Eastwood Academy is an award-winning college preparatory charter high school just southeast of downtown Houston. It boasts a diverse student body of approximately 400 students. All of Eastwood Academy’s students take a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum and complete 80 hours of community volunteer work prior to graduation. Their students enroll in dual credit courses, a strong Advanced Placement curriculum and they base their daily actions and behaviors on the IB Learner Profile.

Eastwood History

Eastwood was built in 1954 as a Baptist Church before the Houston Independent School District bought the property and admitted the school as an internal charter in 2001. The 22,000-square-foot building was renovated and expanded for “re-adaptive” use for 175 students. The renovation included administrative offices, library, cafeteria, classrooms, science laboratories, computer laboratories and a multi-purpose room with a stage. The school was originally supposed to be a 9th grade school and feeder to the nearby Austin High School. After some consideration, the founders decided that the school would serve as a small-school alternative to Austin HS, Milby HS, and Chavez HS.

Since then Eastwood Academy has admitted students from all around the Houston area; the majority enrolled are from nearby schools, some of which include Jackson Middle School, Edison Middle School, and Project Chrysalis Middle School, but others include Rice Middle, Lanier Vanguard, and TH Rogers Middle. Project Chrysalis Middle School makes up 38% of the class of 2016. Students are required to apply since it is a charter school and are admitted based on their grade point averages, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, and interviews (which are conducted by the faculty and administration).