St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Amarillo, Texas)

St. Andrew's Episcopal School is a private school located in Amarillo, Texas, United States, providing education from pre-kindergarten to grade 8. The school was founded in 1951. In December 2010, the Plainview (Texas) Daily Herald described St. Andrew's as "regarded among the [Texas] Panhandle's finest private schools."[1]

St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Entrance to St. Andrew's Episcopal School
Address
1515 S. Georgia St.

Amarillo
,
Potter County
,
Texas
79102

 United States
Coordinates35.197988°N 101.865908°W / 35.197988; -101.865908
Information
TypePrivate
Religious affiliation(s)Christian
DenominationEpiscopal
Patron saint(s)Saint Andrew
Founded1951
StatusActive
HeadmasterJoel R. Bicknell
ChaplainRev. Dr. Jill Walters
Faculty49 Professionals,
33 degreed teachers,
9 staff members hold advanced degrees
GradesPrimer – 8
Age3 year olds+
Enrollment300 (2009-2010)
Average class size13
MascotBroncos
AccreditationNational Association of Independent Schools,
Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools,
National Association of Episcopal Schools
Tuition$4500 - $8873
Websitewww.standrewsschool.org

History

St. Andrew’s Episcopal School was founded in 1951.[2] by Betty and Lee Bivins, who perceived a need for a kindergarten. They were the parents of Teel Bivins, born four years earlier, who was later to become a United States Ambassador to Sweden and a Texas State Senator.[3][4]

The school opened as one kindergarten class conducted in the basement of St. Andrew’s Church.[2] Betty Bivins' sister, Margaret Teel, was the first teacher.[3] Additional grades were added in later years, until 1990 when the first eighth grade class graduated.[2] At one time in the 1950s, student transfers from St. Andrew's to the public schools of the Amarillo Independent School District were restricted due to a school district regulation against accepting private school transfer credits for students who had been taught by a first-grade teacher over 65 years old.[5]

By the 1980s the school purchased additional property for a new facility to accommodate its growing enrollment. A new main building was completed in 1985, including classrooms, a library, a gymnasium, a computer lab, a cafeteria, and other special purpose rooms. A second new building, named the Margaret Teel Building, opened in 1999. An expansion completed in January 2008 added more classrooms, an assembly hall, a new library dedicated to the middle school grades, a commons area, and areas for visual arts, orchestra and music.[2]

Ron Ferguson became the headmaster in August 2004 replacing Scott Kimball.[6]

Academics

By the time students graduate from the 8th Grade they have accumulated at least five high school credits.[7] Students at St. Andrews do not take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) that is required by all public schools in Texas but they do take the Stanford Achievement Test and the Otis-Lennon Test.[8] In October 2010, the National Junior Honor Society inducted 18 seventh-grade and eighth-grade students into the society. To be induced the students must have maintained a 95 average in all subjects and have also demonstrated leadership, character, citizenship and service.[9]

St. Andrew’s is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the National Association of Episcopal Schools. St. Andrew's is fully accredited by the Southwest Association of Episcopal Schools, an organization approved by Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC), and recognized by the Texas Commissioner of Education.

National Middle School Science Bowl

The National Middle School Science Bowl (NMSSB) is a middle school academic competition held in the United States. It includes an academic competition, in which teams of four students compete to answer various science-related questions, and for several years it included the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Model Car Challenge, in which students design, build, and race model cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The NMSSB has been organized and sponsored by the United States Department of Energy since the competition's inception in 2002. St. Andrew's has won regional competitions to advance to the national science bowl in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, and has placed well for several years in the national competitions. In 2005, a St. Andrews team placed second overall in the national competition;[10] in 2008 a team from the school placed third overall.[11][12]

St. Andrew's ranks in national hydrogen fuel cell car competition
2009 - First Place[13]
2008 - First Place[14]
2007 - First Place[15]
2005 - Second Place[16][17]
St. Andrew's ranks in national academic competition
2008 - Third Place[18]
2005 - Second Place[16][19]

Sports

St. Andrew's interscholastic teams compete against other junior-high-age teams in the High Plains Christian Athletic Association in football, volleyball, basketball, golf, and track.[20][21] The school terminated the employment of its athletic director, who also served as volleyball coach, in December 2010 after allegations of improper behavior, but expected to continue its sports program without interruption.[22] The coach was later arrested and charged with a crime.[23]

Notable alumni
  • Teel Bivins, member of the Texas State Senate and United States Ambassador to Sweden
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References
  1. Around Us 12-17-10, Plainview Daily Herald, December 17, 2010.
  2. History, St. Andrew's School website, accessed January 30, 2011
  3. Betty Teel Bivins Lovell, Amarillo Globe-News, January 19, 2008
  4. Miles 'Teel' Bivins dies: Influence far reaching, Amarillo Globe-News, October 27, 2009
  5. William Henry (2009), History of Amarillo Independent School District 1950 - 2000. Page 5.
  6. Jennifer Wilson (2004-08-25). "St. Andrew's school to install headmaster". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  7. "ABOUT ST. ANDREW'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL". Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  8. Brenda Bernet (2008-03-13). "SJCA taking national exam". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  9. "Praiseworthy". Amarillo Globe-News. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  10. St. Andrews team receives second at middle school Science Bowl, Amarillo Globe-News, June 26, 2005
  11. 5 in a row. St. Andrew's Wins Science Bowl again!, St. Andrew's Episcopal School website, accessed January 29, 2011.
  12. UPI, California school wins Energy Science Bowl, June 23, 2008
  13. Mira Loma High School and Hopkins Junior High School from California Win U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl, U.S. Department of Energy website, accessed January 29, 2011.
  14. 2008 National Middle School Science Bowl - Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Competition Candid Photos, U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl website, accessed January 29, 2011. Includes several photos of St. Andrews students and states that the school team "won the competition with a time of 3.58 seconds on a 10 meter track."
  15. Katy Hammond, Triadelphia Students Place at Science Bowl, The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register, July 29, 2007. This West Virginia newspaper article reports that St. Andrew's won the hydrogen fuel cell model car competition; a school from West Virginia placed third.
  16. St. Andrew's Science Bowl team places second, Amarillo Globe-News, August 24, 2005
  17. "Smith Middle School Takes First Place at Science Bowl Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car Competition". National Renewable Energy Laboratories. 24 June 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  18. Challenger School from Newark, Calif. Wins U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl® for Middle School Students, U.S. Department of Energy website, accessed January 29, 2011.
  19. 2005 National Middle School Science Bowl Winners of the Academic Competition, U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl website, accessed January 29, 2011.
  20. Athletics, St. Andrew's School website.
  21. Plainview Christian Academy hits record enrollment, Plainview Daily Herald (Plainview, Texas), February 8, 2009
  22. Joe Gamm, St. Andrew's athletic director fired, Amarillo Globe-News, December 16, 2010
  23. Former St. Andrews coach arrested and charged, ConnectAmarillo (ProNews 7) website, December 17, 2010
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