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Govalle-Johnston Terrace neighborhood in East Austin is a community struggling daily to live, learn and succeed. The neighborhood has a poverty rate more than two times higher than the rest of Austin and unemployment rate three times higher than the whole of Austin. 1 in 10 children ages 10-17 are on parole or probation, versus 1 in 100 throughout the rest of Austin. Fifty-seven percent of adults over the age of 25 in the neighborhood did not graduate from high school. In 2010, twenty-nine percent of students who persisted in their education through their senior year at the neighborhood public high school, East Side Memorial Green Tech High, failed to graduate. More than 90% of children in the Govalle-Johnston Terrace community are considered economically disadvantaged. There is no neighborhood ISD middle school; forcing students to be bussed to other area middle schools.
East Austin College Prep (EAPrep) [7] is an open-enrollment charter school located in the Govalle-Johnston Terrace neighborhood. The school was founded as collaborative community effort to bring a middle school back to the neighborhood. EAPrep provides a rigorous college preparatory educational model with an intensive science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum focus. In addition to the advanced curriculum, EAPrep provides comprehensive wrap-around social and educational support services to improve educational achievement outcomes and foster the healthy development of their students. EAPrep has worked to engage the entire community in the success of its students and has established a foundation to bring positive socio-economic change to the Govalle-Johnston Terrace neighborhood.
In this video series, East Austin College Prep [7] Superintendent Dr. Joseph Gonzales (Dr. G), students, teachers and community members discuss how this unique charter school is changing lives, driving students to success and providing a blueprint for turning the tide on underperforming schools in distressed communities.