Travis Elementary School (Houston)

William B. Travis Elementary School is a public elementary school in the Woodland Heights area of Houston, Texas. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

It was one of the first HISD schools to have a garden, as well as an outdoor classroom. The garden was established after a teacher received a grant from a national gardening organization.

The first iteration of the school was Beauchamp Springs School, built in 1903. It was later renamed after William Barrett Travis, a participant in the Texas Revolution. The first building with the name Travis Elementary was constructed in 1908. The three-story building had 12 classrooms, and construction ended in 1909. The playground space was donated to the city of Houston and was considered to be larger than that of most schools. In 1926 a new campus was constructed. It had a cafeteria, an auditorium, and 12 classrooms. In the 1970s it received an addition, and the campus at that time had 69,000 square feet (6,400 m²) of space.

Circa 1985 the school had about 300 students. Margaret Blackstone, a teacher at Travis, stated that between 1985 and 2006 the school improved due to the establishment of a magnet program and the improvement of area neighborhoods resulting from an influx of educated professionals. By 2002 the school had 637 students. By 2006 Travis had about 700 students, and by 2011 it was near capacity around 730 students.

In 2004 the school's attendance boundary, along with that of Harvard Elementary School of the Houston Heights, was modified due to a vehicular traffic increase on Studewood Street, affecting 20 children. The adjustment was done so children would not have to cross the street. The boundaries between Travis and Crockett Elementary School in the Sixth Ward were also adjusted.

By 2005 Travis was scheduled to receive a renovation of the 1926 building and a replacement of the former addition, designed by Taft Architects, located north of the original building. The project, a part of the 2002 HISD Bond, had a total cost of $14.5 million. The campus altogether was to have room for 750 students. Travis students resided in 24 temporary buildings, labeled "Camp Travis," on the grounds of Ketelsen Elementary School in the Near Northside while construction work occurred on the Travis campus. The renovation and construction was scheduled for completion in 2006. As a result of the construction project the building space at Travis increased to 69,000 square feet (6,400 m²). The new building was dedicated on October 25, 2006.

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