The Austin Partners in Education staff has spent the majority of the summer re-tooling our website and researching engagement in Social Media. We are pleased to announce the launch of our new and improved website in conjunction with a city-wide Classroom Coaching recruitment campaign.

The new website has a different look, but more importantly, it has improved functionality. Our Technology Specialist, Edward Furstenau, created a website with easily accessible content management. Now, every staff member can update the website without the help of a webmaster! We’re expecting to post updates more frequently and be more responsive to people using the site, so let us know what you think!

But our biggest news is the volunteer recruitment campaign! UT Coach Mack Brown leads the Austin Partners in Education Classroom Coaching team as Head Coach. Two years ago, the City of Austin catapulted hundreds of students to academic success by committing 300 volunteers in APIE’s proven model for effective volunteer engagement. Under Coach Brown’s leadership, state, corporate, and community agencies will join the City of Austin to bring 800 Classroom Coaches into over 100 classrooms this fall. This exciting Classroom Coaching campaign is mid-launch as I type! You may have seen billboards, articles, and PSA’s but if you haven’t, check out the new PSA. APIE needs to register just under a thousand Classroom Coaches to spend one hour a week in classrooms across the city, changing the game for Austin ISD students.

Please let us know your feedback on APIE’s new recruiting and public relations efforts. Pass the word about volunteer recruitment on to your friends! We encourage you to follow us on Twitter, become a Fan on Facebook, and add our Blog to your RSS feed to help with the effort!