About
Episcopal Identity
Belonging at St. Andrew's
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is committed to building a beloved community of learning that embraces diversity, champions justice, and honors the dignity of every human being.
Community Initiatives
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Beloved Community Small Groups
Read MoreBeloved Community small groups meet throughout the year with the intent to bring together St. Andrew's families with shared interests and experiences. Contact Kendall Evans or Priya Kenny to learn more. -
Celebrations
In addition to celebrating in-school the central Christian feasts of All Saints, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and various saints days, we also incorporate celebrations of:- Asian-American Heritage Month
- Black History Month
- Diwali
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Las Posadas
- Passover
- Ramadan
- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
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Parent Inclusion Committee (PIC)
This group, formerly known as FOCUS, was started in 2015 to serve as a place to connect over a common goal; namely, to thoughtfully engage in the work of Building a Beloved Community at St. Andrew's. If you are a parent or guardian who believes that the holistic development of your child should involve an intentional focus on the work of belonging and that learning based on academics, art, athletics, and service alone do not a whole child make, then we invite you to reach out to us and discover how to get involved.Several school-sponsored PIC events and receptions take place each year, but more frequent gatherings initiated by parents are encouraged as well. Additionally, there are several education groups on campus that are doing great work to help actualize the mission of building a Beloved Community. Whether institutional or grassroots, planned or organic, PIC is a place for anyone who considers scholarship, inquiry, and active participation related to cultural literacy as vital to the health of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
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Beloved Community Dinner 2025
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Local Partnerships
We partner with organizations across Austin that serve and strengthen the broader community. Through these relationships, our students, teachers, and families are encouraged to make a positive impact beyond our campus walls.- Breakthrough Central Texas
- Con Mi MADRE
- Out Youth
- Posada Esperanza
- Austin Interfaith
- Annual Black Composers Concert
- El Buen Samaritano
- Austin Peace Academy
- Asian American Resource Center
- Refugee Services of Texas
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$3 million
awarded in financial aid to 135 students -
32%
of students self-identify as racially diverse -
Over 28
religious affiliations
Episcopal Identity
At St. Andrew’s, our Episcopal Identity is rooted in the pursuit of Jesus’ encouragement to “Go and do likewise.”
For us, that call is an ongoing invitation. It asks us to look outward and to recognize the gifts in every person we meet. This is the call woven into our work of building a school where everyone belongs.
Here, Upper School Chaplain Rev. Whitney Kirby grounds that call in the parable that inspired it.
Here, Upper School Chaplain Rev. Whitney Kirby grounds that call in the parable that inspired it.
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The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The Parable of the Good Samaritan, occurring in the Gospel of St. Luke 10:25-37, recounts the origin of the “Golden Rule” that we recall as “Treat others as you want to be treated.” An excellent sentiment, but not quite accurate, and not quite as excellent as Jesus invites us to be.
In a conversation with a lawyer educated in the Law (the laws of the covenant with God), Jesus answers the scribe’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” with two questions. His first is “What does the Law say?” The scribe recites Scripture, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Do this, and you will live,” Jesus replies.
In a conversation with a lawyer educated in the Law (the laws of the covenant with God), Jesus answers the scribe’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” with two questions. His first is “What does the Law say?” The scribe recites Scripture, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Do this, and you will live,” Jesus replies.
The imperative to love as abundantly and graciously as God does is not a stumbling block for the man. However, he can’t resist asking, “But who is my neighbor?” Jesus relates the parable of a man who is left behind and ignored by all those who should care for him when he is most in need. It’s the surprise candidate of a Samaritan man who cares for him abundantly - addressing his immediate needs, those of his near future, and promises to return and keep caring for him.
After the story ends, Jesus asks the lawyer his final question: “Who was a neighbor?” The man correctly answers, and Jesus says “Go and do likewise." The pursuit of love, the initiative to care for others, and the moral impetus to do all the good we can whenever and wherever we can is not about living into the lawyer’s question of “Who is my neighbor?” It’s about living into Jesus’ question, “Who’s neighbor are you?”
At St. Andrew’s, our Episcopal Identity is rooted in the pursuit of Jesus’ encouragement to “Go and do likewise.” To discover a life of purpose and our purpose in life, we must look first to the gifts we have to share with each and every person and understand that each and every person we encounter has life-giving gifts to share with us. In our faithful attempt to go and do likewise, we are educating and caring for students who will uphold and respect the dignity of every human by being good neighbors and global citizens.
- The Reverend Whitney Kirby
- The Reverend Whitney Kirby
