Mendez Middle School

Mendez Middle School was established in 1987 and today serves more than 600 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The school is named after Consuelo Herrera Mendez, who worked as an educator for more than 50 years and advocated tirelessly on behalf of the Mexican-American community. She left behind a lasting legacy as the first Latina teacher hired by the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and the first to translate a school parent, teacher and student newsletter into Spanish. In honor of this legacy, Mendez Middle School encourages students not only to succeed academically, but also to engage in community service and begin thinking about professional development at a young age. Further, students participate in a range of elective courses, including band, orchestra, dance, theater, athletics, afterschool programming, and more.

In 2004, Mendez Middle School implemented the innovative technological program KidBiz3000 for its students. The platform is a web-based reading and writing instruction program for 2nd through 8th grade students designed to integrate with the teacher's lesson plans and curriculum. The program allows every teacher to assign individualized reading and writing assignments according to each student's personal level, offering personalized coursework that can help improve proficiency.