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Austin Voices launches Northeast Austin Promise Neighborhood initiative in Northeast Vertical Team

(March 6, 2023) As part of the “Campaign for the Future,” Austin Voices announced the launch of a transformational initiative in Northeast Austin called the “Northeast Austin Promise Neighborhood.” Working together with over 40 city, county, AISD, campus, nonprofit and community partners, Promise Neighborhood brings voices together, problem-solve, create new strategies, grow resources and do “whatever it takes” to expand educational and economic equity in the six neighborhoods and 10 schools that lie within the NAPN. This effort is also part of a longer term plan to expand the equity-based community school model to Title 1 schools across Austin’s Eastern Crescent by 2030.

What are community schools? They are schools that are planned by those closest to the students and the community, including teachers, parents and community partners. They work to provide resources to support needs of students and families. They aim high, making sure that the doors are wide open for all students to be college and career ready. They have open doors to parents, partners and volunteers. They provide stable conditions for teachers and students to be at their best. They are equity-focused, making sure that all students have access to programs and enrichment opportunities, matter their situation. They are schools that reduce barriers, improve conditions and increase opportunities for learning.

Three AISD schools that were on the edge of closure (Northeast ECHS, Eastside ECHS and Webb Middle School) have experienced sustained transformation through this model. Martin Middle School, faced with dwindling enrollment because of gentrification, actually expanded its enrollment by 100 students using the community school approach. A national best practice system of family supports has been developed through Family Resource Centers. No other model, including charter schools, can equal this record in AISD.

Click here for an online version of the Northeast Austin Promise Neighborhood Community Guide.

Click here to get involved with the Northeast Austin Promise Neighborhood/Get the latest news.

Check our upcoming events for the next meeting of the St. John Community School Alliance, where Promise Neighborhood partners meet monthly.

 

 

In October 2014, Austin Voices, in partnership with Education Austin, began an innovative project to expand the Community School model from Webb Middle School and Reagan High School (now Northeast ECHS) into the entire Reagan/Northeast feeder pattern/vertical team.

With funding support from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Innovation Fund and the National Education Association (NEA), AVEY worked six campuses on community school planning: Reagan HS, Webb MS, Barrington ES, Brown ES, Hart ES and Pickle ES. Dobie Middle School also began a community school planning process. Under a new grant from the TEA in 2018, AVEY, AISD, AVID and EcoRise are supporting the growth of community schools through the remaining vertical team campuses, calling the joint project NACER.

Planning for first-round schools has included:

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  • Planning dinners for parents, students, teachers and community
  • Focus groups of parents and teachers
  • Monthly planning meeting with partner organizations
  • Monthly meetings of a campus Community School planning team
  • Teacher and parent surveys
  • Comprehensive Family Need Surveys
  • Academic, Behavior and Attendance data
  • Community data, including health, housing, and safety

Webb Middle School will be the first school to present its new Community School plan to the AISD Board of Trustees on Feb. 15, 2016. Other first-round campuses will present during Spring, 2016. See AVEY Events Calendar for upcoming dates.

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More About the Reagan Community School Initiative:

Webb MS Detailed Community School Guide (Campus Improvement Plan 2015-2016)

Coming Soon: Webb MS Detailed Community School Guide (Campus Improvement Plan 2015-’16)