AUSTIN — Since his arrival in Austin almost a year ago from Denver, Colorado, Alex Sanchez, the Director of Public Relations & Multicultural Outreach for the Austin Independent School District, has been working quickly to learn about the community.
He has visited a large number of the 114 schools in the district and held focus groups with parents to hear what they have to say about how the district serves their children. During a visit to his office, one could see all the plans and iniatives on a dry erase board that shows he has plans to improve the school district’s overall outreach efforts in Austin.
One of these outreach iniatives is a radio program directed to the Spanish-speaking community. The school district has approximately 90,000 students of which about 30,000 come from homes where English is not the primarily langauge spoken in the home. Mr. Sanchez understands that of all the media, radio is the most popular among Spanish-speakers.
To engage the Spanish speaking parents, the school district has found partners in the community who have agreed to sponsor two weekend shows on local radio stations. One is on Saturday and the other on Sunday.
Mr. Sanchez’s thinking is that using a radio program format with a call-in feature will prove to be both exciting and informative for those who wish to know more about how to navigate the school system. This approach, which Mr. Sanchez utilized when he was with the Denvier school district proved to be very popular and had a very large listenership.
The name of the Austin program is going to be Educa con Alez Sánchez and will air on Saturdays from 7:00am to 8:00am on 107.7 LA JEFE and on Sundays from 9:00am to 10:00am on Radio Que Bueno 104.3.
