State of the School 2023

Regents Community,

This year we are celebrating our 30th year, and this spring our 1,000th graduate will walk across the stage – all in the midst of a two-year pandemic and a changing and contentious landscape in education.

It is hard to read the news and not be discouraged at the world around us while at the same time feeling incredibly thankful for the many blessings we have received at Regents. We are thankful for our faculty and staff for their faithfulness and diligence as they show up to teach and work on this campus each day. We are thankful for our students’ excitement and eagerness to learn. We are grateful to our Regents parents for your partnership as we continue on mission each day. And we are grateful to our alumni and our alumni parents who continue to pray for us and cheer us on, whether locally or from afar.

As a valued member of our community, we want to keep you informed about what is happening on the Regents campus. Below is our annual State of the School message. In it, you will find updates on the progress on the five ONWARD strategic plan initiatives, updates about what is happening in our community, as well as information on our upcoming events.

I am always happy to meet with you or answer any questions you may have. It is a joy to serve your family!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Dan Peterson, Ph.D.
Head of School

Faculty Training
We encourage our faculty and staff to be lifelong learners by providing them with internal and external speaker sessions during our in-service trainings each year. This year, we have welcomed Aaron Howard and Angel Adams Parham, alongside our very own Josh Simmons, Allison Jackson, and Ryan Lister.

Curriculum Review
The Composition Curriculum review is now complete. Assistant Head of School of Rhetoric Rose Usry is leading the Foreign Language Review, Head of Grammar Ronnie Long is leading the Physical Education Review, and Head of Logic Stephen Steiner is leading the Literature Review.

ONWARD INITIATIVE

Foster an Enduring Community

Community Update
Director of Community Liz Benigno began her work last fall to enhance the K-12 parent experience and foster community and involvement throughout the whole journey. We are working to engage our alumni, alumni parents, grandparents, and families by providing Speaker Series Activities, hosting events for alumni and alumni parents, inviting alumni moms to monthly Moms’ prayer, and welcoming grandparents on campus as volunteers. We are also working on building an alumni app to enable alumni and their families to stay in touch.

ONWARD INITIATIVE

ACCS Regional Summit
Regents was one of 12 locations nationally that hosted ACCS classical Christian educational leaders in the fall. We welcomed 27 guests from 14 schools - 19 of whom were here the day prior observing classrooms and participating in Q&As with our staff. Ryan Lister gave the keynote entitled The Courage of Counterformation, and Dr. Peterson led a situation room to collaborate amongst fellow school leaders.

Regents Podcast - Spring Schedule
The Regents Podcast is currently in Season 5. This spring, we will feature episodes with guests Hillary Ferrer from Mama Bear Apologetics, bestselling author and speaker Vicki Courtney, Dr. Angel Adams Parham. From our own community, you can expect to hear from Josh Simmons on the Europe Trip, Collin Fallon on Campus Security, Will Davis and Julie Thomas on the Capital Campaign, and more.

Residency Program
Dr. Ryan Lister, Director of Residency, has been building out our newest initiative to help equip and disciple future educational leaders in the truth, goodness, and beauty of classical Christian education. Dr. Lister has been creating curriculum and structures to equip leaders and teachers interested in the “how and why” of Regents to join us for a year long discipleship and mentorship program. The hope is to use the Lord’s gifts at Regents to help grow—and respond to–the exponential growth already happening in the classical, Christian movement here in Austin, Texas, the US, and beyond.

Cultivate Thought Leadership within the Classical Christian School Movement

ONWARD INITIATIVE

All School Food Drive
Together through the November 2022 K-12 Food Drive Regents was able to donate 1,346 pounds of food to the Central Texas Food Bank. Thank you to all who donated!

SOL Ministerium
Logic students spent their fall Ministerium Day providing food and necessities to the local homeless community and serving throughout Austin at organizations like Down Home Ranch, Angel House, Center for Child Protection, Hill Country Thrift & Senior Center, and Mueller Lake Park. Students also served on the Regents campus, picking up about trash and repairing and developing stone walking paths through campus.

