St. Andrew's Episcopal School

1112 West 31st Street

Austin, TX 78705

23 Reviews

School District
Grade

K-12
Type

private

Find Homes for Sale in this School Zone

Reviews

Submitted by parent on June 28, 2023

Our daughter started in 8th grade and will be starting her sophomore year this fall. We have been very happy with the overall experience at St. Andrew's. Our daughter likes the small class sizes and accessibility of the teachers. She's quite focused on academics and really enjoys the advanced course work. She also enjoys playing sports and the incredible studio art classroom. It has been a great fit for our family.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2022

We’ve been very happy with SAS. I have a 2016 graduate & will have a 2026 graduate. It’s such a well rounded environment and has something for everyone on top of getting an education which prepares students for higher education or whatever direction they go after graduation.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2022

The new administration is highly unqualified and it shows. There is a complete lack of leadership from heads of school. Strong leadership requires accountability, open dialogue communication, and respect. None of those are qualities possessed by the new school administrators.There has been a mass exodus of families due to poor academic programming and instruction. Many students report being unstimulated by the curriculum. The teachers are good but the overall administration and curriculum are severely lacking. The administration seems to be more focused on instructing students as young as kindergarten about selecting their gender and gender pronouns than they are about teaching math, grammar and English. There is no history curriculum at all. Despite claims that the school will teach to each students’ potential, after families have enrolled, they claim they do not do that. The families leaving due to academic concerns are also, sadly, the most ethnically diverse students. The result has been a homogeneous group of spoiled, rich, white kids supplemented almost exclusively by faculty and staff’s children on scholarships. There is a long waitlist of families that didn’t meet the standards SAS held just 4-5 years ago but I guess you have to do what you have to do to fill the seats now that so many families have left. If you have a learning challenged or “average” student I think SAS may be a good choice. However, for academically gifted children it is certainly not the right choice.
Submitted by parent on April 21, 2022

The kids do not learn much here. It's definitely not one of the better schools in Austin like it used to be.
Submitted by parent on April 12, 2022

St. Andrew’s kindergarten class was recently read a book (without parents permission) stating they needed to select their own gender. “What a baby looks like when they’re born can be a clue to what the baby’s gender will be, but not always.” Not only is Christianity a complete joke at this religious institution, it is indoctrinating children and confusing them unnecessarily.
Submitted by parent on November 16, 2021

We were at St. Andrew's in Middle School and then transferred to public - only to give it a shot - Middle School was great and there was no reason for us to leave, except for to perhaps save money. Transferred back quickly to SAS a third of way through sophomore year. Happy to be back! Totally worth it. So many positives - people who care, students who build each other, strong college counseling, a place that just has such positive energy!
Submitted by parent on November 09, 2021

I enrolled my two girls at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in 2019. We moved to Austin, Texas and we knew it might be difficult for a then high school student and another one that was in middle school. Prior to our move, we visited Austin and scheduled a tour with three different schools. St. Andrew's was by far the most welcoming and comfortable setting for our whole family. The girls felt much better about starting a new school in a new city. It didn't take long for the girls to fall in love with the St. Andrew's community and quickly feel at home. It is an amazing community that is supportive and welcoming to every student. As a parent, I truly appreciate the rigor of the academics. I feel that my girls are being prepped throughly for their academic careers. The school has reached out to see if they can do anything for my girls during special holidays or holy months and I appreciated this so much. The staff is very knowledgeable of the different cultures and religions of the students at St. Andrew's. This has instilled a sense of pride in my girls for their cultural background. During the Covid pandemic, St. Andrew's gained my trust even more. The precautions taken were perfect for every family to feel comfortable sending their kids back to school. The communication and overall parent involvment is beyond what I expeceted. I would highly recommend this amazing K-12 school to anyone looking for a private school in Austin. Take a tour and you will see exactly what I mean.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2021

This is the best school in Austin - in so many ways SAS is on the cutting edge of educational research and it shows in the classroom and the quality of kids that go here. I'm seeing some of the unhappy reviews below and it sounds like a conservative (parent?) is upset by the changing times? Yes they do teach age appropriate sex ed in middle and high school, and do a lot of social and emotional development of character - we have always felt like it was respectful and not political in any way. When I reviewed the info in advance, I was thrilled with what they presented. Sure beats the 20 min of sex ed we all got from the high school gym coach several decades ago. Episcopal schools in general tend to give a wonderful, broad education on character and faith - if considering sending your kids to an Episcopal school you might want to look into what that looks like in advance.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2021

We could not be happier with St. Andrews- we have kids at both campuses and other then maybe the food (which is just mediocre) everything else is like a dream school. We have kids that are in the box and a kid that has learning differences - we have kids who excel at sports and kids that don't. A kid that loves the arts and a kid who loves yearbook. Introverts and Extroverts - there is something for everyone - they just seem to get it right here, in every single way. The teachers are so highly qualified and you get sense that they love to be there - the kids are engaged and eager to learn - there is a real sense of community and of service to the city. Our kids all look forward to going to school here.
Submitted by parent on October 17, 2021

