Leander ISD opens new centers for transition services, instructional materials
Leander ISD's Denise Geiger Compass Center has officially opened, welcoming its first class of young adults for the 2025-26 school year.
The center is the new location for LISD's transition services, which serves adults aged 18-22 who qualify for special education services.
Sorting out details: The transition services program focuses on providing adult living and community integration, social and recreational skills and employability skills to its students, serving 140 students each year. Some of the new center's features include:
An outdoor trail
Vocational spaces
An apartment with a full kitchen
Some background: Funding for the center was approved as part of the 2023 bond. In March, the board of trustees voted to name the center after Denise Geiger, an LISD educator of 32 years and senior coordinator of transition services.
One more thing: The compass center is also located next to the new Linda Lippe Instructional Materials Center, which produces ready-made science kits for all of LISD's elementary schools and will offer work-based learning opportunities for compass center students.
Hawaii Fluid Art now offering art classes in Bee Cave
A new art studio has opened in the Hill Country Galleria.
The overview: Hawaii Fluid Art offers art classes for adults and children alike, with instruction on fluid art, glass painting and resin art. Materials are provided and customers can take their art home once dried.
Quote of note:“The best part is you don’t have to be an artist,” Hawaii Fluid Art representative Ashish Patel said. “It’s a fun place for anywhere from kids birthday parties, ladies’ nights, business team building events, family nights out. … We do a lot of different activities."
The details: The studio is located next to Panera Bread. Those interested in attending classes can book on the business’s website
Austin's first-ever logo was unveiled Sept. 4 as the city moves to implement a new, unified brand.
The rebranding initiative was conducted by consultants Pentagram Design Inc. and Austin-based TKO Advertising Inc. over the past year-plus through a $640,000 contract, and with almost $500,000 in other city expenses. Officials said the process, which included public surveys and focus groups to inform final designs, is needed to improve the consistency of Austin's branding.
The new blue and green logo is meant to reflect the area's natural features and energy, according to the city. The rebrand officially starts in October, when the new logo will be used for digital assets like websites alongside other new materials being produced. Going forward, it'll be gradually phased in by city departments as they replace or purchase new clothing, vehicles and other items.
What to know: Most Texas school districts required to display donated Ten Commandments posters under state law
Most Texas public schools are required to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms under Senate Bill 10, a state law that took effect Sept. 1.
The details: On Aug. 20, a Texas federal judge temporarily blocked the following 11 school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments:
Alamo Heights ISD
Austin ISD
Cy-Fair ISD
Dripping Springs ISD
Fort Bend ISD
Houston ISD
Lackland ISD
Lake Travis ISD
North East ISD
Northside ISD
Plano ISD
Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the ruling and directed other school districts to begin displaying donated copies of the Ten Commandments.
The debate: Proponents of SB 10, including Paxton and Republican state lawmakers, have argued that seeing the Ten Commandments on a daily basis will help Texas students better understand U.S. history and learn about morality.
Some religious scholars have stressed the importance of teaching students about religion in an “appropriate educational context.” Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns that non-Christian students will feel left out or be bullied by their peers for not following the Ten Commandments.
