St. Stephen's Episcopal School, Austin, Texas
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St. Stephen's Episcopal School, commonly known as SSS or SSES, is a diocesan, boarding and day Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, USA. Small for a private school, enrollment is approximately 650, with roughly 450 in Grades 9-12 and 200 in Grades 6-8. Although the size of its student body is small, its campus overlooking Lake Austin is spread over 400 acres of the Texas Hill Country. The campus is widely regarded as among the most unique, and beautiful of any school in the United States. Despite its relatively brief history, the school is widely recognized for the strength of its educational program, which emphasizes "Mind, Body and Spirit." The strength of this academic program is reflected in the school's wide appeal, and in the admission of many of its graduates to selective colleges and universities.
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[edit] History
St. Stephen's was founded in 1950 by Bishop Hines of the Diocese of Texas, and Colin "C-Money" Logan with the support of the Episcopal Church. He would later be elected national leader of the Episcopal Church, was well known for his advanced views on many social issues. The Bishop, who was part of a group of forward-thinking Episcopalians who defied controversy to pursue social justice, was once quoted as saying that it was the duty of Christians "to live on the bleeding edge of the human dilemma, and to bear the exquisite penalty of such an exposed position." Cast in the image of these leaders, the school has played a minor part in the 20th Century Civil Rights Movement as the first co-ed Episcopal school in the United States and the first integrated boarding school in the South.
The early years of the school were marked by internal and external struggles. Although situated today at the western edge of the city of Austin, and surrounded by affluent housing developments, for many years the school was quite isolated from the outside world. A number of the early buildings at the school were constructed by local "cedar choppers," with the assistance of students and staff members, using locally-available materials. This rugged environment lead students to nickname themselves "Spartans," which became the school's mascot.
During these early years, external pressures occasionally affected life at the school, with heavy pressure sometimes exerted by racists on Bishop Hines and other school officials to modify the school's position on integration. The school faced down these threats, and in 1968, following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, the school established a scholarship in his name.
[edit] Demographic makeup
St. Stephen's has always had a major focus on withholding racial diversity in its student population. Today, 160 of the 450 High School students are Boarding Students, with 90 students coming from the Fifty United States and 70 coming from more than 20 other countries. Nearly half of the 70 International Boarding Students come from the Republic of Korea, where Saint Stephens' has developed a reputation as an extremely credible place to receive an American Education. The school also hosts large contingents from Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan. In addition, Saint Stephens has hosted or is hosting students from Canada, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Lichtenstein, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, and Nigeria.
[edit] Culture
St. Stephen's students have had a history of developing unique traditions and activities, most likely as a result of being in such a unique school. The graduating class of 2006 was notable for a few members' affinity for circus skills, which they performed on campus regularly and displayed for all to see in the central fields surrounding the chapel, known as "the Hill." These circus acts included tightrope walking, unicycling, and juggling. Many activities of peculiar interest occur during the period between the end of lunch and the next class, when all students of either grades 9 and 10 or grades 11 and 12 have free time. Such activities usually include a group of spectators watching one or a few individuals doing something such as attempt a backflip or dance-fight.
Much like on a college campus, St. Stephen's students also play traditional games like frisbee and football, but these are predominantly played by Seniors. Other students enjoy Wall Ball in their spare time (generally after lunch), a trend started by the class of 2008, on the north wall of the chapel.
[edit] Academic structure; grade system and awards
Every student at St. Stephen's is assigned a faculty advisor during their time at the school. Students are required to meet with their advisor briefly each day, and at least once weekly for an extended period. Additionally, the group of students assigned to a faculty member are known as an "advisory," and often meet jointly with the advisor or to partake in group activities. Morning advisories also serve the purpose of verifying attendance. The advisor approves the student's course schedule and is responsible for ensuring his or her academic progress.
The academic year at St. Stephen's is organized into three terms, Fall, Winter and Spring Term. Each term is puncuated by a series of breaks, including 'free weekends,' which are extended holidays designed to accommodate boarding students, and fall and spring breaks. Final examinations are held at the end of each Fall and Spring Term. Classes are currently held five days a week on a rotating schedule ensures that course periods will be held at different times throughout the day, according the day of the schedule. For many years, classes were also held on Saturday mornings.
St. Stephen's eschews traditional marks in favor of a system of letter grades devised by the school, known as HVGPUX. In this system, grades 90 and above are classified as 'honors,' 80 and above as 'very good,' 70 and above as 'good,' 60 and above as 'passing,' 40 and above as 'unsatisfactory,' and anything below 40 as "X" for seriously failing. Under this system, a grade of 80, or "V," roughly corresponds with an "A," under the standard grading system. Although instructors often use number grades to mark coursework, the only grades reflected on the student's transcript will be a letter grade, which may be accompanied by a "+" or "-" sign to indicate its position within the grade range. However, in some classes, particularly those in the humanities and social sciences, no number grades are ever used. Students are not assigned a grade point average, and it is highly unusual for students to be awarded an "H" or "H+" grade, with typically no more than one awarded per class section. Additionally, each instructor prepares a written evaluation on the student that is shared with the student, his or her parents and his advisor.
