Latest / Austin Signal / AISD hands over control of middle schools in bid to avoid state takeover
Transcript
- 0:08The Austin Independent School
- 0:09District is handing over control of
- 0:11three middle schools to a nonprofit
- 0:13in the hopes of avoiding a
- 0:14district-wide state takeover.
- 0:16Doby, Burnett, and Webb middle
- 0:18schools are trying to avoid a fifth
- 0:19failing accountability rating that
- 0:21could trigger that takeover,
- 0:23more about that.
- 0:24Plus, Austin city leaders have
- 0:25approved a new plan to address some
- 0:27of the issues faced by people
- 0:28experiencing homelessness, which
- 0:30calls for more shelter beds, better
- 0:32coordination, and increased
- 0:33community partnership.
- 0:35More about these ambitions and the
- 0:37costs that's on today's show.
- 0:39The Austin Signal is a production
- 0:41of KUT News, hosted by
- 0:43Jerry Quijano.
- 0:44And who's the guy who dances at
- 0:46the corner of Barton Springs Road
- 0:47and South First Street?
- 0:49Well, his name is...
- 0:51I'm not gonna tell you his name,
- 0:52you're just gonna have to tune in to
- 0:53find out.
- 0:54Come and meet him.
- 0:55That's up next, right here on
- 0:57Austin Signal.
- 1:08Howdy out there, you are tuned in
- 1:10to Austin Signal.
- 1:11I'm your host, Jerry Gihannel.
- 1:13It's March 30th, the
- 1:15last Monday of the month.
- 1:17We're glad that you're making us
- 1:18part of your day.
- 1:21The Austin Independent School
- 1:22District voted to hand over control
- 1:24over Dovey Web and Burnett
- 1:26Middle Schools to Texas Council
- 1:28for International Studies.
- 1:30These schools have failed accountability
- 1:31ratings four times, and
- 1:33a fifth failure could trigger a
- 1:35district-wide takeover from the
- 1:36state of Texas AIC is hoping
- 1:38that the move could improve the
- 1:40future of these middle schools.
- 1:42For more about this move, we are
- 1:44talking with Acacia Coronado, an
- 1:46education reporter for the Austin
- 1:47Current. Thanks for being back on
- 1:48the show.
- 1:48Thanks for having me.
- 1:49So, this decision tells more
- 1:51about the things that AISD was
- 1:53considering prior to making this
- 1:55move.
- 1:56Yeah, so each of these three middle
- 1:58schools, as you mentioned,
- 2:00have four failing accountability
- 2:02ratings and so they are trying to
- 2:04prevent them getting to a fifth.
- 2:05They had been really investing
- 2:07in their math and reading,
- 2:10teaching over the last few months,
- 2:12but upon reviewing their beginning
- 2:13and middle of year scores,
- 2:15the district officials just shared
- 2:17that they did not feel confident
- 2:18that they would know for a
- 2:20fact that the would not receive
- 2:22a fifth F, so they were looking for
- 2:24a partner that could really come in
- 2:25and improve some of those testing
- 2:27scores and other
- 2:29aspects that TA takes into account
- 2:31when doing an Accountability Rating.
- 2:32Okay well speaking of that partner
- 2:34that partner is the Texas Council
- 2:35for International Studies who
- 2:37are they why were they chosen.
- 2:39Yeah, so the Texas Council for
- 2:41International Studies was created to
- 2:43support schools that use the
- 2:45international baccalaureate
- 2:46programs, but they also run,
- 2:49they operate about a little over
- 2:51a dozen partnerships under
- 2:53Senate Bill 1882, which allows
- 2:55for this outside operator
- 2:57partnership that Austin
- 2:59ISD is applying for.
- 3:00And so they operate partnerships in
- 3:02Edgewood, Longview, and San Antonio
- 3:04ISDs. And so.
