As families at the closing Oak Springs Elementary prepare to relocate to Blackshear Elementary this fall, Austin ISD has told families at both campuses that they may need to move once again.

Instead of permanently closing Oak Springs Elementary, the district is now considering relocating both schools to a modernized campus at the Oak Springs site once it is complete in 2027.

Some Blackshear Elementary parents told Community Impact they are concerned about how the change of plans may affect their students.

The background: On Nov. 20, the AISD board of trustees voted to close Oak Springs Elementary alongside nine additional campuses and relocate students to Blackshear Elementary in the 2026-27 school year. Both Oak Springs and Blackshear had an enrollment of less than 230 students each in the 2023-24 school year.

In mid-December, AISD informed parents that Superintendent Matias Segura would decide by late January whether to keep all students at Blackshear or eventually move the merged schools into a modernized campus for Oak Springs, which would be funded by the 2022 bond.

Software company Togetherwork celebrated the opening of a 20,000-square foot headquarters in South Austin in early January.

The company’s new innovation hub, located off South Congress Avenue, is expected to employ more than 100 people over the next year.

In their own words: “I think this is the greatest city to be able to attract talent. It’s a really good fit for us,” Togetherwork CEO Brent Warrington said in an interview with Community Impact. “Austin is a city that’s never disappointed me. It’s a great place to build a company.”

The gist: Togetherwork builds software that enables organizations to recruit, register and receive payments or fundraising from customers. The company works with a range of businesses, from religious groups, camps, nonprofits, associations and pet care companies.

Togetherwork serves over 70,000 clients with more than 100 million users across its platforms, Warrington said.

The South Congress innovation center offers a hybrid work environment for around 40-50 Austin-area employees and an office space for over 700 remote employees to visit.

With the new year beginning and resolutions underway, individuals may look into body contouring procedures to feel more confident in their bodies, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Sanjay K. Sharma said. 

Affiliated with Ascension Medical Group, the University of Texas Dell Medical School and the University of Texas Medical Branch, Sharma said these procedures are common in the Austin area due to the community’s culture of being outdoors and trying to stay healthy. He spoke with Community Impact about how body contouring works, ideal candidates and tips for community members to know when looking for a provider. 

What is body contouring?
Body contouring is a broad-based category in plastic surgery. Any part of the body can be contoured. It can be from areas that are sort of stubborn fat deposits. Patients sometimes want to know how they can get rid of isolated pockets around the abdomen, legs, thighs or arms.

Plans for a pair of new amenity decks and public pathways around I-35 in Central Austin have been finalized, as the city works to complete design and financing strategies for its overall "cap and stitch" program tied to the state's ongoing highway expansion.

Austin City Council finalized a framework last spring for the local initiative to build out a series of amenity decks, including larger caps downtown and smaller stitches to the north. A final outline for the stitches between 41st and 43rd streets and the Red Line rail was completed this winter.

After a public open house and council reviews in the fall, city staff recommended "Option B"—one of four possibilities—for the northern stitches. The project would cover nearly 2.5 acres, with foundational roadway elements and future caps costing an estimated $69 million.

All four options were graded based on factors like transportation connectivity, safety, economic opportunity and project costs. Staff reported their chosen plan offered the best mobility and cost benefits.

Hundreds of Texas private schools have been approved to participate in the state’s new education savings account program, per a map released by the state comptroller in early January.

The overview: As of press time, 775 private schools and prekindergarten providers had been approved to accept education savings accounts, or ESAs. There are over 1,300 accredited private schools in the state, according to the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission. 

Of the approved schools, there are:

• 233 schools in the Houston area
• 195 schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area
• 94 schools in the San Antonio area
• 70 schools in the Austin area