Joslin Elementary School and Travis Graduation Preparatory Academy will see new opportunities to thrive thanks to a combined $1.7 million in Texas Education Agency grants. 

Joslin will expand language programming to become a foreign language academy. Travis GPA will expand hours for learning and offer the benefits of traditional and non-traditional high schools.

Joslin Foreign Language Elementary School 

Students across Central Texas will now have the opportunity to learn English, Mandarin and Spanish at Joslin Elementary after the campus received the $850,000 School Action Fund Grant from TEA.

Joslin is an open-enrollment campus in Austin ISD, which allows students from across the region to enroll and benefit from the innovative program.

The TEA grant funds, combined with strategic partnerships with the Austin Asian-American community, will allow Joslin to transition into a new academic model including a foreign language elementary school program.

The program is the first of its kind in South Austin. It will offer a foreign language experience that exposes students to Chinese culture and Mandarin Chinese while continuing primary courses in English and/or Spanish. It also includes a Mandarin immersion program, in which students will use Mandarin and English throughout their learning experience in core content areas. Joslin Elementary Principal Chaolin Chang is fluent in Mandarin and was successful in building a Mandarin immersion program at the Mandarin Immersion Magnet School in Houston Independent School District.

For more information and to enroll in the Joslin program, please email Joslin School Improvement Facilitator Karen Torres at karen.torres@austinisd.org.

Travis GPA

Students in Austin ISD and surrounding high schools will now have another option to earn their high school diploma and beyond. The Travis Graduation Preparatory Academy will be opening its doors for the 2020-21 school year, made possible with an $850,000 School Action Fund implementation grant. 

Academic offerings include dual credit, student sharing, college visits, Pre-AP/AP courses, End Of Course and college entrance exam prep, and options to participate in athletics at the student's home school. 

The mission of the school is devoted to offering students personalized pathways to graduation through a self-paced curriculum in conjunction with options for flexible attendance. In addition, the campus will operate on a year-round schedule, allowing students to earn high school credits and industry-based certifications. The campus will be open from 8:30 am - 6:30 pm to support a variety of students' scheduling needs. 

Additionally, through restorative practices, the campus' dedicated faculty and staff will provide a supportive and structured learning environment to meet each student's personal, academic and social-emotional needs by building community and fostering positive relationships.

About TEA School Action Fund

The grants were distributed through the TEA's School Action Fund. The fund helps districts create new and improved learning environments in Title I comprehensive or targeted schools that substantially increase student achievement, according to TEA.