A: This is an instance of failure to confirm information on the part of Community Impact. Once aware, we immediately reached out to Community Impact to share the negative impact of their incorrect reporting and requested a corrected reprint. Both campuses were listed in the Lake Travis/Westlake edition as well as the online version of the article.

A: Please submit questions or feedback to feedback@sgs-austin.org and feedback_SMCA@smca.com. The Head of School and Board of Trustees will be monitoring and responding to questions.

A: This newly-formed committee consists of trustees, school leadership, parents, and faculty from both campuses, to work with the Head of School to facilitate a smooth internal unification as well as provide timely feedback and responses to your questions.

A: The Project Team also consists of trustees, school leadership, parents, and faculty from both campuses, to work with the Head of School and EdwardsCo, our branding and identity company, on messaging and positioning of our unified school internally and in the larger external community. The Unification Committee and Project Team are working concurrently through the integration process.

A: In pre-merge discussions, the two historic Boards of Trustees decided that the names St. Gabriel’s and St. Michael’s should remain in place for two years. As the unification progressed, the decision was made to be responsive to the community’s desire to know a final decision sooner rather than later. Thus, the Board and school leadership interviewed and vetted four branding companies, and from those, chose EdwardsCo to guide us through this intentional and data-driven process.

A: EdwardsCo is currently analyzing the extensive data gathered internally and in the external Austin community and will present several naming options to the Unification Committee and the Board of Trustees. A Board decision will be made by the end of the calendar year with deliberations based on community data beginning in earnest this November.

A: In addition to emails received at the feedback addresses above as well as many ongoing phone and in-person conversations with the Head of School and various Trustees, 1,040 survey responses were received from students, parents, faculty/staff, leadership, trustees, and alumni. Additionally, EdwardsCo led 12 focus groups in person and virtually, and conducted multiple interviews with internal and external stakeholders, including prospective families as well as Austin leaders and influencers. A student-led naming petition at the Upper School has also been added to the data being analyzed by EdwardsCo.

A: St. Gabriel’s and St. Michael’s are so closely aligned in mission, Catholic values, and exceptional social-emotional, academic, and extracurricular offerings, not to mention location. We believe that, together, we can provide an even more exceptional Catholic experience for our students and families. The joining of our two schools marks a significant chapter in our journey, and through collaboration and partnership, we will grow into one community. Together we will honor the past, embrace the present, and co-create our very bright future.

A: The Board of Trustees for each school (now a unified board) made the decision to unify. This decision was made as a culmination of many years of discussion, research, planning, and discernment. We are keenly aware of today’s competitive and challenging environment for Independent schools locally in the Austin market, across Texas, and nationally. The unification of our schools solidifies our position as a superior, competitive, and – importantly – an accessible Independent Catholic school.

A: The school formally and legally merged on November 15, 2022. Throughout spring 2023, we worked on back-end operations, such as how to manage and bring together departments across the two campuses. This was an opportunity for restructuring that could fully support an outstanding Pre-K-12 Independent Catholic School. Last spring was also spent supporting faculty and staff as we moved from two payroll and benefits processes to one, hired strategically to support growing academic, athletic, fine arts, and innovation departments, and much more. It has been busy, challenging, interesting, and most of all, rewarding.

For the 2023-24 school year, the focus moves to the continued evolution of our unification from two communities into one. Last spring, the Board of Trustees retained EdwardsCo, a branding company, to guide us forward as we discover opinions, thoughts, and passions regarding these two historical communities and what is to be maintained into the future. During the summer of 2023, they sent a survey to begin that discovery process, followed by focus groups to finish the first step in our year with them. With that information gathered, we now can begin organizing the next steps.

A: The Board and this community have made no decision yet. We are at the very early stages of the process, and there will be more work to do together. At this point, all ideas are on the table – a new joint name, or keeping one or both current names, or a combination thereof. We will decide together. This process of discernment takes time and research, which is what we’ve hired EdwardsCo to do with us. There will be open and transparent communication regarding any naming decisions when those occur.

A: In Independent schools, Upper School is the common nomenclature for the high school. St. Michael’s is proudly an independent school, so that nomenclature makes sense for our structure and model.

A: Similar to the naming of the school, the colors and mascot will be decided based on research and feedback from EdwardsCo. We will continue to communicate with you regarding this process.

A: The question of uniforms at the Upper School is one that will again be decided upon with community input as we move forward in the branding and identity process. It is something that, like the name, there are several options on the table, including a range of decisions from no change to the current dress code, to a uniform in the manner that St. Michael's had historically.