- 3:05Austin ISD kind of looked at their
- 3:07progress at some similar schools,
- 3:09including I think a similar middle
- 3:10school in San Antonio, to
- 3:12see, to get an idea of what that
- 3:14could look like for AISD and
- 3:16their three middle schools, and they
- 3:17selected them based off of that.
- 3:19Okay, and is this just like a
- 3:21one-year thing?
- 3:22What kind of window is this?
- 3:23The contract that they're looking at
- 3:24is three years, which is similar
- 3:26to what they had at Mendez
- 3:28Middle School.
- 3:29Okay, okay, so and you're
- 3:31reporting you call this a
- 3:33high stakes move.
- 3:34Can you tell us more?
- 3:35What do you what do you mean by
- 3:35that?
- 3:36Yeah, so if
- 3:39TEA was to deny
- 3:41their application, which they still
- 3:42can, and the
- 3:44schools were to get a fifth
- 3:46failing accountability
- 3:48rating, the state
- 3:50could either take
- 3:53over the entire district by
- 3:55appointing board of managers to
- 3:57replace the school board,
- 3:59or they could select to close the
- 4:01schools.
- 4:01And has that statewide takeover
- 4:03happened in other school districts
- 4:05here in Texas?
- 4:06It has. We did see it in Houston
- 4:08ISD and we saw it in Fort Worth ISD
- 4:10and a few others.
- 4:11So it is a possibility and
- 4:13so that's something that AISD I
- 4:15think has been trying to
- 4:16stave off and they're hoping
- 4:18this partnership will not just
- 4:20improve the schools but also
- 4:22prevent the situation.
- 4:23Okay, so I believe the votes
- 4:25happened late on Thursday, so
- 4:27there's been a little bit of time
- 4:28for the community to kind of
- 4:30take it in.
- 4:31What have you heard? What's the
- 4:32response been from parents,
- 4:33teachers, and even students?
- 4:35Yeah, so I got to visit one of the
- 4:37community meetings before they
- 4:40made the decision on Thursday.
- 4:41They held community meetings a week
- 4:43or two before,
- 4:45and teachers and parents
- 4:47seemed open to an idea if
- 4:49it was something that could,
- 4:51in both the short-term and
- 4:52long-term, improve the outcome of
- 4:54the school for the students.
- 4:56And was there more discussion at the
- 4:57meeting on Thursday, or was it more
- 4:59just a vote on the plan itself?
- 5:02On Thursday we mostly saw a brief
- 5:04discussion and then a vote.
- 5:06One of the board members did share
- 5:08that she was grateful that even
- 5:10though they did select kind
- 5:12of close to the March 31st deadline
- 5:13for applying for a partnership, she
- 5:15was grateful that it was an
- 5:17intentional plan that was put forth.
- 5:19Okay, so where are we
- 5:21at in the process?
- 5:22Is this like a final step?
- 5:23I believe you said this application
- 5:25could still be denied.
- 5:26What happens next?
- 5:29What happens next will really depend
- 5:30on the response and the feedback
- 5:32they get from TEA.
- 5:34Superintendent Segura did say during
- 5:36the meeting that the response and
- 5:37the final decision could take a
- 5:39couple months.
- 5:40So we might not know even up
- 5:42until May or June what
- 5:44the final outcome of this is, but
- 5:46now it kind of goes to
- 5:48submitting the application by the
- 5:50March 31st deadline and then getting
- 5:52a response or feedback from TEA.
- 5:54And if they, as soon as that
- 5:56response comes back, if it's
- 5:57approved, this, I'm guessing, would
- 5:58go into effect immediately next
- 6:00school year.
- 6:01Yes, it would go into effect next
- 6:03school year for the next three
- 6:04school years.
- 6:06And the partnership under
- 6:08SB 1882 would allow for
- 6:10the schools to not have an
- 6:12accountability rating for this
- 6:14school year and the following one.
- 6:15Okay, we have been speaking with
- 6:16Acacia Coronado.
- 6:17She is an education reporter for the
- 6:19Austin Current partnering with
- 6:21Austin Signal and KUT in covering
- 6:23the city.
