2020-21 St. Andrew's Fund Mid-Year Impact Report

2020-21 mid-year

I MPAC T R E P O R T St. Andrew’s Fund EVERY GIFT COUNTS FOR EVERY STUDENT.

2020-21

AT A G L A N C E

TOTAL R A I S E D $1,094,021 TOTAL D O N O R S

LEADERSHIP G I V I N G

853

AVERAGE G I F T $1,283 MEDIAN G I F T $250

6%

OF DONORS

63%

OF DOLLARS

6%

GIVING BY M O N T H

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP As you can see, your leadership giving makes a big difference in our St Andrew’s Fund campaigns. In turn, that ensures that students and teachers are supported with the very best technology, training, and more.

This year, many independent schools had to make a tough choice to put their Annual Giving campaigns on hold, even as expenses related to COVID safety and distance learning increased. The St. Andrew’s community rallied together behind our students and teachers and not only met but exceeded our $1,000,000 goal. You are a huge part of that success, and we hope you enjoy these vignettes about just some of what your support makes possible.

A LIFER’S GRATEFUL REFLECTION Thank you so much for your donation to St. Andrew’s! Your donation will help our students and community flourish both in and out of the classroom.

In January of my freshman year, I was assigned a shadow student, a student who goes with me to my classes for a day to see what going to St. Andrew’s might be like. After taking her around the school, bringing her to my classes, and showing her what chapel and advisory are like, I asked her what she thought of St. Andrew’s. She told me she was struck by the community we foster at St. Andrew’s, from the chorus of “thank yous” as students leave a classroom to the personalized classes to daily advisory and chapel times. I believe it was this community that convinced my shadow student to attend St. Andrew’s. Having gone to St. Andrew’s for twelve years, it is easy to take the resources and benefits of St. Andrew’s and our community for granted, but every day I am reminded of why I am extremely grateful to go to school here.

“I can confidently say that St. Andrew’s strengthens the whole student: the academic, athletic, artistic, and servant sides of students.”

In every class I have taken at St. Andrew’s, I have known that my teacher is ready and able to help me succeed not only in their class, but also any other aspect of my life, from athletics to mental health. At St. Andrew’s, I have flourished as a student and as a leader because my teachers have supported me on and off campus. Our teachers never expect us to have the same ability and knowledge as the person sitting next to us; this allows students the opportunity to be creative and think outside the box. My teachers have taught me how to advocate for myself and work hard in addition to how to solve an integral and translate the Aeneid.

In addition to leading students to success, St. Andrew’s also prepares students for life after high school. Throughout my time at St. Andrew’s, I have been given opportunities to grow in many areas like managing my time, creating a balance between school and extracurriculars, and asking for help. As my classmates and I get ready to head off to college, these skills, fostered

by St. Andrew’s academics and community, continue to prepare us for rigorous college courses, living on our own, and increased freedom.

I can confidently say that St. Andrew’s strengthens the whole student: the academic, athletic, artistic, and servant sides of students. A key aspect of this is the support and encouragement that comes from the St. Andrew’s community. I have been involved in many things throughout high school, from concert band to Latin club to soccer, but none of that would have been possible without the knowledge that my teachers and peers were there to help me and cheer me on. While it will be hard for me to leave St. Andrew’s after 12 years, it comforts me to know that your generosity will give students access to this amazing school for years to come!

Emma Schmidt

SAS Class of 2021

BRINGING US TOGETHER While all four pillars–scholar, artist, athlete, and servant–are valued at St. Andrew’s, the servant pillar holds a special place in many people’s hearts.

Our students, parents, alumni, and community members are consistently going above and beyond to support their neighbors and friends. During COVID, the physical ability to participate in service has been more challenging than in previous years, but our families remain committed to that value, and have some creative solutions.

This year so far, Lower School students have organized a pet drive, and organized to help a shelter get necessary supplies. Others took the suggestion from DEIB Co-Director Priya Kenny to treat MLK Day as a “day on” rather than a “day off”, and created winter/COVID bags to hand out to people without homes while others cleaned up their neighborhood parks.

This is to say nothing of the countless small acts of kindness we see our Lower School students engaging in every day, encouraging and engaging with each other, not allowing “socially distanced” to mean disconnected.

The Epp family recently demonstrated that determination with a project that raised more than $10,000 for the Central Texas Food Bank.