There isn't a day that goes by that we aren't thankful for this amazing school - our kids have been here for 6 years and we have been a part of the middle and high school communities - if you are interested in sending your kids to a school where they develop both the intellect as well the character of the kid then this is the place - we genuinely feel like we have a team of teachers and administrators who are helping to raise our teens to be good people and that has been worth every penny to us.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2021

We have been extremely happy with SAS! We joined in high school and have been here a few years. Students are supported very well here. They seem to have a lot of balance and are encouraged to try new things. I have seen a ton of growth in my high schooler and love the other kids. They have high expectations for students academically and conduct-wise- things like copying homework is not tolerated and they will come down on students for this hard, which is good preparation for life. The teachers are exceptional and give lots of feedback and personal attention. Any sort of resource or program I can think of, they have- There really isn’t anything else I could want in a school. There are some complaints here about the lack of diversity. We are one of the few BIPOC families and have had a very good experience here, and we’ve had some very bad experiences at other schools in Austin. For an independent school in this price point, it’s as good as you can hope for. There are some jerks, but that is true everywhere. There are some complaints here that the administration tries too hard to push social justice, acceptance of alternative lifestyles, diversity and and inclusion. The parents complaining about this will be in for a culture shock when their kids go to college and the real world. The fact is that the world is diverse with all kinds of people in it, and knowledge about and respect for all kinds of people is just a basic life skill that kids need to succeed, and the earlier they can learn this, the better. The DI&B program is not an “agenda”, it’s just the school doing what it has to do to prepare a very privileged, not particularly diverse group of kids for the real world.I have been 100% happy with how they have been handling Covid. They do frequent testing and quarantine periods. There has not been an outbreak on campus. They had a parent meeting with infectious disease experts to dispel myths about the vaccine. I feel very safe sending my child there. My only complaint is that the kids seem a little *too* comfortable. If kids don’t have a strong work ethic taught at home, they may start to get leisurely and entitled here. Example: since Covid, SAS has had every Wednesday off- The kids love it, but it seems like overkill. That said, SAS is a place that balances high expectations with mental health. If you’re looking for a pressure cooker prep school with a lot of anxiety-ridden students that go to T20 schools, this isn’t it.
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2020

Had such high expectations for this school, but it fell short in more than one area. Not strong academically, and very elite mindset among parents sending kids here that make it rather unwelcoming. Academics seem disorganized at best & bad behavior on behalf of kids seems to be tolerated rather than addressed. Very mediocre and average school at best.
Submitted by parent on September 15, 2020

It was painful to watch a bright, driven child fall behind peers in other schools as K-4 spent an inordinate amount of time and energy drillIng social justice — as if the administration felt it was their duty to indoctrinate the children of parents who spent $25k a year for a day school in Austin.
Submitted by parent on August 11, 2020

Challenging academics, extremely supportive teachers & staff. We’ve had an amazing experience at St. Andrews
Submitted by parent on August 08, 2019

Excellent. Our daughter has been at St. Andrew's since 4th grade and is now in the Upper School. We've been very impressed with the wonderful teachers and supportive environment. I'm confident that she will be prepared not only academically for college but will be socially and emotionally ready to take that leap. It is truly a college preparatory school.
Submitted by parent on September 13, 2018

We have been at SAS for 6 years. We started with the "old guard" in lower school and have seen the school go downhill ever since. It's really a shame that a school that had a great reputation and so much going for it has been allowed to fall apart so disastrously. The major issue at this school is that it doesn't focus on academics. Therefore, it is now producing kids who come out of lower school who are not prepared for middle school. The school has stopped giving annual standardized testing that all other reputable private schools administer because the results have been across-the-board lower than their private AND PUBLIC school peers. They now only do the testing once in elementary because that is required to maintain their accreditation. If you only care about being able to tell your friends that your kids go to a (once) elite private school, this may be the place for you. But if you are looking for your child to learn English, math, science, or anything else, you should definitely look around at other options. There are much better private and public school options in Austin.
Submitted by parent on March 21, 2018

My child attended SAS in Kindergarten and it was not a good fit. The school did not respond swiftly and aggressively enough against bullying that my child endured. The teaching approach is tailored to the mean, not deviations from the mean (gifted or learning-challenged children).
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2017

This is the 'real thing'. A great place for kids to grow and to learn. Frankly, this is the only private school in Austin we would send our kids to. No regrets.
Submitted by other on November 15, 2016

SAS is about community, involvement and giving back to the wider community of Austin and the world.
Submitted by parent on April 19, 2015

The facilities are outstanding and I think it is a great school for an average kid. Gifted children do not do well here. Children with learning differences of any kind, will not last here. They give a lot of homework, but its busy work. Like some previous reviews have said, its just not worth the tuition. St. Andrews could be an excellent school if they made a few changes.