- 6:24Acacia, thanks as always.
- 6:25Thanks for having me.
- 6:33The City of Austin has a new
- 6:35homeless strategy that will add more
- 6:37shelter beds and resource centers to
- 6:40the system.
- 6:41KUT's Luz Moreno Lozano tells
- 6:43us more about this two-year
- 6:45plan.
- 6:47The city's plan was crafted with
- 6:48more than two dozen community
- 6:49partners. It includes adding more
- 6:51shelter beds to the system, opening
- 6:53two centers to help match people
- 6:54with additional services, and
- 6:56increasing collaboration with
- 6:57community partners David
- 6:59Gray is the city's Homeless Strategy
- 7:01Officer
- 7:02We wanna get people out
- 7:04of our abandoned
- 7:06buildings and we wanna get out of
- 7:08parks and green belts.
- 7:10We need more beds to put them in.
- 7:12We need spaces to bring those people
- 7:14inside.
- 7:14For people who are experiencing
- 7:16homelessness, this plan is a first
- 7:18step in helping to get people off
- 7:19the street.
- 7:20Tony Carter, who has been
- 7:21experiencing homelessness since
- 7:232019, says the city should do
- 7:24more to help the people who need it.
- 7:26You go around here and you think,
- 7:28you know, all the people that's here
- 7:30in Austin, you would think someone,
- 7:32or they would have enough resources
- 7:34to...
- 7:39People that is out here,
- 7:40you know, but Austin do not have
- 7:42that.
- 7:43He says one of the biggest issues is
- 7:44the city's lack of safe places for
- 7:46people to sleep.
- 7:48Over the last seven years, Carter
- 7:49has been in and out of homeless
- 7:50camps and rapid rehousing, which
- 7:52provides a rent subsidy.
- 7:54He was doing this while trying to
- 7:55hold down a job, but nothing has
- 7:57quite worked.
- 7:58While unhoused and living in camps
- 8:00over the last couple of years, he
- 8:02has been swept out so many times
- 8:04he's lost valuables, belongings,
- 8:06and even pets.
- 8:07They're gonna keep kicking us out,
- 8:09sweeping us.
- 8:10We need housing, we
- 8:12really do, because
- 8:14you kicking people out that don't
- 8:16have a place to go.
- 8:18We need the resources, we need
- 8:21parliament-supported housing.
- 8:25A place where we
- 8:28can go get help.
- 8:29And not just any help, meaningful
- 8:31help, people who work at the center
- 8:33that make them matter and feel safe
- 8:35and who care about the cause.
- 8:37A lot of people, they'll go to the
- 8:38shelters, but they ain't gonna stay.
- 8:41Cuz the employees don't know how to
- 8:43treat the people for
- 8:45more. Thank you very much.
- 8:48Restroom or facilities,
- 8:51whatever, you know, all messed up
- 8:52and you got nobody cleaning.
- 8:54Or if they is cleaning, they have
- 8:56cleaning them, you know,
- 8:58and then you got people's stuff
- 8:59getting stolen there and all that.
- 9:01The plan aims to address those
- 9:03concerns by establishing standards
- 9:05at shelters, including staff
- 9:06training, and service expectations
- 9:08like food quality.
- 9:10As the City looks to adopt and
- 9:12implement the plan, Gray says the
- 9:13City will be leaning on its
- 9:15community partners to help bring
- 9:16some of these needs to fruition,
- 9:18especially as the City navigates
- 9:19budget constraints.
- 9:21One of those partners will be the
- 9:22Ending Community Homelessness
- 9:23Coalition, or ECHO.
- 9:25The organization recently announced
- 9:27a new program called Right at Home
- 9:28that will provide financial
- 9:30assistance to more than 1,000
- 9:31families in Austin.
- 9:33Ashley Hamilton is the manager for
- 9:35the new program.
- 9:36She says the goal is to keep people
- 9:37housed by stepping in before they
- 9:39hit a crisis point.
