AUSTIN, Texas—Austin educator Ramona Treviño has been appointed principal of the new University of Texas Elementary Charter School scheduled to open in August 2003 in East Austin.
Treviño, the principal at Zilker Elementary School in the Austin Independent School District, has more than 20 years experience as an educator. She will begin her new job on June 1.
Under Treviño’s leadership, Zilker Elementary progressed in the Texas rating system from acceptable (1998 and before) to recognized (1999 and 2000), to exemplary (2001 and 2002) and has been designated as a Texas and National Blue Ribbon School. Zilker Elementary also was rated in the November issue of Texas Monthly magazine as a five-star school based on the “Just for the Kids” criteria.
Treviño also is a student in The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education, where she is working toward her doctor’s degree. She has been an administrator in the Austin Independent School District for 17 years, but also has worked as an educator in the Hays Consolidated School District, the Klein School District, the Department of Defense Schools and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She received her master’s degree in education from The University of Texas at Austin in 1986 and her bachelor’s degree in education from Wheelock College in Boston. Her areas of specialization include special education, early childhood and school leadership. Trevino also served in the U.S. Army Reserves and is a mother of two sons, Robert and Paul Treviño.
“Ramona Treviño was selected from a strong field of more than 80 candidates,” said Ed Sharpe, vice chancellor for educational alignment at the University of Texas System. “With vision, experience and contagious enthusiasm, she will provide exemplary leadership as the school’s founding principal.”
“Creating a demonstration school which integrates current research from the university into instructional practice has endless possibilities for providing a model of success for the state of Texas and the nation,” Treviño said. “I am committed to the success of students who enroll in the school and in building community with their families.”
Dr. Pat Forgione, superintendent of the Austin Independent School District, said, “Ms. Treviño is an outstanding educator who cares deeply about children. She did an exceptional job at Zilker Elementary School. We wish her continued success.”
Dr. Sheldon Ekland-Olson, executive vice president and provost at The University of Texas at Austin, said, “We are absolutely delighted that Ramona Treviño will be our first principal. She brings a remarkable combination of commitment to children and well focused, intelligent planning to ensure the success of the school in its inaugural years.”
The Texas Elementary Charter School in the 2200 block of East 6th Street will operate as an open-enrollment charter school campus and will not discriminate in any manner on the basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, or academic, artistic or athletic ability. The charter school will serve students living in the area east of Interstate 35, south of U.S. Highway 290, west of U.S. Highway 183 and north of State Highway 71.
Treviño will attend a reception and information meeting from 6-8 p.m., April 10 in the Conley-Guerrero Activity Center, 808 Nile St. to better acquaint East Austin parents with the new school and the application process.
The charter school will serve pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade students during its first year of operation. Second grade will be added the following year, with another grade added each year until the school includes grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. This fall, the school is projected to have 18 to 20 students in each pre-kindergarten section and 20 to 22 students per section in kindergarten and first grade. The school is expected to open with about 120 students and eventually serve 300 students.
The school’s community awareness and student enrollment effort is led by Dr. Robert Galvan, assistant vice president for the Office of School Relations at The University of Texas at Austin.
At the information meeting on April 10, parents will have the opportunity to complete a general information sheet and student names will be placed in the applicant pool. The admissions process for the charter school is prescribed by state law. If the number of students who apply for a grade level exceeds capacity, a lottery will be held on April 28 to determine which students are admitted to that grade. Those individuals not selected will be placed on a waiting list. If capacity exceeds the number of students who apply, all applicants for the grade will be admitted on April 28 and recruitment for additional students will continue.
This demonstration school is committed to serving the individual needs of a diverse population of elementary students in East Austin. Teachers will implement a variety of instructional practices that are based on scientific research in the field of education, such as reading programming based on research conducted by the Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts and the groundbreaking study of the National Center for Educational Accountability, which identifies successful math programming in high performing schools serving disadvantaged students.
For more information contact: Dr. Robert Galvan, Office of School Relations, 512-475-6064, or Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
