Governing and Advisory Boards

The University of Texas-University Charter School Governing and Advisory Boards

The Sponsoring Entity and Charter Holder of the University of Texas-University Charter School (UT-UCS) is The University of Texas at Austin. The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System is the Governing Body for UT-UCS. The members of the Board of Regents are listed here.

Responsibility for oversight and supervision of the charter school has been delegated from the President to Dean of the College of Education.

Members of the Advisory Board

Jennifer W. Maedgen, Ph.D. – Chair
Claire Alvarado, Ph.D. – Member
Eboni Calbow, Ph.D. – Member
Nathan Clemens, Ph.D. – Member
Vanessa Davila – Member
Cynthia Franklin Ph.D. – Member
Jane Gray, Ph.D. – Member
Suzon Kemp – Member
Judith Loredo, Ph.D. – Member
Christine Nishimura – Member
Nicole Whetstone, Ph.D., Superintendent – Non-Voting
Melissa M. Chavez, Ph.D., Executive Director – Non-Voting

About the Advisory Board:

The Advisory Board of the University of Texas-University Charter School is appointed by the President of the University of Texas at Austin to advise and make recommendations to the Dean of the College of Education on matters related to the management, operation, and accountability of UT-UCS that include but are not limited to:

Implementation and evaluation of long and short term policy and programs of UT-UCS to assure its continuous improvement and educational excellence;
The annual operating and capital budgets;
Recruitment and selection of Superintendent candidates; recommendation of finalists to the CEO;
Generation of Advisory Board nominees; recommendations of new Board appointees to the CEO;
Monthly monitoring of budgets to identify and explore significant variances;
Facility contracts, Student Information Guide, and the Student Code of Conduct;
The annual external audit of UT-UCS financial statements;
Review and make recommendations concerning the annual report submitted to the President of The University of Texas at Austin;
Review parental grievances that the Superintendent is unable to resolve at the school level; and
Review and/or make recommendations concerning any other reports or items required by state or federal law.

All members of the Advisory Board are expected to attend monthly Advisory Board meetings. All members of the Advisory Board are required to participate in training as required by Chap. 100, Sec. 100.1102 of the Commissioner’s Rules.

Board Meetings

The Advisory Board shall meet every other month unless the Advisory Board Chair, in consultation with the Superintendent, determines a meeting is unnecessary. Written notices of all meetings stating the date, place, agenda, and time shall be sent by UT-UCS administrative staff to each member of the Board prior to such meetings. All Advisory Board meeting occur at 11:30 am at The University of Texas Elementary School on the following dates:

August 6, 2025
October 1, 2025
January 21, 2026
March 4, 2026
April 1, 2026

Citizen Comments

Email requests to make comments to: rmicks@austin.utexas.edu no later than 11:00 AM on the day of the meeting.

Parent or Guardian Comments

In accordance with Education Code 26.0071, parents or guardians of enrolled students may submit comments or concerns to campus administration for the board through the internet portal below.

Parent Portal Feedback Form

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas will be posted 72 hours prior to meetings as required by the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code § 551.056(b). The only exception is for emergency meetings when notice must be posted not less than 2 hours prior to the meeting, Texas Government Code § 551.045.

Meeting minutes will be posted prior to the next scheduled meeting.

Past board meeting agendas and minutes are archived in The University of Texas Box and are available via this link.