- 9:40And when we talk about a person
- 9:42being able to
- 9:44have income, well, in order for them
- 9:46to have income, they need to be able
- 9:48to get to their car.
- 9:49Maybe their car broke down.
- 9:52They need to able to pay for the
- 9:53repairs. That all contributes to
- 9:55them staying housed.
- 9:56If they can't get to work, they can
- 9:57pay their rent. If they pay their
- 9:58own rent, then eventually the
- 10:00eviction
- 10:01process comes in.
- 10:02She says the same could apply to
- 10:04child care costs or medical care.
- 10:06Hamilton says her organization and
- 10:08others are doing everything they can
- 10:10to help people, but they are at a
- 10:11turning point and hopefully this
- 10:13new plan will help guide them.
- 10:15We are now stepping into
- 10:17a time where we're acknowledging
- 10:19that our current kind
- 10:21of system isn't working
- 10:23to the best that we think
- 10:25that it could be.
- 10:26And it may take us to do some things
- 10:28a little bit differently in
- 10:30order to really achieve
- 10:32the goals.
- 10:33Tony Carter says all this work is
- 10:35good, but he hopes the city plan is
- 10:37thorough enough to help the people
- 10:38who really need it, because there
- 10:40are still thousands living unhoused
- 10:42in Austin.
- 10:44I'm Luz Moreno Lozano in Austin
- 10:47And now some sad news to share
- 10:49that happened since we were last on
- 10:51the airwaves with you.
- 10:53John D. Graham died on Friday.
- 10:55His musical career started when he
- 10:57left behind the classrooms and
- 10:59student life here at UT Austin to
- 11:00join the Skunks.
- 11:02The band would go on to open for
- 11:03seminal acts like Ramones and The
- 11:06Clash and were inducted into the
- 11:07Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
- 11:11Graham would move on from the group
- 11:12and link up with many other artists
- 11:14including Luanne Barton, Kelly
- 11:16Willis, and Patti Griffin.
- 11:17And Graham joined forces with
- 11:19Alejandro Escovedo in the band True
- 11:21Believers.
- 11:22And yet, many Austinites will
- 11:24remember him for his solo work
- 11:26and his regular presence at the
- 11:28Continental Club on South Congress.
- 11:30Our friend Lori Gallardo from KUTX
- 11:33said Graham's songs would quote,
- 11:34connect to the soul in ways you
- 11:36didn't think possible.
- 11:39We're gonna have a link to a Studio
- 11:401A performance that Graham did back
- 11:42in 2016 in today's
- 11:44show notes.
- 11:45John D. Graham was 67
- 11:47years old.
- 11:53Little Adaloo-Bee-Loo
- 12:01This is Austin Signal, welcome
- 12:03back.
- 12:04We could debate all day long
- 12:06about whether Austin is still
- 12:08weird, but sometimes it
- 12:10is undeniable.
- 12:11We got a question for KUT's ATXplain
- 12:14project about a person whose whole
- 12:16thing is getting noticed.
- 12:19KUT's Matt Largey has the
- 12:21story.
- 12:22Ardiabello doesn't remember exactly
- 12:24when he first saw him.
- 12:26It was a few years ago.
- 12:27He and his wife were living in South
- 12:29Austin.
- 12:29They were driving through the
- 12:31intersection at South First and
- 12:32Barton Springs Road.
- 12:34We notice this person dancing,
- 12:37rapping, having the time of their
- 12:38lives, and it appears to be a young
- 12:40gentleman not doing anything wrong,
- 12:42not bothering anybody.
- 12:43They'd go through this area a lot.
- 12:44Let's see them again.
- 12:46I would say close to 90.
- 12:47Percent of the time we drive by.
- 12:49Same corner every time,
- 12:51looking like he's having the time of
- 12:53his life every time.
- 12:55In a city known for its characters,
- 12:57this man stood out.
- 12:59It didn't look like he was just
- 13:00hanging out on a street corner.
- 13:02There was no sign plugging his
- 13:04Instagram, no Venmo code
- 13:05asking for money.