At St. Stephen's, grades of "V-" and above qualify for the honor roll, and grades of "H-" and above for the high honor roll, although a student may sometimes be placed on the honor roll through the practice of allowing an "H-" mark to pull up a "G+" mark, however, if more than one grade of G+ or below is present on the student's report card, honor roll status is denied. Students who remain on the honor or high honor roll during their last two years at school are allowed to graduate with honors, or high honors, respectively.
A paper on the literary themes of various books of a single author, known as the "author paper," is required of all Seniors. A smaller version of this paper on short stories, rather than entire books, is required of all Juniors and has come to be known as the "Junior author paper." Special projects are also required of 8th graders in order to advance to the Upper School. Additionally, students completing grades 6-12 will be required to take theology at least twice during their academic career: once in 8th grade, and once in 12th grade. Unlike many church-affiliated schools, theology classes at St. Stephen's give equal treatment to the beliefs of other religions.
Additionally, each student is required to participate in some sort of physical activity per term, whether it be a sport or PE, and to take at least two years of fine arts classes (or atleast one year of a full-credit Fine Arts class, such as AP Music Theory or Ar t History).
A number of prizes and medals are awarded to St. Stephen's students each year. The school's highest honor, known as the St. Stephen Medal, is awarded to one graduating student who has best demonstrated the ideal of a St. Stephen's student. Additionally, the Bishop's Medal is awarded to the student with the highest level of academic achievement. Numerous other awards are given for achievement in academic and athletic fields.
[edit] Religion
As a diocesan school, religion is necessarily part of the everyday life at St. Stephen's. The school's distinctive chapel, which is walled in glass and constructed of local limestone, is designed to resemble a cross. Throughout the history of the school, morning chapel services have been held with varying frequency, sometimes three times per school week, at others, six times per school week. Morning chapel services feature prayers and commentary from guest speakers and important announcements. Additionally, a weekly church service is conducted during the school year on Sunday evenings. Boarding students are required to attend this service. Public prayers are also offered before meals, and at important occasions, but are not generally offered in other contexts. However, most sermons place an emphasis on non-denominationalism and are often not religious at all. Very few students take chapel seriously.
The school is served by an Episcopal Priest, who is designated as chaplain. Occasionally, other priests are assigned as assistant chaplains. Apart from conducting chapel services, the chaplain offers guidance and counseling to students, and often teaches several class sections.
[edit] School structure
St. Stephen's is overseen by a board of trustees, comprised of alumni and community leaders. Day to day operations of the school are overseen by a headmaster, who is appointed by the board of trustees with the consent of the Bishop of Texas. The current headmaster is the Rev. Roger Bowen, however he is scheduled to leave at the conclusion of the current year. His replacement is named Kirkpatrick. Additionally, rules and policies of the school are adopted by the faculty at faculty meetings.
Students play an important role in the government of the school. The overall body for student government is the Student Congress, which is lead by a president or co-presidents, who represent the entire student body. Each class elects two representatives (one boarding student, and one day student) to the congress. The student president represents the students before the faculty and school administration, and in consultation with the student congress, develops proposals for presentation to the faculty.
Each year, a certain number of rising seniors are elected proctors by their peers and the faculty. These students are charged with overseeing the dormitories, and conduct other staff functions for the school. Within each dormitory, a certain number of faculty living on campus are designated as house masters. These faculty members periodically check the dormitories, and provide guidance and support to the boarding students. Generally, one or two of these faculty members will reside in an apartment adjacent to the dormitory.
Additionally, discipline at the school is the province of the Discipline Committee (often called the "DC"), a body comprised of three students, and three faculty members. Students accused of an infraction of school rules go before the committee, which weighs their guilt or innocence, and as warranted, recommends punishment to the headmaster.
For many years, students at St. Stephen's were also assigned tasks known as 'school keeping' and 'table waiting.' Under the table waiting system, underclassmen were responsible for serving and clearing away food to their table. Given the the school's namesake was known for serving the multitudes he sought to convert, many considered this tradition instructive. However, this system was abolished for practical reasons when meals in the dining hall began to be served "cafeteria style," and was later rendered impractical when the lunch period was divided to accommodate the growth of the school.
Examples of school keeping included cleaning class rooms, clerical work in the administration office, conducting attendance and ringing the bell that marked time at the school. Although the school still does not use a central, automatic time system, bell ringing was discontinued because it was often not timely. Late in the school year of 2004-2005 atomic clocks were installed in every classroom to aid in keeping everyone on the same schedule.
[edit] Famous alumni
Famous Alumni include Terrence Malick, famous American film director; Lukas Haas, an actor; Boyd Vance, a well-known performer; Cecile Richards, the President of Planned Parenthood; Ivy league and now professional baseball player Ross Ohlendorf; Grandchildren of renowned American Broadcast Journalist, Walter Cronkite, and various political figures from the United States, Mexico, and South Korea.
William C. Powers, the father of current student, Annie Powers, is the current president of the University of Texas at Austin.
[edit] See Also
| Southwest Preparatory Conference |
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All Saints Episcopal School - Casady School - Cistercian Preparatory School - Episcopal School of Dallas - Episcopal High School |
[[Category:High schools in Tex