SAS dad Chris Epp is the Chair of the Bryker Woods Neighborhood Association (BWNA) Social Committee, and recently came up with an idea for Bryker Woods residents to make a donation in exchange for a yard sign that proclaims “Bryker

Left: Chris and Marin Epp during their tenure as SAF Lower School Chairs Right: Maible ‘29 and Georgie ‘33 Epp, installing signs in their neighbors’ yards

Woods Forever Together.” This raised $5,150, and Siete Family Foods will match every dollar that came in. BWNA President Greg Underwood explained that “so many neighbors wanted signs we had to place a second order!”

The Epp family is no stranger to service, especially at St. Andrew’s. Chris and Mairin have served as St. Andrew’s Fund Ambassadors and Chairs, Mairin is currently the Lower School Parent Association President, and they’ve also helped with lunch service, various school events, admissions projects, and more. Maible ‘29 and Georgie ‘33 are learning that tradition of service from the ground up, helping to install these BWNA fundraising signs in their neighbors’ yards.

SAS mom Mairin was so proud, saying, “The idea was to sell a few yard signs and donate the proceeds to a good cause. What started as a grassroots effort to bolster a sense of community and raise a few dollars, quickly became a neighborhood sensation. Last Summer Maible and Georgie worked with the BWNA and donated $5,150 to the Central Texas Food Bank!”

Families like the Epps are what make our St. Andrew’s community such a wonderful haven.

Before, during, and after COVID our students and families exemplify the best of what our school brings to the wider Austin community. Thank you to everyone who has exemplified the servant pillar this year—we are so grateful for you!

“I’m proud of her safe and creative staging and her perseverance.”

THE SHOW MUST GO ON When we look back on 2020, we see a lot of community and a lot of perseverance, but we also see a lot of canceling. Appointments, vacations, performances—you name it and somebody canceled it in 2020. On the cusp of her senior year and her directorial debut, Eugenia De la Garza Montfort ‘21 saw all of this and made a commitment that the show would go on for her senior-directed play.

“Every time we would have a meeting, we’d have some kind of update about COVID. It would usually be, ‘Change of plans: you’re not going to be able to perform inside. Change of plans: you’re not going to be able to perform with an audience. Change of plans: not everyone might be there in class so you can’t cast everyone, so that was hard.”

After extensive reading and research, Eugenia had chosen the 2011 play The Lyons for her project.

Eugenia describes the play as “very dark humor.

The dad is in the hospital on his deathbed. The family tries to come together to have a sentimental goodbye, but it doesn’t go that way. It’s a big mess. It’s amazing because the audience gets to watch each character take their first steps into discovering that they can solve their issues, that they can find that inner peace, that they can love each other, even if they’re very different. It’s bittersweet but it’s very funny, and it also has that little message of ‘it can get better’.”

That optimism—and a lot of determination—led Eugenia to be only one of four initial directors who

L to R: Mackenzie Soldano ‘22, Christian Brown ‘21, Eugenia De la Garza ‘21, John Burrows ‘21, Johnny Bennett ‘22, and Kristin Fowler ‘21 not pictured: Lily Kruger ‘21

was able to put on her show, with an extremely creative, socially-distanced twist.

“We had to come up with a different, safe, and unique place to perform in. I played with the theme of isolation. The family [in the play] is in the hospital, so I felt that it would work to have a physical separation between the cast and the audience. The cast was inside a corner of the Dell Fine Arts Center (DFAC) lobby and the audience were out on the steps outside. That put the cast in their little hospital room, which was the location for the entire show.”

Eugenia credits her perseverance and work ethic, as well as the dedication of her cast, for being able to put on the show, “because life is always going to throw obstacles at you, no matter what you’re doing. It was COVID this time, but it could’ve been really anything. But this confirmed my idea that you’re not going to get places if you don’t push.”

Upper School Theater Director Rick Garcia noted that Eugenia had “so many obstacles, but she did it.

I’m proud of her safe and creative staging and her perseverance.”

Congratulations to Eugenia, who plans on continuing her studies in the fall at NYU, majoring in musical theater. We look forward to seeing her do great things.

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TACKLEBAR FOOTBALL For the past decade or so, there has been growing research into the area of concussions, especially related to sports like football. While there has been much talk at the professional level, the concern of St. Andrew’s is ensuring that our students are as safe as possible while still being able to participate in sports that interest and engage them. Head Coach Jason Kruger explains, “When I played, starting in 3rd grade, and even when I started coaching, you taught players to put your facemask across the shoulder, so you’re hitting across their body, and your head is leading the contact.”

