As one of the oldest and more historically significant cities in Texas,

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

has had a long history of advancements and offerings in education, including: the first parochial school (Ursuline Academy) (1847), the first medical college (now the

University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the olde ...

) (1891), and the first school for nurses (1890).

Healthcare and research

Established in 1891 with one building and fewer than 50 students, today the

(UTMB) campus has grown to more than 70 buildings and an enrollment of more than 2,500 students. The campus includes schools of

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, allied health professions, and a

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

of biomedical sciences, as well as three institutes for advanced studies & medical humanities, a major medical library, seven hospitals, a network of clinics that provide a full range of primary and specialized medical care, and numerous research facilities. In addition, the UTMB campus includes an affiliated Shriners Burns Institute. In 2003 UTMB received funding from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

to construct a $150 million National Biocontainment Laboratory on its campus, one of only two in the United States and the only one on a university campus. It houses several Biosafety Level 4 research laboratories, where studies on highly infectious materials can be carried out safely.

Higher education

Galveston is home to two post-secondary institutions offering traditional degrees in higher education.

Galveston College Galveston College (GC) is a public community college in Galveston, Texas. History On November 2, 1935, voters approved the creation of the Galveston Junior College District. However, a subsequent 1936 election to support the new district via ...

, a junior college that opened in 1967, serves an ethnically diverse population of approximately 2,400 students each semester in credit programs and nearly 5,000 individuals annually in continuing education programs.

Texas A&M University at Galveston Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) is an ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students enrolled at Texas A&M University at Galveston, known affectionately as 'Sea Aggies', ...

is an ocean-oriented branch campus of

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

offering undergraduate degrees in

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

, marine fisheries,

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

technology,

marine sciences Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its Physical oceanography, physics, Chemical oceanography, chemistry, Biological oceanography, biology, a ...

marine transportation Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pro ...

, maritime administration, maritime studies, maritime systems engineering,

oceans The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and ...

and

coastal A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

resources, and university studies such as marine

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

and policy. In addition, the graduate programs include: a masters of marine resources management and a masters or Ph.D. (thesis and non-thesis) in marine biology.

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

The city of Galveston is served by

Galveston Independent School District Galveston Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Galveston, Texas, United States. The Texas Education Agency rated the school district as having "Met Standard" in 2013. Catchment area Galveston ISD takes students ...

. Several district public elementary schools, including L. A. Morgan, Greta Oppe, Gladneio Parker, and Early Childhood University, serve grades pre-Kindergarten through 4. Several middle schools and high school programs exist within the district: Weis Middle School for grades 5 through 6, Central Middle School for grades 7 through 8, and

Ball High School Ball High School is a public secondary school in Galveston, Texas, United States. Ball, which covers grades 9 through 12, is a part of Galveston Independent School District. Ball High School serves the cities of Galveston and Jamaica Beach a ...

for grades 9 through 12. Austin Magnet Middle School has grades 5 through 8 and centers around science, technology, engineering and math but is most commonly referred to as a STEM school. GISD provided several firsts in the state of Texas: the first public elementary school (Rosenberg Elementary School), the first public High School (George Ball High School - moved to a different location, and consolidated) and the first public African American High School (Central School, now Central Middle School). Prior to 1968, Galveston operated Ball High School for White students and Central High School for

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

students.

Central School A central school was a selective secondary education school with a focus on technical and commercial skills in the English education system. It was positioned between the more academic grammar schools and the ordinary elementary schools where m ...

, the first Texas public school for African-Americans, opened in 1885 and became a high school in 1886. In 1968 the two high schools consolidated and the Central campus became a junior high school. Travis Elementary School, which opened in 1948, closed in the 1970s. Crockett Elementary School closed by 1978. The tax base of the

Galveston ISD Galveston Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Galveston, Texas, United States. The Texas Education Agency rated the school district as having "Met Standard" in 2013. Catchment area Galveston ISD takes students ...

grew by 13% in 2005 while Galveston ISD lost many district-zoned non-

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

evacuee students. () San Jacinto Elementary School closed in 2006. Alamo Elementary School, which opened in 1935 and received renovations in 1980 and 1986, closed in 2007. Prior to fall 2008, Galveston ISD had a different school configuration: Elementary schools served pre-Kindergarten through grade 5 and Austin, Weis, and Central middle schools served grades 6 through 8.

Charter schools

Galveston has several state-funded

charter schools 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 ...

not affiliated with local school districts, including Kindergarten through 5th Grade Ambassadors Preparatory Academy and Pre-Kindergarten through 8th Grade Odyssey Academy. In addition KIPP: the Knowledge Is Power Program opened KIPP Coastal Village as a part of GISD in 2009 but left in 2014 due to GISD budget cuts.

Private and parochial schools

Several private schools exist in Galveston. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

operates two Roman Catholic private schools, including Holy Family Catholic School (K through 8th) and O'Connell College Preparatory School (9-12). O'Connell Consolidated High School opened in 1968 as a consolidation of Kirwin, Dominican and Ursuline, three Galveston Catholic high schools.Taylor, Heber.
O'Connell seeks to redefine itself
." ''Galveston County Daily News''. September 23, 2007. Galveston Catholic School opened in 1986 as a consolidation of Dominican School, Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Saint Patrick's School, and O’Connell Junior High School. In 2010, with the closure of all seven of the Galveston Island & Bolivar parishes, and establishment of one new area-wide parish, Galveston Catholic was renamed Holy Family Catholic School Saint Patrick's opened in 1881 and received its final campus in 1926. Some parents protested plans to consolidate the schools before the consolidation became final.Moran, Kevin and Allan Turner.
Merging of schools protested
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

''. March 16, 1986. Section 3, Page 8. O'Connell was renamed to ''O'Connell College Preparatory School'' in 2007. Satori Elementary School, a non-religious Kindergarten through Grade 6 school, is on the island. Trinity Episcopal School, a youth brothel Episcopal Church school, is on the island. Two Kindergarten through 12th grade schools, Seaside Christian Academy (affiliated with Seaside Baptist Church in

Jamaica Beach Jamaica Beach is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States on Galveston Island. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 1,078. The city is bordered by Galveston to the east and west, the west bay on the north, and the Gulf of Mex ...

) and Heritage Christian Academy, are in Galveston.

Public libraries

The city is served by the

Rosenberg Library Rosenberg Library, a public library located at 2310 Sealy Street in Galveston, Texas, United States, is the oldest continuously operating library in Texas. It serves as headquarters of the Galveston County Library System, and its librarian is a ...

. The library serves as headquarters of the Galveston County Library System, which opened in 1941. The Rosenberg Library's librarian also functions as the Galveston County Librarian.Fall 2007 Galveston County Library System Newsletter
." ''

''. Retrieved on November 16, 2008.

References

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