Headwaters School
Headwaters School is an independent school in Austin, Texas serving students from early childhood through grade 12. Beginning with a Montessori foundation and progressing to the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme, we design vibrant learning environments across our three campuses.
We invite our students, guides, staff, parents, and trustees to be Peacemakers, Advocates, Creators, and Thinkers. Read more on our About page.
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Academics
Our students grow from a Montessori foundation in our Early Childhood and Elementary programs into an International Baccalaureate® Diploma Programme in our high school. -
Student Life
Advisories, cultural dinners, project week, musical performances, open mic poetry, Model UN, chess club, Heroes of the Past, student trips...life at Headwaters is full of unique opportunities to connect and learn! -
Athletics
All Middle & High School students have the opportunity to participate in our after-school sports program. Teams compete in a league with other schools in the Austin Private School Association and other local leagues.
List of 8 items.
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2001
YEAR WE WERE FOUNDEDOur Middle & High School program was founded in 2001, followed closely by our Early Childhood & Elementary program in 2002. -
552
Students on three campuses125 Early Childhood students, 190 Elementary Students, 93 Middle School Students, and 144 High School Students. -
91
Full-time faculty and staff membersAcross all three of our Austin campuses. -
12.75
Average years of experienceOur seasoned faculty & staff create a rich environment for our students. -
$14.5
Million in college scholarship offers since 2012Our College Planning program helps juniors and seniors choose the path that is right for them. -
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Athletic Teams in four SportsOur Middle and High School athletics program includes volleyball, flag football, basketball, and soccer. -
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International StudentsFrom seven countries including Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, and Vietnam. -
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Weeks of Summer CampsOn our Early Childhood Campus.
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Headwaters Student Thread | May 2019 | Issue 1
Welcome to the first edition of the Student Thread, Headwaters student newsletter! The Student Thread is a project from the High School Community Leaders and is curated by Elliot Pearson and edited by Louisa Baldwin. We’re so excited to share our first issue with you all and continue this in the upcoming school year.Read More -
Ted Talks: Why We Hope You're Curious About the AIM Results
Read MoreOne of the most enduring features of working in schools is that in order to create a stimulating learning environment, you must continue learning yourself. (Incidentally, this was the theme of our recent and very successful Spring Fling where we raised money for faculty and staff professional development.) Earlier this year and in an attempt to be learners during the school year, the senior administrative team read, discussed, and studied Brene Brown's new book, Dare to Lead. In fact, we spent hours across six meetings exploring the relationship between empathy, leadership, and trust. Brown is clear and sometimes challenging about the topic of diversity and inclusivity. She touched a nerve for me in the following passage,“People are opting out of vital conversations about diversity and inclusivity because they fear looking wrong, saying something wrong, and being wrong. Choosing our own comfort over hard conversations is the epitome of privilege, and it corrodes trusts and moves us away from meaningful and lasting change.” (p. 9)I, for one, have certainly experienced each of those fears this year, and I have found myself at times unable to speak in conversations when I think parents, guides, or students might be expecting me to say something wise, or, at least, useful. One of my hopes for the AIM process is that it will create space for us to do what Brown urges, “have hard conversations instead of protecting our own comfort.” I think we have begun to do just that, and I believe there's plenty of room for growth and practice.Here are four reasons I hope you'll turn out to hear the AIM results:First and foremost, many of us care deeply about student voice and know it's core to the school's identity. As you'll see and hear, student voice figures prominently in the results from the AIM process. While 465 people responded to the survey, the big news here is 42% (195 students) of the respondents were between 12 and 18 years old; they are the ones who will live in a city, state, and world that is diversifying rapidly. And, I would add, having recently visited our Social Justice elective in middle school, the students are neither shy, timid, nor hesitant to have conversations about race, ethnicity, gender, or identity. I hope we adults can figure out how to follow their lead.Second, we hold a broad range of perceptions (and misperceptions) about our school--that's, of course, to be expected given how spread out we are geographically and given the wide age-range of students we serve. Thanks to the AIM process we have a chance to correct some of the misperceptions. One example of a misperception: the board of trustees is homogeneous and less diverse than other groups in the school. It's actually majority female with seven female trustees and six male; two trustees identify as people of color for 15% of the Board makeup. In comparison, the faculty's composition across the three campuses is slightly different than the board's: approximately 75% of the faculty are female and 20% of faculty identify as people of color. So, neither group is homogeneous, though those numbers vary by campus and program.Third, these results are the beginning of conversations about how to make our school more welcoming, more diverse, and more equitable. Only by being in conversation about these results can we begin to generate ideas that support all students in their journey toward identity formation and bringing more peace to the world.Fourth, as I have come to learn since moving to Austin four years ago, breakfast tacos are the best way to start a day, and I look forward to sharing them with you.So, you are enthusiastically invited to join me and Lorena Germán, AIM Coordinator, as we present perceptions, concerns, and recommendations as expressed by the 465 of us who participated in the AIM process.- Tuesday, May 7: Tacos with Ted & Lorena, Springs Community Picnic Table, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
- Thursday, May 9: AIM Parent Meeting with Ted & Lorena, Creek Campus Library, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
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Ted Talks: Spring and All
Read MoreTed Talks
By Ted Graf, Head of SchoolSpring and All
(with eternal gratitude to William Carlos Williams for the borrowed title.) -
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2019-2020 Headwaters Academic Calendar
Headwaters School has announced the 2019-2020 Academic Calendar. New Update as of 5/8/2019.Read More -
End-of-Year Ceremonies 2018-2019
As we come to the end of the 2018-19 School Year, let's celebrate!Read More -
Ted Talks: School as a Jazz Band
Read More
"Jazz players look for and notice instability, disorder, novelty, emergence, and self-organization for their innovative potential rather than as something to be avoided, eliminated, or controlled. Indeed, jazz bands are very much human systems living at the edge of chaos. To understand their social complexity requires cultivating an aesthetic that values surrender and wonderment over certainty, appreciation over problem solving, listening and attunement over individual isolation."
--Frank J. Barrett, Yes to the Mess -
October 2018 Student Spotlights
High School Model UN, Hamlet, Visitors from Mexico, and Headwaters Shark Tank!Read More -
Guide Feature: Alli Breznicky
Read MoreAlli Breznicky is the Lead Primary Guide in the Bluebirds Community on the SpringsCampus.
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Headwaters Calendar
List of 5 events.
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Memorial Day - Student & Staff Holiday
All School -
Last Day for Staff
All School -
New Family Gathering - YCC & Primary
Informal gathering for families of new students to visit campus and begin building community. Fruit and muffins will be served (and coffee for the grown-ups).Headwaters Primary Playground - 1934 Berkeley Ave Austin, TX 78745 -
New Family Gathering - Elementary
Informal gathering for families of new students to visit campus and begin building community. Popsicles will be served!Headwaters K-1 Playground - 9607 Brodie Ln Austin, TX 78748 -
New Family Gathering -Middle & High School
Informal gathering for families of new students to visit campus and begin building community. Popsicles will be served!Headwaters School 801 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX, 78701, United States
Come Visit Us
At Headwaters, we value our unique, open-minded, and mutually respectful school culture as much as we value our engaging and challenging academics. We are looking for families who share these values and who are committed to and excited about continual growth and development.
Springs Campus
18 months to Pre-K