***IMPORTANT UPDATE: On July 16th we have another chance to convince the State Board of Education to grant us a charter. Go here for specific ways you can help us succeed!***

Austin Community School (ACS) is a proposed public charter school. Our academic program will incorporate the International Baccalaureate (IB) International Primary Years and Middle Years Programs with Dual Language. ACS’s dual language and IB-trained teachers will instruct both English- and Spanish- speaking children from ages 5-7 in grades K-1. We will progressively add a grade each year until we have a complete K-8 school.

The Primary Years IB curriculum includes language, social studies, mathematics, the arts, science and technology as well as personal, social and physical education. In the early years, students will be taught the majority of the time in Spanish. As they progress through the grades, English becomes more predominant until bilingualism is achieved. The linguistic progression is both engaging and challenging for all students. Research proves that this is the preeminent and most natural method for children to learn languages. The students must be a part of this program for at least five years to achieve full acquisition of both English and Spanish. Furthermore, it has been proven that it takes 5-7 years to become fully bilingual and biliterate. This includes the ability to fluently read, write and speak in both languages.