In 1952, The Reverend Scott Field Bailey and Bishop John Hines decided to start one Episcopal School for Austin.

Three Episcopal congregations had existing preschools and were thinking of expanding. All Saints’ had expanded its school to include first grade and both Good Shepherd and St. David’s were thinking of expanding into the elementary grades as well. The Reverend Bailey and Bishop Hines believed one school should be created, not many, and established it as an Episcopal school that was not formally attached to one of the parishes: an Episcopal school for all of Austin.
The leaders of the three Austin Episcopal churches, the Rev. Thomas Yerxa of Good Shepherd, the Rev. Scott Field Bailey of All Saints’, and the Rev. Charles Sumners of St. David’s, had a vision: they wanted children all across Austin to have an education that developed them both mentally and spiritually. They wanted a school with a distinct sense of community, a school with strongly-held values of family and togetherness. They wanted a school built for all of Austin.

In the fall of 1952 and with a $4,000 loan, St. Andrew’s opened its doors in a two-story house on Pearl Street in central Austin. It began with two first-grade classes and a combined second-and-third-grade class, with the idea that the school would grow year by year. A state charter was obtained on June 23, 1952, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School was officially established.

From a single house on Pearl Street to two campuses spanning 181 acres with over 900 students in grades K-12, our school has certainly experienced a marvelous growth. Back in 1952, our early St. Andrew’s community could not have possibly imagined all that would happen to the school they created with $4,000 and a dream.
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