- 13:07Could it be a dude who
- 13:09was just genuinely out there?
- 13:12We were just interested, how are you
- 13:13having such a great time?
- 13:15And I'm sure some other people
- 13:16wonder, what are you up to?
- 13:18So Artie asked A.T.
- 13:20To explain about him, and one
- 13:21evening, I went to go find out.
- 13:29This is my spot.
- 13:30When you come here, you will see
- 13:31the.
- 13:31Man, he gets there a little after
- 13:335 p.m.
- 13:34And time for rush hour.
- 13:36He's wearing something that will
- 13:38attract your attention He looks
- 13:39pretty sharp.
- 13:40He'll stay all evening dancing
- 13:42singing rapping waving
- 13:44By now, everybody know I'm not
- 13:46crazy. But if they didn't know,
- 13:47let me just go ahead and answer that
- 13:48question too. I'm now crazy.
- 13:51I'm nowhere near crazy.
- 13:52His name is Broderick Cornelius
- 13:55James, Jr.
- 13:56AKA Primetime
- 13:58King, AKA Positive Thinking King,
- 14:00P.O.
- 14:01WEIRD!
- 14:03He says he's out on this corner more
- 14:05than 300 days a year.
- 14:07A lot of what he does is more like
- 14:09pantomime.
- 14:09The microphone that he holds doesn't
- 14:11do anything.
- 14:12It's just a prop.
- 14:13He raps or sings along with the
- 14:14music in his headphones.
- 14:16At times, he seems lost in
- 14:18the performance.
- 14:19It's an actual unofficial show,
- 14:21not a real show, like, but it's an
- 14:22actually unofficial show that people
- 14:24are actually invited
- 14:26into the show with me standing at
- 14:28the red light.
- 14:29He calls it Invisible Theater.
- 14:31Invisible theater means everybody
- 14:34is my audience.
- 14:35If they spend a moment or five
- 14:37or two minutes, I
- 14:39got two minutes to impress.
- 14:41So in that two minutes I might get
- 14:43a couple people who will look my
- 14:45way, that's the audience.
- 14:46Every few minutes, someone stops at
- 14:48the light, rolls down their window,
- 14:49and shouts at him.
- 14:51These are the moments when Broderick
- 14:52really comes alive.
- 14:53What's up, man?
- 14:56I love you, man.
- 15:01He got somebody in the car.
- 15:03Broderick is 46 years old.
- 15:06He grew up in Atlanta, joined the
- 15:07army, got married, had kids.
- 15:10Things went downhill about 20 years
- 15:11ago. His marriage fell apart.
- 15:13He went to jail.
- 15:15He was having mental health
- 15:15problems.
- 15:17Things were really bad.
- 15:18I wanna kill myself, right?
- 15:20I wanna commit suicide or whatever
- 15:22the word is.
- 15:23He spent some time in psychiatric
- 15:24treatment.
- 15:25A doctor there gave him some advice.
- 15:27She told me, you gotta find
- 15:29a way to replace your
- 15:31pain and what you went through to
- 15:32make you wanna do that.
- 15:34You gotta find something in the
- 15:36community to do or in the world
- 15:37to do that can make you feel just
- 15:39like that pain made you feel
- 15:41in reverse.
- 15:44He did find something.
- 15:46If you've been around Austin long
- 15:47enough, you might remember, because
- 15:49this is not the first intersection
- 15:51he's been a fixture at.
- 15:52No, no it's not.
- 15:53It's not the first. Everybody know
- 15:55me from being on the other side of
- 15:56town in North Austin.
- 15:57Specifically, the intersection of
- 15:59Lamar and Runberg.
- 16:01For years, Broderick was known as
- 16:03the Runberg Running Man.
- 16:05The Running Man was famous, a
- 16:07mascot for the neighborhood.
- 16:09His superpower was positivity.
- 16:11This is from a short documentary he
- 16:13made about him back in 2013.
