INSIDE Women in Business
WEST SIDE STORIES Barbara Morgan
Pages 16-18
PLACES TO GO Around the Neighborhood
INSIDE Philanthropy Spotlight Page 9
Pages 2-3
Page 4
VOLUME 39 ISSUE 4 - SINCE 1986
Casis alumnae Sarah Douglas Ford and Sarah Hawthorne Cain, former Casis 2nd grade teacher Bonnie Cross, Casis alumnae Katie Case and Stephanie McDonald Edgar, and former Casis principal Amy Kinkade
W E S TA U S T I N N E W S . C O M
A Casis 5th grade Dance Through the Decades number
APRIL 23, 2026
AISD superintendent Matias Segura and trustee Lynn Boswell with Casis PTA president Laurie Pompa
Casis alumni Whitney May Knight, J. Pieratt, Sarah Hawthorne Cain, and Rob Pieratt
Casis Elementary celebrates 75 years By Alana Moehring Mallard Casis Elementary celebrated its big anniversary — 75 years — on March 5 with a student program of dancing to music popular through the decades, an alumni reception for former students and staff, and an evening community celebration on the Casis Quad. Casis is named for Josephine and Lelia Casis, sisters and longtime educators at UT and Palm Elementary. The school opened on March 5, 1951, during the 1951-52 school year. “The strength of Casis lies in its connections,” AISD superintendent Matias Segura said during the celebration. “It lies in parents volunteering their time, and y’all have volunteered lots of times.” During a program in the auditorium, principal Sam Tinnon took the students through Casis questions of namesake and colors and mascot, with the student body roaring back to him their colors of blue and white, their cougar mascot, and their namesakes, Josephine and Leila Casis. The Casis 75th Anniversary committee included April Allen, Chelsea Combs, Paige Davis, Courtney Ewing, Ashley Hollmig, Dora Lee Little, Jinx
Casis students Lucy Stitt, Elise Allen
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Casis principal Sam Tinnon
P HO T O S C OU RT E SY O F Casis principal Sam Tinnon with former Casis principal Amy Kinkade
Casis alumnus Reid Umstattd
KAT I E R OM A N O
Casis students, faculty and staff, and parents form a giant 75
Former Casis staff and teachers, front, Anne Ostartiki, Jennifer Vail, Barbara Nichols, Amy Kinkade, Martha Oliver, Patti Hirsh, Charlotte Nacozy; back, Sandy Candler, Jo Cornwell, Farrell Robertson, Bonnie Cross
Casis 75th Anniversary school-wide assembly
Casis kindergartners Dance Through the Decades Performance – 1960s
Casis 2nd grade students dancing to ’80s music
Casis 5th graders Dance Through the Decades
Principal Sam Tinnon with Casis staff and alumni at the alumni reception
Maurer, Sarah Mendez, Laurie Pompa, Jessica Pieratt, Katie Romano, Sam Tinnon, and Lindsey Victoria.
Casis alumni, parents, and students view Casis history at the alumni reception
Casis 5th grade teacher Derek Springer, Casis student Madeline Pieratt, Casis alumnus Bo Jenkins
Casis students Lucy Stitt, Elise Allen
Heather and Bobby Chesne
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Casis 2nd grade students Sawyer Davis, Ellie Richardson, Annie Hollmig, Rooney Emery, Eden Davidson, Maggie Coover, and Sloane Jaeschke
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