A ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston campus in East Austin celebrated the opening of two new technology schools.

The Green Tech and Global Tech are part of a model that uses project-based learning to help students engage in a technology-centered curriculum.

The Texas Education Agency closed the former Johnston High School last year after several years of low performance on standardized tests.

The Austin Independent School District then repurposed the campus, and Eastside Memorial High School was born.

From the very beginning of the planning, AISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said she was amazed at how students would be learning.

"To ensure that our kids were going to get the opportunity to really see how the culture and the history of East Austin played out in the development of this city, its contributions to Central Texas, this state, this country and the world," Carstarphen said.

The new tech schools officially opened in August.

State Sen. Kirk Watson was also present for the ribbon-cutting.