The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders is a unique all-girls school founded to educate young women and give them the confidence and skills necessary to succeed in college, in their careers, and in their communities.

It's a public school in the Austin Independent School District serving girls in 6th through 12th grade. The vision is to focus on the whole girl, providing academic and enrichment opportunities that engage our students, expand their horizons, and give them the tools to achieve their dreams.

This fall, the first graduating class from the Ann Richards School will be entering college throughout the United States.

In Austin, a new class of Stars is preparing for the start of classes next week—keenly aware of the wonderful work the alumna and their pioneering peers have achieved. They proudly embrace the school's mission “to prepare young women to attend and graduate college, commit to a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle, lead with courage and compassion, and solve problems creatively and ethically in support of our global community.”

During its short history, the Ann Richards School has achieved a long list of successes:

First Graduating Class

• 100 percent of the seniors graduated and all of the young women were accepted to four-year colleges and universities.
• The Class of 2013 earned $2.6 million in merit-based scholarships.
• The young women volunteered 6,000 hours in the community.
• 73 percent of the graduating class will represent the first generation in their families to attend college.

Performance

• Since its inception, the Ann Richards School has been the only AISD middle school to earn the highest rating of exemplary based on TAKS scores.
• Once high school grade levels were added, ARS and LASA have been the only AISD high schools to be rated exemplary.
• ARS was awarded two distinction designations for STAAR Academic Achievement in Reading/ELA and Top 25 percent student progress.
• ARS was ranked as the Number 3 Middle School in Central Texas by Children at Risk, which measures schools on their STAAR advanced reading and math scores, attendance and retention rates, and percent of economically disadvantaged students, and reading and math growth.

Service-minded Scholars

• ARS was one of 16 high schools in the United States to receive the M.I.T. Lemelson grant. ARS students designed a pressurized food preserver (to be used in developing countries) and presented their prototype at M.I.T. this summer.

Congratulations, Stars of the Ann Richards School and AISD!

Visit the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders website to learn more about the school.

The Ann Richards School - The Dream Realized from One Story Productions on Vimeo.