Westlake Academy

Westlake Academy
Address
2600 Ottinger Road Westlake , Texas 76262
Information
Funding type	Charter
Founded	September 2, 2003
Grades	Kindergarten-12
Language	English
Mascot	Blacksmith
Website	http://www.westlakeacademy.org

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Westlake Academy is an open-enrollment charter school operating under the IB curriculum.

Westlake has three main academic programs: The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) program lasts from kindergarten to sixth grade, while the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) program runs from seventh grade to tenth grade. The school has also been certified for the IB Diploma Programme (DP), which began at the start of the 2008-2009 school year with the addition of an eleventh grade.

Westlake Academy will begin it's 2009 - 2010 school year with Tom Brymer acting as the school's CEO and leading its first graduating class to success.

The Westlake Academy athletics program is superb as well as it's rigorous curriculum.

EXERPT: Westlake Academy opened its doors in September 2003 when the Town of Westlake officials took advantage of the state of Texas’ acceptance of charter schools and thus became the first and only municipality in the state to receive a charter designation. In 2008 the Texas Education Agency (TEA) renewed the charter until 2016. The officials who pioneered the school also decided to follow another brave path in offering the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum which is now being provided in over 900 schools nationwide and over 2300 in 128 countries worldwide. Westlake Academy became an IB World School in 2006 after it was authorized for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and further accreditation followed in 2007 with the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and 2008 for the Diploma Programme (DP), making it one of only five schools in the United States to offer all three programmes and the only one in Texas. The school will eventually graduate its first class in 2010 when it will be fully functional from Kindergarten through to 12th grade. In 2008, this class became the first in Texas to graduate from the MYP programme. As well as this international accreditation, Westlake Academy will also meet state standards. For 2008, the Academy was proud of the fact that it received an ‘Exemplary’ rating from TEA for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests, the second time it has achieved this.

The Academy receives operating funds from the state although charter schools receive appreciably less than other public school systems. In order to remedy this shortfall of funds, the Academy relies heavily on the support of parents and other members of the community. The Westlake Academy Foundation is invaluable in raising much of the financial assistance without which the school could not exist.

Westlake Academy is situated on a beautiful site, in a carefully designed campus which helps to foster a love of learning. In June 2008 this was further expanded with the ground breaking for a new Arts and Science Building, which is scheduled to be operational for the start of the 2009-10 school year.

As well as academic success Westlake Academy has, amongst other things, a highly successful school newspaper. “The Black Cow” won forty-seven awards at the 2008 Texas UIL State Journalism Competition, the most by any school in Texas. The school has competed successfully in Odyssey of the Mind, state Maths, Science and History programs, Destination Imagination, Model United Nations as well as art, music and drama productions. Despite its small size, Westlake Academy is beginning to grow into a successful sports school, especially in basketball, while soccer, volleyball, baseball, tennis, cross country, track and field, six man football and golf are also played competitively. -- Former Head of School, Mark Rosevear

External links

• Westlake Academy Homepage