The University of Texas Elementary School’s fifth graders will attend their completion ceremony and banquet on Wednesday, May 26 at 6 p.m., at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center, 2110 San Jacinto Blvd. Several of these fifth graders have attended the school since Pre-Kindergarten.
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent, vice president for diversity and community engagement and the Honorable Mark Strama, Texas House of Representatives will speak at the ceremony.
Many of the students will attend East Austin College Preparatory Academy in the fall; others will attend magnet programs or their neighborhood designated Austin ISD middle school.
Principal Mary Ledbetter explains “We work very hard to get our students thinking about the future of their academic careers, with college in the long-term and middle school in the more immediate future. At the very beginning of fifth grade, we help facilitate the application process by holding parent information sessions, organizing presentations from the middle schools, and giving our students the tools they need to submit successful applications.”
As a research-based demonstration school, UT Elementary takes research from various departments at The University of Texas at Austin and applies it in the classroom. The goals of the school are to provide provide a demonstration site for best practices in teaching and learning for urban elementary schools, to serve as a training and development site for the university’s students and to be a model of an exemplary educational program for diverse learners.
UT Elementary School (UTES) is achieving its goals and building a culture of excellence to serve as an example for schools across the state, said UTES Executive Director Melissa Chavez. She said her message for the fifth-grade class of 2010 is “Little Longhorns, go show the world how great you are!”
