UT Austin & the Turnaround Partnership Initiative

UT Austin plays a vital role in the UT System Partnership Initiative

About Austin ISD

Austin ISD is the largest urban school district in Central Texas and the fifth-largest district in the entire state, servicing over 80,000 students in Travis County, in one of the fastest-growing metroplexes in the country. The District has 130 campuses with 5,541 teachers serving within Austin ISD. The District serves a 52.4% economically disadvantaged population, in which 55.5% of students are hispanic and 7.1% of students are African-American. Additionally, 27.1% of students are English Language Learners and 12.1% are enrolled in Special Education programs.

Partnership Focus

Austin ISD serves very diverse communities throughout Travis County.

Every year, Austin ISD hires a number of first year teachers to service students across the district. Induction support is critical to ensure that new teachers continue to grow in their practice and feel supported by the district. Additionally, induction support to new teachers is critical to ensure positive student outcomes. With this in mind, the University of Texas at Austin and Austin ISD have partnered up in order to support these new teachers through mentorship, online professional development resources, and research to inform best practices related to induction. UT Austin has committed to providing:

  • 25 new to profession teachers with a coach
  • Coaching support using the Coaching with CARE framework
  • Research-based online resources supporting teacher’s continued professional growth
  • Additional tools to develop teachers into strong teacher leaders

Campus Statistics & Community Description

%

Economically Disadvantaged

%

English Language Learners

Fifth-largest school district in Texas with over 80,000 students
  • Hispanic 55.5% 55.5%
  • Economically Disadvantaged 52.4% 52.4%
  • SPED Students 12.1% 12.1%
  • African-American 7.1% 7.1%

Partnership Goals

Develop/complement initiatives that serve the mutual needs of the University and District

Build capacity around issues of equity and inclusion

Conduct collaborative research

Challenges & Lessons Learned

Communicating with a wide variety of stakeholders and ensuring representation of said stakeholders in the decision-making process

Communication across two very large organizations

Creating support systems at the district level that support more autonomous initiatives at the campus level