St. Stephen's Episcopal School is a

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coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

preparatory boarding and

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. Enrollment for the 2019-20 academic year is approximately 694, with 487 students in grades 9–12 and 207 in grades 6–8. Of the school's 694 students, 523 are day students and 171 are boarding students. The school's campus overlooks

Lake Austin Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven Texa ...

and is spread across of the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...

. The school is accredited by The Association of Boarding Schools,

Independent Schools Association of the Southwest The Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit association of 89 independent schools located in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, states of Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and ...

, the Southwestern Association of Independent Schools, the

National Association of Episcopal Schools The National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) is a membership organization, serving the approximately 1200 pre-collegiate schools and early childhood education programs in the United States. Membership is restricted to schools owned, opera ...

, the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, board ...

, National Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools.

History

Bishop John E. Hines of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas founded St. Stephen's Episcopal School in 1950. He was once quoted as saying that it was the duty of Christians "to live on the bleeding edge of the human dilemma". Hines believed girls should have equal access to education, and St. Stephen's was the first Episcopalian co-educational boarding school in the United States. The school also played a part in the 20th-century Civil Rights Movement as the first integrated boarding school in the South.

Governance

St. Stephen's has a

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

, including alumni and parents of former students. Day-to-day operations of the school are overseen by a head of school, who is appointed by the board of trustees with the consent of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. The current headmaster, Christopher L. Gunnin, was appointed in 2016. Currently there is a boarding program, with students supervised by a team of roughly 38 full-time staff, as well as proctors (junior and senior students selected by staff to serve as mentors).

Religion

All faiths are welcomed, encouraged, accepted and celebrated at St. Stephen's Episcopal School. Chapel services are held in the early noons, in the form of a traditional Episcopalian worship service, sometimes featuring guest speakers and announcements. A weekly Sunday morning church service takes place during the school year, and boarding students are required to attend.

Notable alumni

* Terrence Malick (1961) - Film director, screenwriter and producer * Marilyn Buck (1965) - Marxist and feminist poet *

Cecile Richards Cecile Richards (July 15, 1957 – January 20, 2025) was an American activist who served as the president of both the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliated Planned Parenthood Action Fund from 2006 to 2018. In 2010, Richard ...

(1976) - Past President of Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood Action Fund * Blake Mycoskie (1995) - Founder of Toms Shoes * Ross Ohlendorf (2001) -

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Aaron Moten (2007) - Actor * Sarafina El-Badry Nance (2011) - Astrophysicist, analog astronaut, science communicator, women's health advocate, author * Jarrett Allen (2016) - Basketball player for the NBA's

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

; played for

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

* Mikaila Ulmer (2022) - Lemonade company child CEO

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephens Episcopal School, Texas Educational institutions established in 1950 1950 establishments in Texas Private boarding schools in Texas Private high schools in Texas Private middle schools in Texas High schools in Austin, Texas Episcopal schools in the United States Education in Austin, Texas Education in Travis County, Texas Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Co-educational boarding schools