Austin ISD’s Rising STAAR: Widén Elementary Aims to Maintain Test Score Improvement

byAimée Knight

In 2018, the Texas Education Agency gave Austin’s Widén Elementary School an “F” in the state’s annual accountability ratings. In 2019, the school earned a “B” – the largest improvement of any elementary school in the Austin Independent School District.

Austin Educators look beyond Texas’ African American studies course

byJennifer Martinez

WATCH: UT students talk about African American History African American heritage runs deep in Texas. From the horror of slavery to the civil rights movement and beyond, Texas’ African American population has played a critical role in the state’s economic and cultural development. Yet Texas’ publication education system has downplayed African American history in its […]

Austin Teachers Say They Face High Levels of Work-related Stress

byHope Lenamon

Some Austin teachers say increasing levels of work-related stress make it difficult to effectively do their jobs.

South Austin Ecovillage Prepares for a Radically Different Future

byCat DeLaura

Roots is an intentional community devoted to exploring more sustainable ways of life.

Street Youth Ministry Uses Art to Reframe Conversation on Homelessness

byNataleah Small

West Campus non-profit has served young people experiencing homelessness since 2009.

Austin Aims to Reduce Waste Through Fix-It Clinics

byCat DeLaura

Modeled after repair cafes in cities around the world, Austin’s Fix-It Clinics are a way for residents to learn how to fix broken household items and encourage them to reuse objects that would otherwise be discarded.

The Wheels Keep on Turning: Austinites Divided on Progress of 2014 Bicycle Master Plan

byAimée Knight

The plan’s primary goal is to build a bike network that feels safe and easy to navigate for cyclists from 8 to 80 years old.

At City of Austin, the Goal is Turning Trash into Treasure

byKatherine Corley

Austin’s Circular Economy Program aspires to reduce waste by turning it into new products.

Confederates Still Memorialized at UT; No Immediate Plans for Change

bySunny Kim

Despite the relocation of some of UT-Austin’s prominent reminders of Confederate times, other nods to the Confederacy, hidden and not so hidden, continue to dot the campus and provide potential flashpoints for controversy.

UT Slows Down the Scooters, Students Don’t Seem to Mind

byReid Jowers

In a series of interviews in April, most UT students said they welcome an automatically enforced 8-mph speed limit for dockless electric scooters.

UT Dell Medical School’s Unconscious Bias Training Seeks to Improve Awareness in Healthcare

bySunny Kim

By eliminating bias, educators hope to improve dismal maternal mortality rates among African-American women.

North Lamar’s Long Road Toward Improvements

byAlyx Wilson

Austin is in the midst of developing a small area plan for what some residents consider a neglected pocket of Austin — the area around North Lamar Boulevard north of Highway 183 to Braker Lane.

Texas’ Membership-only Card Clubs Circumvent Gambling Laws

byReid Jowers

Some gamblers have started using a loophole in state law to play cards for money at so-called card clubs.

Austin Works to End Youth Homelessness By 2020

byMichael Minasi

Youth homelessness dropped 25 percent in the past year, and experts credit a community plan and subsequent commitment to carry it out.

Austinite Aims to Foster Discussion of Sexual Abuse Through Musical

byAlyx Wilson

Anna Westbrook says her musical and an accompanying workshop have a simple goal — to make people more comfortable discussing sexual abuse.

UT Takes on the Scooters

byReid Jowers

University Health Services reported treating 110 injuries from scooter mishaps between August and December.

Classes Divide Along Burnet Road

Data collected by Opportunity Insights show a persistent difference in earning power between kids who grew up on opposite sides of the North Austin thoroughfare.

Austin Sobering Center Saves Money and Lives, Officials Say

byChristopher De Los Santos

Since the Austin-Travis County Sobering Center opened in August, more then 500 intoxicated people have been treated at the center.

Austin Schools Increase Focus on Social and Emotional Learning

byVicky Camarillo

Austin school district staff say social and emotional learning has helped children develop the skills they need to thrive in and out of school.

With Good Boys and Girls, Hutto Students Learn to Train and Raise Guide Dogs

byAndrea Cos

Program at Hutto High School pairs puppies and students who foster the young guide-dogs-in-training until they’re ready to serve.