We are excited to partner with students and families this year at Clifton CDS! Please read below for important information about Week 1 at Clifton.

Clifton Classes Start Thursday, August 21:

Although AISD classes start on Tuesday, Clifton's first day will be Thursday. This gives students a chance to review their schedules and figure out transitions and transportation.  Home campuses will let students know where to report during their Clifton period on the first two days of school

Schedules:

All students attend Clifton for a double block (two back-to-back periods). We follow the high school A/B calendar, which is linked HERE.  Our principal, Ms. Edson, has been working with counselors across the high schools to help ensure students are scheduled accurately.  This is still a work in progress for some campuses.  If you have any questions, please email at sachi.edson@austinisd.org or call 512.414.3614.

Reality is sometimes different from expectations. We try to find good-fit programs for all students, but if a student thinks their Clifton program is not right for them, please encourage them to speak with their Clifton teacher, our assistant principal, Mr. Reyna, or our principal, Ms. Edson, to help answer questions or help talk through options.

Transportation:

Clifton schedules buses to/from all high school campuses. They are set up so that students do NOT need to get to school early or leave late in order to participate in Clifton programming.

• Morning Students: Students scheduled in 1st/2nd or 5th/6th periods will catch the bus from their home campus around 9:10am to come to Clifton. These students will be picked up from Clifton at 12:15pm to return to their home campus for lunch.
• Afternoon Students: Students scheduled in 3rd/4th or 7th/8th periods are scheduled to arrive at Clifton around 12:45pm (buses leave campuses at different times depending on distance). These students will leave Clifton at 3:45pm to return to their home campus before the end of the day.

At Clifton, we greet students at the door and help them find their classes. When students leave our campus, we check them off to ensure everyone is getting on the correct bus.

Clifton cannot tell you where the bus picks up at the home campus. Since every school is different, that is a question for home campus staff. If there is an issue with a Clifton route, it's helpful for us to know so we can troubleshoot long term, but the fastest way to get a response in the moment (i.e., if your student is waiting for the bus and doesn't know if it already left) is to call the bus barn directly:

• Nelson Bus Terminal (Northeast): 512.414.6520
• Saegert Bus Terminal (Southwest): 512.414.6500
• Southeast Bus Terminal: 512.414.8510

Meals:

Morning students who access breakfast at school should grab breakfast BEFORE getting on the Clifton bus. These students will eat lunch after returning to their home campuses at midday.

Afternoon students who access lunch at school should grab lunch BEFORE getting on the Clifton bus (they are welcome to eat at Clifton). This may mean leaving their 2nd or 6th period class early to meet the bus on time. Students should ask their home campus administrator and/or counselors for information about this process.

Personal Communication Devices:

As you may have heard from your home campuses, Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 1481, which prohibits students from using personal devices on district premises during school hours. Effective this school year, devices must be turned off, stored out of sight, and not used during school hours.  For more detailed information on this change, please review the AISD Personal Student Device One-Pager.