It’s no surprise that this tactic of leading with the head and neck can be a dangerous aspect of traditional tackle football. With Tacklebar, however, players are incentivized to lead with their shoulder rather than their head. Rather than a full tackle, students must pull a foam bar from a player’s harness on their back to make them “down”. This gives the players a more authentic experience than with flag football, and decreases risk not only while they play on a Tacklebar team, but when a player transitions to full tackle football, because they will have learned a different and less dangerous mode of tackling.

Jason elaborates that “what you’re trying to do is teach those fundamentals because a lot of times, when the game gets going, kids will resort to whatever to bring down a ball carrier. With Tacklebar, the idea is to initiate contact in a safe way that takes the head out of it.”

Henry Flake ‘27

Associate Athletic Director Jack Wallace ‘10 says the change has made a huge difference in students’ participation. Last year, when the Middle School tackle program was combined with St. Stephen’s (The Saints), 11-12 students total were enrolled.

Now, with Tacklebar, they’re seeing nearly three times as many students participate.

“Our flag football program was really popular with our 5th and 6th graders, and then historically, our tackle football numbers for middle school have been really low. So it’s exciting that we’re retaining a lot of the flag football players to play this new sport to bridge the gap,” Jack explains.

While COVID has impacted so much, Jack says that Middle School student athletes have been incredibly resilient. He says that while they wish there could’ve been more inter-school competition this year, “I don’t hear a lot of complaints from the 5th-8th grade kids, they are just happy to be out there running around and playing games with their friends.”

The team was only able to play two games, but all of the players and coaches look forward to returning to normal as soon as it’s safe to do so. St. Andrew’s is so proud to have the support from staff and parents to put this new program into place that helps our students have meaningful experiences safely.

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HONOR COUNCIL When a student at St. Andrew’s has a misstep that needs to be evaluated, it’s not simply the administration that takes part. There is a group of students–three sophomores, three juniors, and four seniors–called the Honor Council who take part in the process. Evelyn Berry ‘21 is one of those students, who has participated on the Honor Council for the past three years.

“I’d been very involved in student council in Middle School,” Evelyn explains, “I thought that Honor Council seemed like something that would complement my interests, and it’s a student leadership position that’s really important in our community. I got elected sophomore and junior years, and now I’m co-leader this year with Emma Schmidt, and it’s been a really great experience and learning opportunity.”

When a student makes a mistake that requires review, Evelyn explains, that “often the student chooses to have that student input” from the Honor Council. A student then has a hearing before several members of the Honor Council to reflect on “what were they thinking at the time, how can they avoid making a misstep in the future, and how could they grow from this and use this experience. We can add certain recommendations, too. Maybe meeting with a mentor or taking a class about substances or academic dishonesty, or social and emotional learning, things like that.”

During COVID-19, Evelyn admits this has presented a whole new group of challenges. “Readapting everything on Zoom, where even real lawyers and judges are struggling with that debate about how it’s different, has been a challenge. But we’ve all done it so quickly, and it’s

Top row: Evan Albritton ‘23, Evelyn Berry ‘21, and Morgan Harrison ‘23 // 2nd Row: Emma Schmidt ‘21, William Sykes ‘23, and Priya Julian ‘22 // 3rd Row: Rico Beuerlein ‘22 // Not Pictured: Annabel Briggs ‘21, Cecile McWilliams ‘22, and John Burrows ‘21

really been a testament to our strength and power as a group.”

Student hearings aren’t the only thing the Honor Council does. Evelyn explains that “especially and even with COVID, we’ve taken on different roles within the community,” putting on presentations about the COVID Code of Conduct, the school’s safety procedures and explanations about where we stand as a community.

“We’re reprogramming people’s habits, things that have been ingrained in their heads since infancy. We’re trying to say, ‘No, you can’t be close now; no, you can’t socialize; no, you can’t eat together.’ It’s been hard to feel like you can’t do the things that you’re naturally supposed to do and the things that naturally make us feel good as human beings,” Evelyn reflects.

But the Honor Council has steadfastly continued its work with the student body. “I think we serve as a big group of leaders that students on campus know, ‘If I have a concern, if I have a question, those are people I can go to,’” she explains.

As our community struggles with COVID-19, we have seen students display tremendous amounts of agility and flexibility in order to continue to engage meaningfully with their schoolwork and also to support their fellow students. St. Andrew’s is so proud of students like Evelyn and her peers on the Honor Council.

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