The Houston Academy for International Studies (HAIS) is a

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

in Midtown

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located near the

Houston Community College System Houston Community College (HCC), also known as the Houston Community College System (HCCS), is a community college that operates community colleges in Houston, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford in Texas. It is notable for actively recrui ...

's Central College

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

. It opened in August 2006.

Mission

The school focuses on preparing

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school ...

for

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and their roles in

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

as global

citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

. It is a small high-school program, designed to serve up to 400 students in grades 9 through 12. It opened initially to 100

9th grade Ninth grade (also 9th grade or grade 9) is the ninth or tenth year of formal or compulsory education in some countries. It is generally part of middle school or secondary school depending on country. Students in ninth grade are usually 14–15 yea ...

rs for the 2006-2007 school year and plans to add a new 9th-grade class of 100 students every year, as each previous class advances. The new campus for HAIS is located at the former J. Will Jones Elementary, also located in Midtown; it was scheduled to open for the new 09-10 school year in the fall. The Academy is a

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

with the

, the

Houston Community College Houston Community College (HCC), also known as the Houston Community College System (HCCS), is a community college that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater Katy, and Stafford, Texas ...

Central Campus,

Houston A+ Challenge Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of th ...

and the

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

’s Network of International Studies Schools.

Administration

The school's principal, Melissa Jacobs-Thibaut, is a professional

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

, educator and community-development specialist with 13 years of

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and international teaching, teacher training and leadership experience. Between 1996 and 2001, she worked for the United States Peace Corps on assignment in

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. Since 2001, Jacobs-Thibaut was the Instructional Coordinator and Charter Manager at Cage Elementary School/Project Chrysalis Middle School in Houston.

Attendance

Admissions

To be accepted at HAIS, potential students must submit completed applications along with supporting documentation, which are submitted to a general lottery drawing.

School uniforms

As of the 2017 And 2018 school year there will be no uniform policy but the students will still have to follow the HISD school dress code.

Curriculum

In preparation for university and possible careers in international business, students are required to complete two service-learning projects, four years of foreign language study, and the curriculum required by the Texas Scholars program. To graduate, they must also complete a 180-hour, internationally focused internship. Students in grades 11 and 12 will be able to earn both high-school and college credit by taking HCC classes. The Academy also provides students with the opportunity to participate in international programs such as

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

Demographics

As of 2022, 93.4% of the students were racial and ethnic minorities and 68% were low income students. The demographics for the 2021 - 2022 school year are listed below.

Transportation

METRORail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

Red Line stop, the Ensemble/HCC Station, is located nearby, as are several

METRO Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

bus routes.

References

External links

Houston Academy for International Studies
(Archive)
HISD HomepageHouston A+ ChallengeInternational High School at J.W. Jones
- Houston ISD Bond Information {{authority control Houston Independent School District high schools Public high schools in Houston University-affiliated schools in the United States Early College High Schools Charter schools in Houston Midtown, Houston