Is Houston Academy for International Studies right for you? Contact Principal Melissa Jacobs-Thibaut at mjacobs1@houstonisd.org or 713-942-3340 for more information or to arrange a personal appointment.
You can download applications for the Houston Academy for International Studies by clicking here.
Opened in August of 2006, the Houston Academy for International Studies is a joint venture of The Asia Society, Houston A+ Challenge, Houston ISD and Houston Community College System. The school opened with the 9th grade and will add a grade each year through 12th.
The four groups created this new model school to both prepare students for college and develop their international knowledge and understanding of world cultures.
Ms. Jacobs-Thibaut is a professional administrator, educator and community development specialist with 13 years of urban and international teaching, teacher training and leadership experience. Between 1996 and 2001, she worked for the United States Peace Corps on assignment in Cape Verde and Mozambique. Since 2001, she was the Instructional Coordinator and Charter Manager at Cage Elementary School/Project Chrysalis Middle School in Houston.
“Asia Society is proud to embark on this exciting new partnership with Houston, an international city that is a perfect match for an international studies high school," said Dr. Anthony Jackson, Asia Society.
The Houston Academy for International Studies is a small school, with no more than 400 students in grades 9 through 12, located on the Houston Community College System Central Campus. The school emphasizes a personalized learning environment with each student assigned to a staff advisor. In addition to the Houston ISD core curriculum, students complete a global studies program. They also will complete at least four years of foreign languages, two service-learning experiences, an internship program, and a Senior Project concerning international topics. Initial languages offered will include Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.
Asia Society, supported by a generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has established the first national network of urban secondary schools devoted to international studies and world languages. The model schools will provide a rigorous, engaging education to prepare them for college, the changing workforce, and the contemporary world.
In Houston, Asia Society will fund a one-year planning grant specifically for the International High School worth $55,000 and anticipates donating up to $400,000 in direct and indirect support over a three-year period to initiate the school. Houston A+ Challenge will further contribute up to $600,000 in grants and indirect costs.
The awards are part of the Houston ISD strategy in partnership with Houston A+ Challenge to create a system of high schools that provides students with a variety of options to earn a degree. These options include early college schools, small high schools, magnet schools, International Baccalaureate schools, comprehensive schools, a college preparatory school, and a newcomers school, in addition to the International High School.
Called Houston Schools for a New Society, Houston ISD embarked on the initiative to create a system of high schools three years ago. Funding for HSNS comes from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Houston A+ Challenge.
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