- 16:15I turned my community into a place
- 16:16that people want to see somebody be
- 16:18happy. That is the purpose why I'm
- 16:19here. Know what I'm saying?
- 16:20At the end of the day.
- 16:23Look at this.
- 16:25When everybody said it was negative,
- 16:27we turned it into something good.
- 16:30But over time, it became more than
- 16:31just running and dancing.
- 16:33People wanted him to be more of a
- 16:35leader to solve their problems,
- 16:37and he got burned out.
- 16:39I feel like they made me king,
- 16:41Martin King of that.
- 16:42Like up there, I became like
- 16:43somebody I never wanted to
- 16:45be.
- 16:46I never want to be the actor.
- 16:47He was more interested
- 16:50in being an artist.
- 16:52Plus he says the corner started
- 16:54to get more dangerous.
- 16:55Broderick put ten years into being
- 16:57the running man.
- 16:58And then he stopped.
- 17:00Then he left.
- 17:01Even though I left Rumburg, I had to
- 17:03replace it with another corner.
- 17:05Like, I could not just leave
- 17:06Rumburgh and not have, I have to
- 17:08find another corner, had to, because
- 17:10this is my lifeline.
- 17:13In 2022, Broderick moved
- 17:15to an apartment in South Austin.
- 17:17One day, he came out to Barton
- 17:19Springs in South First.
- 17:20He stood on the northeast corner,
- 17:22looked out at the intersection, and
- 17:24he knew this was the place.
- 17:26I saw this as my sanctuary and
- 17:29I was like, this is where I'm
- 17:31going to perform until I die.
- 17:35If The Rendered Running Man was
- 17:36about inspiring a community,
- 17:39Bradwick's new character isn't too
- 17:40far off.
- 17:41If The Running Man is Martin Luther
- 17:43King, he says this version
- 17:45is the spiritual descendant
- 17:47of Leslie Cochran.
- 17:48We know Leslie is the king or slash
- 17:49queen of weird.
- 17:51So let me be the kingpin.
- 17:53I'ma be the other side.
- 17:54I'm gonna be the part of the corn.
- 17:56Leslie was, of course, the
- 17:57cross-dressing, thong-wearing icon
- 17:59of Austin weirdness in the late 90s
- 18:01and 2000s.
- 18:03He died in 2012.
- 18:04I honor the king,
- 18:06he's the peak.
- 18:08You can't have anything without a
- 18:09foundation.
- 18:10I'm on his foundation.
- 18:11This is weird Austin, this is Leslie
- 18:13Austin, and I'll get a chance to
- 18:15continue his legacy.
- 18:19As I watch Broderick do his thing,
- 18:21a couple of teenage boys tear up to
- 18:23him on these electric bikes.
- 18:26At first, I think they're going to
- 18:27give him a hard time, but then
- 18:29the high fives start going up.
- 18:33And it's clear that they came here
- 18:35to see him, to joke around, to
- 18:36say hi.
- 18:37He's a fixture in their lives.
- 18:39It's the idea of
- 18:42where I was when I wanted
- 18:44to commit, to not live anymore.
- 18:47Once I got free,
- 18:49this became like
- 18:51the freedom.
- 18:52So for me, to be out here is
- 18:54to wave to everybody, to say what's
- 18:56up to everybody because this to
- 18:58me is my family.
- 18:59And just like family, it's not
- 19:01always fun.
- 19:02Some days he just doesn't have the
- 19:03energy. But he still comes out,
- 19:05gives it the energy he does have.
- 19:07Because you never know when someone
- 19:09is gonna need what you're putting
- 19:11out there.
- 19:12Everybody is looking for something,
- 19:14you know what I'm saying? I don't know
- 19:15what it is, maybe it's love, it's
- 19:17peace, a friendship, a connection.
- 19:19I'm not saying I'm giving them what
- 19:20they're looking for, but I'm giving
- 19:22them something that I guess to make
- 19:24them say, maybe this is enough
- 19:26like to keep going, because that's
- 19:28what the world want.
