Listening to a story in 1966.
Austin’s Oldest Preschool
1941: Mainspring Schools (then called Chalmers Nursery School) was founded as a “war nursery” under the Works Progress Administration. This chapter of government-run child care was crucial in enabling women’s employment during World War II. Throughout its 80+ year history, Mainspring has focused on serving low-income families and single working parents—especially single mothers. From the beginning, the school has ensured that caregivers of young children are empowered with the tools and resources they need to flourish. That legacy continues today.
Mainspring was the first school in the nation—of any kind—built in a federal housing development. Today, our neighbors across the street at Meadowbrook Apartments, a Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) public housing site, are an especially important client base.
The Austin Association of University Women and the Austin Independent School District (AISD) co-sponsored the school’s founding. Mainspring opened on Wednesday, October 15, 1941 to serve 25 children ages 2-7.
1944: Community Chest (now United Way) began funding the school. The school’s name was changed to Austin Community Nursery Schools (ACNS).
1948: Federal funding ended, and ACNS was chartered as a nonprofit agency.
1954: The school moved from Chalmers Court to its current South Austin location and served 44 children. ACNS was one of the first United Fund agencies in the Austin area.
1968: The school constructed its current building with support from HACA.
1973: The first contract with the Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) went into effect.
1975: The City of Austin funded a second campus at St. Mark United Methodist Church in North Austin. That campus was later relocated to an affordable housing community, Santa Maria Village, and served 44 children.
Creating art in 1976.
1981: With new funding from Travis County and increased funding from TDHS, a third campus opened in East Austin.
1984: ACNS East was located in the Springdale Gardens Apartments, an affordable housing community, and served 40 children.
1989: The North, South, and East campuses earned accreditation from the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs.
1991: ACNS expanded operations to HACA’s Bouldin Oaks Center and served 14 infants and toddlers at the facility until the loss of the lease. Those children were transferred to the South campus.
1992: ACNS was recognized as one of eleven Comprehensive Early Childhood Development Projects in Texas. Reduction in state funding caused the closure of the East campus. Those children were transferred to the North campus.
Learning in the classroom in 1984.
1994: The North campus moved to Walnut Creek Business Park and served 100 children.
2000: The North campus was closed and the South campus became a model for future replication.
2004: The school undertook a rebranding campaign and changed its name to Mainspring Schools.
2006: Mainspring earned top-level accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a distinction held by only 8% of child care centers in the nation.
2016: Mainspring expanded operations to a second building in Meadowbrook Apartments and added two new classrooms as part of an Early Head Start partnership with Child Inc.
2018: Through a newly-structured partnership with AISD, Mainspring became the first early childhood program in Texas to be named an in-district charter school.
2020: Mainspring released a three-year strategic plan announcing a vision for improving outcomes, doubling the number of students and families served, and improving the early childhood system beyond Mainspring.
2021: With support from an anonymous donor, Mainspring launched a school-wide chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. All students are enrolled in the Imagination Library upon enrolling at Mainspring and are mailed a brand new, high quality, free book every month until they turn 5.
2022: Mainspring launched a new, replicable program, the CRASH Course, which focuses on preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress in prenatal-to-age-2 children.