Buddy Letters
In the fall, students K-12 paired up to write over 1,000 letters to send to nursing homes, Travis Country neighbors, veterans and active military in the Regents community, first responders in the Regents community, our local fire/ems stations, the local police substation, military on the border, and our on campus officers. We have received so many positive comments from neighbors and our community members in response to these sweet letters.

SOR Service Council
In the fall, Regents competed with other local schools to collect hoodies for Mobile Loaves and Fishes. We collected over 750 hoodies. At the Varsity basketball game on January 24, the Division Heads and three students raced to make the most sandwiches for the Mobile Loaves and Fishes truck delivery.

Expand Service in the Austin Community

ONWARD INITIATIVE

Campus Task Force Report
In the fall, we released the Campus Task Force Report, the culmination of an 18-month process to develop the new Regents School of Austin Campus Master Plan. We invite you to view the Campus Task Force Community Forum that was held last semester to hear from members of the task force and architectural firm PAGE.

Capital Campaign
Next month, we will be launching the capital campaign to raise the necessary community funds to carry out the plans detailed in the Campus Task Force Report. Please be on the lookout for additional information on the campaign from Director of Advancement Kirk Avery. Our hope is that 100% of our Regents community will participate.

Build Needed Campus Facilities

ONWARD INITIATIVE

Annual Report
In December, the 2021-2022 Annual Report was released outlining the Regents revenue and expenses for the 2021-2022 school year.

Friends of Regents
Friends of Regents serves a unique purpose in allowing families to donate to one place and bless all of the faculty and staff at Christmas time. This year, families were so generous that two gifts were given to faculty and staff, one in December and one in January. Year after year, our employees have been blessed by this outpouring of love and appreciation.

Develop Essential Financial Resources for Sustainability and Affordability

Campus Safety

Chief of Security
We hired Chief of Security Collin Fallon to lead the implementation of our comprehensive safety and security plan. The purpose of this position will be to strike a balance between oversight and implementation of security while providing regular surveillance of our campus. If you have any questions or comments on campus secuirty, please email security@regentsaustin.org.

Fencing
We have been blessed with a beautiful 82-acre campus, but it is also very open. This spring, we will be installing black iron fencing around the north and east sides of the campus. This will include the north side of campus that backs up to the woods and trails and the east side of campus that runs parallel to Republic of Texas Boulevard. The gates of the fencing will allow for students and families to come and go throughout the day.

GENERAL UPDATES

Director of Athletics

We recently announced that Director of Athletics Beck Brydon will be leaving Regents School of Austin after 25 years. Brydon has accepted the role of Director of Student Impact and Varsity Head Football Coach at Second Baptist School in Houston. We are grateful to the Brydon family for their service to Regents over the last 25 years. Brydon will be transitioning to his new role at Second Baptist this spring. Regents will begin the search for a new Director of Athletics immediately.

Re-Enrollment Invitations/Deadline

Annual Report
As a reminder, re-enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is due on Wednesday, February 1 and must be completed through FACTS. Click here to begin re-enrollment. If you have any questions about the re-enrollment process, please contact Kristen Sewell at ksewell@regentsaustin.org.

Spring Speaker Series

Dr. Angel Adams Parham
Dr. Parham visited Regents during our in-service in January. She presented Classical Education as Crossroads and Conversations where she discussed the criticisms that many have about classical education. You can view her talk here.

Hillary Ferrer with Mama Bear Apologetics
Last week, Hillary Ferrer visited Regents to discuss her book Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality. If you weren’t able to attend, you can view her talk here.

SAVE THE DATE

Moms for Moms | Saturday, February 11 | Register here.
Vicki Courtney joins us to discuss the troubling trend of our young people walking away from their faith and/or identifying as “nones” and “dones.” The message highlights three key things parents can do to raise kids who are “grounded” in the faith. Coffee and breakfast tacos will be served. Vicki will begin at 8:45 a.m.

Grandparents Day | Thursday, April 6
We are thrilled to welcome our Grandparents to the Regents Campus for Grandparents Day! Please fill out the Grandparent & Special Friend Form in FACTS to ensure your Grandparent receives an invitation.

Regents Cup | Monday, April 17
Join us on April 17 to raise funds for Athletics and Fine Arts not otherwise met by tuition dollars. Get a golf or pickleball team together for a day of fun and fellowship! More details to come.