Chase says his concerns with the project are bigger than his own personal interests.

Kailey Development Partners LP has nine single-family lots across from the proposed Foundation Communities site on Zimmerman Lane.

“This particular project would add an additional 124 units, along with additional vehicles, pulling out onto RM 620 without any traffic signal light,” Chase said. “Zimmerman Lane is very narrow and cannot accommodate the additional traffic, not to mention the vehicles that will have to travel up and down this roadway during construction.”

Chase also has concerns about the overcrowding of Four Points schools.

“More and more apartments have been popping up in a very congested area of Four Points,” he said. “There’s no plan for how to relieve this pressure.”

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