St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Amarillo, Texas)
Encyclopedia
St. Andrew's Episcopal School is a private school
located in Amarillo
, Texas
, USA, 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."
. 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.
The school opened as one kindergarten class conducted in the basement
of St. Andrew’s Church. Betty Bivins' sister, Margaret Teel, was the first teacher. Additional grades were added in later years, until 1990 when the first eighth grade class graduated. 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 credit
s for students who had been taught by a first-grade teacher over 65 years old.
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 classroom
s, 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.
Ron Ferguson became the headmaster in August 2004 replacing Scott Kimball.
(TAKS) that is required by all public schools in Texas but they do take the Stanford Achievement Test
and the Otis-Lennon Test
. 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.
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.
(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 cell
s. 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; in 2008 a team from the school placed third overall.
, volleyball
, basketball
, golf
, and track
. 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. The coach
was later arrested and charged with a crime
.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
located in Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA, 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."
History
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School was founded in 1951. by Betty and Lee Bivins, who perceived a need for a kindergartenKindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. They were the parents of Teel Bivins
Teel Bivins
Miles Teel Bivins served as United States ambassador to Sweden between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on June 9...
, born four years earlier, who was later to become a United States Ambassador to Sweden
United States Ambassador to Sweden
The United States Ambassador to Sweden serves as the chief representative of the United States Foreign Service to the Kingdom of Sweden, and 1814 to 1905, also to Norway, which was politically aligned with Sweden...
and a Texas State Senator.
The school opened as one kindergarten class conducted in the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
of St. Andrew’s Church. Betty Bivins' sister, Margaret Teel, was the first teacher. Additional grades were added in later years, until 1990 when the first eighth grade class graduated. At one time in the 1950s, student transfers from St. Andrew's to the public schools of the Amarillo Independent School District
Amarillo Independent School District
Amarillo Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States.Amarillo ISD covers about of land in Randall County and Potter County...
were restricted due to a school district regulation against accepting private school transfer credit
Transfer credit
Transfer credit, credit transfer, or advanced standing are the terms used by colleges and universities for the procedure of granting credit to a student for educational experiences or courses undertaken at another institution....
s for students who had been taught by a first-grade teacher over 65 years old.
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 classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, a gymnasium, a computer lab, a cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, 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.
Ron Ferguson became the headmaster in August 2004 replacing Scott Kimball.
Academics
By the time students graduate from the 8th Grade they have accumulated at least five high school credits. Students at St. Andrews do not take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and SkillsTexas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is a standardized test used in Texas primary and secondary schools to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required under Texas education standards. It is developed and scored by Pearson Educational...
(TAKS) that is required by all public schools in Texas but they do take the Stanford Achievement Test
Stanford Achievement Test Series
The current Stanford Achievement Test Series, usually referred to simply as the "SAT 10", is considered the benchmark of excellence in standardized achievement tests utilized by school districts in the United States for assessing children from kindergarten through high school. First published in...
and the Otis-Lennon Test
Otis-Lennon School Ability Test
The Otis–Lennon School Ability Test , published by the successor of Harcourt Assessment — Pearson Education, Inc., a subsidiary of Pearson PLC — is a test of abstract thinking and reasoning ability of children pre-K to 18...
. 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.
St. Andrew’s is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Independent Schools
The National Association of Independent Schools is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1963, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boarding, and day/boarding schools; elementary and secondary...
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 BowlNational Middle School Science Bowl
The National Middle School Science Bowl is a middle school academic competition, similar to Quiz Bowl, held in the United States. Two teams of four students each compete to answer various science-related questions...
(NMSSB) is a middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
academic competition held in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It includes an academic competition, in which teams of four students compete to answer various science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
-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 cell
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
s. The NMSSB has been organized and sponsored by the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
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; in 2008 a team from the school placed third overall.
| St. Andrew's ranks in national hydrogen fuel cell car Hydrogen vehicle A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen fueled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles... competition |
|---|
| 2009 - First Place 2008 - First Place 2007 - First Place 2005 - Second Place |
| St. Andrew's ranks in national academic competition |
|---|
| 2008 - Third Place 2005 - Second Place |
Sports
St. Andrew's interscholastic teams compete against other junior-high-age teams in the High Plains Christian Athletic Association in footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. 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. The coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
was later arrested and charged with a crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
.
Notable alumni
- Teel BivinsTeel BivinsMiles Teel Bivins served as United States ambassador to Sweden between 2004 and 2006. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2004, and sworn in at Washington D.C., on May 26. He presented his credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on June 9...
, member of the Texas State Senate and United States Ambassador to SwedenUnited States Ambassador to SwedenThe United States Ambassador to Sweden serves as the chief representative of the United States Foreign Service to the Kingdom of Sweden, and 1814 to 1905, also to Norway, which was politically aligned with Sweden...