Austin, TX—Tonight, the Austin Independent School District’s Board of Trustees voted to approve Talent Development Secondary, a program of Johns Hopkins University, as the district’s partner to lead school improvement at Eastside Memorial High School.

An evaluation committee, composed of community members, parents and educational leaders, recommended Talent Development Secondary as the partnering entity to lead school improvement at Eastside Memorial. The committee members evaluated and scored five proposals from potential local and national partners; and they selected two educational organizations to deliver public presentations in April. After the presentations, the committee made its final recommendation to the district. In the recommendation, the committee noted that comments submitted at the community meeting also favored the Talent Development Secondary presentation.

Once the contract between AISD and Talent Development Secondary is negotiated and approved, the district will submit the partner to the Texas Education Agency as required under the reconstitution plan for Eastside Memorial High School. The TEA required the district to develop a reconstitution plan after the school was rated academically unacceptable for several years. Any revisions to the reconstitution and improvement plans, including the partnering entity, are subject to the TEA commissioner’s acceptance and may impact whether the board executes the agreement. The TEA commissioner is expected to make a decision by the end of the school year.

For more information, including the request for proposals process and the potential partners’ presentations, please visit http://www.austinisd.org/community/eastside-memorial.