The Girls' School of Austin (middle school, kindergarten, education)

[looselynyc]

I would welcome any feedback that any parents of children who have attended the Girls' School of Austin might have to offer. We went to visit and were really impressed by the admissions person we met. The classrooms and grounds left a lot to be desired however and we wondered what the experience was really like for the girls attending. Is too small, too underfunded to provide as much as the public school in the area (Casis)?

[theloneranger]

Are you talking about Ann Richards or some small private school?

[GreenPlastic]

Sounds like he is referring to The Girls School of Austin...located in Tarrytown.

[mimimomx3]

I've heard that there have been lots of changes in leadership there. A good concept in theory (single sex education) but difficult to finance.

[looselynyc]

I don't know about the Ann Richards school. I am referring to the school in Tarrytown. I was not impressed by the facilities but I have to say that the admissions person who showed us around said all the right things and appeared really sincere. I was hoping to have that first impression confirmed.
There is no question that Casis right down the road has a far better infrastructure but in elementary years is the ratio 15:1 at the GSA not unarguably better than Casis's 22:1?

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by looselynyc

I don't know about the Ann Richards school. I am referring to the school in Tarrytown. I was not impressed by the facilities but I have to say that the admissions person who showed us around said all the right things and appeared really sincere. I was hoping to have that first impression confirmed.
There is no question that Casis right down the road has a far better infrastructure but in elementary years is the ratio 15:1 at the GSA not unarguably better than Casis's 22:1?

If you're looking specifically for a single-gender school, the Ann Richards YWLS is supposed to be one of the best all-girls public schools in the country (I think it's only a middle and high school though).

[centralaustinite]

Ann Richards is a public (AISD) middle school. The Girls School is private and starts in kindergarten.

I have no direct experience with the Girls School but have heard mixed things. 1:15 ratio is great but there can be problems when there is just one 15 student class per grade. That is too small for me and as you noted can lead to problems with the overall stability of the school.

I personally strongly support co-education and think that there are better private and public options in Austin. But children have widely varying learning styles and social emotion needs, so I am sure that it fits some children and some families very well. I know two families who have had good experiences there and two families who explored it closely and then decided it was not a good fit.