American Youth Works Service Learning Academy (AYW)
1901 E. Ben White Blvd., Austin, TX 78741
512-744-1900; www.American Youth Works.org
Opened: 1996; Enrollment: 116; Grades: 9-12 (ages 16-21)
Sponsoring Entity: American Youth Works
Mission/Philosophy: A fully accredited public high school, the focus of the AYW
Charter School is to “recover youth who have dropped out of school, are at risk of
dropping out, or who are seeking a different way of learning.” AYW was the first
charter school in the U.S. named a National Service Learning Leader School, and
has been recognized as a national model charter school by the U.S. Department of
Education.
Austin Can! Academy Charter School
2406 Rosewood Avenue, Austin, TX 78702
512-477-4226; www.americacan.org
Opened: 2002; Enrollment: 298; Grades: 9-12
Sponsoring Entity: Texans Can!/America Can!
Mission/Philosophy: The focus of the Austin Can! Academy is on “at-risk, 16- to
21-year-old students who have been unsuccessful in traditional educational settings,”
and to “empower young, disadvantaged Texans and their families to break the cycle
of failure, poverty, hopelessness and economic dependency through education and
training.”
Austin Discovery School
8509 FM 969, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78724
512-674-0700 ; www.austindiscoveryschool.org
Opened: 2005; Enrollment: 400; Grades: K- 6
Sponsoring Entity: Our Lady’s Catholic Church
Mission/Philosophy: At Austin Discovery School, “caring, sharing, helping,
and empathizing are actively encouraged. Taking the time to teach children to be
caring individuals is not at the expense of academics, but will enhance academic
success through increasing the student’s comfort level, thereby increasing their
brain’s learning capacity.”
Cedars International Academy
8416 N. Interstate 35, Austin, TX 78753
512-419-1551; www.cedars-academy.org
Opened: 2001; Enrollment: 250; Grades Served: PK- 8
Sponsoring Entity: Our Lady’s Catholic Church
Mission/Philosophy: Public free tuition charter school that offers a small private
school environment in northeast Austin, Cedars International Academy features
small class sizes, low student/teacher ratios, a warm diverse community and
heavy parental involvement. Cedars offers a differentiated curriculum for students
of all ability levels, including accelerated academic programs to match student
readiness. In addition to traditional academic subjects, students receive instruction in art, music, Spanish, gardening, technology and physical education. Cedars
encourages a strong community spirit by emphasizing the basic school values,
“The Three B’s“: Be safe, Be respectful. Be Responsible.