- 19:29People want to be encouraged.
- 19:31Give them a reason not to give up.
- 19:34But there's a danger to doing any
- 19:35kind of public performance, at least
- 19:37as Broderick sees it.
- 19:39There's no doubt he's charismatic.
- 19:40He radiates confidence and
- 19:42positivity.
- 19:43Just spending a few hours with him
- 19:44makes you want to be a better
- 19:46neighbor.
- 19:47For the Running Man, that meant
- 19:48people wanted more from him.
- 19:50He felt like they wanted him to
- 19:52fight their battles, to be the
- 19:54activist.
- 19:55Here on the other side of town,
- 19:57he says people wonder why he's
- 19:59out here on the street.
- 20:00Doesn't he want to be more
- 20:02than this?
- 20:03He tells me about a time when a
- 20:04woman in fancy business clothes
- 20:06stopped and asked him, is there
- 20:07anything she could do to help him
- 20:09become more?
- 20:11How could she help him fulfill his
- 20:13vision?
- 20:14And at the time, he didn't know what
- 20:16to say.
- 20:17He didn't have an answer.
- 20:18But he kept thinking about it.
- 20:21If she came back and asked that
- 20:22question, I'm no longer clueless.
- 20:25The answer would be no.
- 20:27There's nothing she can do to help
- 20:28me.
- 20:30He's already living the dream.
- 20:32The vision, he says, is
- 20:34already realized.
- 20:35I don't want this
- 20:37life-changing,
- 20:40aha, revelational
- 20:42message of what I'm trying
- 20:44to do for the world and
- 20:46Nobel Peace Prize, no.
- 20:48We've already reached that
- 20:50already.
- 20:51This is it.
- 20:53This is what you get.
- 20:58It sounds simple.
- 20:59Show up in the same corner almost
- 21:00every day.
- 21:02Give folks who come by a wave or a
- 21:03high five.
- 21:04Put on a show for people who are
- 21:06late for dinner.
- 21:07People resting to pick up their
- 21:08kids.
- 21:09People who avoid making eye contact.
- 21:11Make them smile.
- 21:12Help them chill out at the red
- 21:13light.
- 21:14Let them know weirdness is
- 21:16still alive.
- 21:18In a city where people want you to
- 21:19be more, be bigger,
- 21:22maybe the invisible theater.
- 21:25I love the smallness of
- 21:27my name, not making
- 21:29it bigger than it needs to be.
- 21:31You got the stars for big.
- 21:34I want to be small,
- 21:36compact. You can pull up on me and
- 21:38say you love me like you do.
- 21:39That's what I want.
- 21:50I'm Matt Largey in Austin.
- 21:54If you or someone you know is
- 21:56experiencing thoughts of suicide,
- 21:58the 988 Suicide and
- 22:00Crisis Lifeline offers 24-7
- 22:03support.
- 22:04That story was originally part
- 22:06of our most recent AT Explain live
- 22:08show. Our next show, show
- 22:10number 10 with brand new stories,
- 22:12is coming up on May 21st at Bass
- 22:14Concert Hall.
- 22:15You can get tickets at
- 22:16TexasPerformingArts.org.
- 22:19One last thing before we get you out
- 22:21of here today, the Texas women's
- 22:23basketball team will play this
- 22:24evening for a spot in their second
- 22:26consecutive final four.
- 22:28The 1C Longhorns will face
- 22:30Michigan with tip-off scheduled for
- 22:31six o'clock.
- 22:32The win tonight would send the Horns
- 22:34to Phoenix for another game on
- 22:35Friday night against UCLA.
- 22:39That is it for today's show.
- 22:41Thank you for starting off the week
- 22:42here with us.
- 22:43You can find more about us
- 22:45at kut.org
- 22:47slash signal.
- 22:49Rayna Sevilla is our technical
- 22:51director and Kristin Cabrera is
- 22:53our managing producer.
- 22:54I'm your host Jerry Quijano.
- 22:56We will talk to you tomorrow.