A: In 2019, before the pandemic, St. Michael’s finalized a rebranding process. At the end of that process, a maroon M logo was adopted as the main Academic brand and a black and white M logo was adopted as the Athletic brand. While the Academic brand was fully implemented, with the onset of the pandemic and other mitigating factors, the Athletic colors and logo never were. When our Board generously released funds for us to complete much-needed upkeep and beautiful renovations in the Carter Athletic Center this summer, we looked to the St. Michael’s style guide for guidance. The colors you see in athletics now are the fulfillment and implementation of that 2019 St. Michael’s style guide. Please continue to proudly wear your maroon!

A: The transition from Middle School to Upper School will be simplified through matriculation without an application process. All students will benefit from more unified programming and alignment across divisions. In athletics, Middle School students will experience working with Upper School coaches and there will be opportunities in the academics and arts to work across divisions. Students in the Upper School will benefit through aligned academic curriculum as well as enhanced arts, robotics, and athletics programs. To learn more about how students will benefit programmatically, please see these videos: Athletics; Robotics; Film; Music; Visual Arts; Theatre. As students move through their journey at St. Gabriel’s and St. Michael’s, they will continue to feel strongly connected to this community that supports and nurtures their growth and discernment of purpose as they make a positive impact on our school community and beyond. Upper School students have access to expanded mentorship and leadership opportunities in academics, athletics, and spiritual activities. Students who join St. Michael’s from schools other than St. Gabriel’s will remain essential to the engaging culture of the Upper School and will be joining a community that is even more vibrant and filled with opportunity for all students as the result of the unification.

A: We take this concern seriously, and as such Shannon Hudson, Director of College Counseling & Academic Services, brought in a panel of representatives last spring from colleges our students frequently apply to, and we asked them that question. EdwardsCo also connected with a list of Texas and out-of-state college representatives separately. What we heard from both exercises was that schools are merging more often around the country, so if our community decided on a different name, colleges will not be thrown off by it. Rather, they simply requested clear communication. However, the main thing we heard is that they know our school and they know our kids are great members of their communities, and they will continue to look forward to matriculating our students to their campuses.

A: Many of you have noticed friendly new faces on our campuses. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, it was important to support the Upper School campus in right-sizing staffing as much as we could this summer as a first step in an ongoing right-sizing. We were able to hire an assistant the Head of Upper School for the first time. We have added many full-time coaches, who in addition to coaching our young men and women on the field or court, support the school by taking on supervision duties, thus giving needed planning time back to faculty. We have reorganized departments so members of our leadership team are no longer in charge of two or three departments at once, causing an unnecessary level of stress and strain. We have begun to add faculty at the Upper School as well with the goal of relieving teacher workload now and in the upcoming years. All of this means your students experience more of what makes our school the special place it is.

A: St. Michael’s has always drawn and will continue to draw from all over our Austin community. Students come here from every Catholic school in the city, other Independent and private schools, and all of our public schools as well. This mix of students and families and the perspective, talents, joy, heart, and experience they bring is essential to who we are as a community, to who our students become as adults. The importance of that will not diminish.

A: We are finalizing the structures for the next part of our year-long process. Please look for communication soon which will detail those mechanisms, and we hope you will participate productively as the process continues to unfold. It is important to trust the process, remain calm and collegial, and just as importantly, assume the best of intentions in each other. Every step and action we take is made with the best of intentions for student well-being, and there is never an intent to cause distress. When you have concerns or questions, you are invited to reach out directly to Colleen Lynch, Head of School. She is happy to meet with families and address any questions you may have.

A: EdwardsCo completed its analysis of the extensive data gathered internally and in the external Austin community. They presented several naming options to the Unification Committee and the Board of Trustees. They also presented positioning statements to the Project Team. Board deliberations are underway, and a naming decision will be communicated by the end of the calendar year.

A: Following the name decision, school color, logo, and branding decisions will be made and communicated, likely after the New Year. The Project Team will continue to refine the school’s market positioning throughout the winter and early spring. These new marketing and brand strategies will be in place by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

As always, it is important to trust this data-driven process, remain calm and collegial, and just as importantly, assume the best of intentions in each other. Every step and action we take is made with the best of intentions for student well-being, and there is never an intent to cause distress. When you have concerns or questions, you are invited to reach out directly to Colleen Lynch, Head of School. She is happy to meet with families and address any worries or questions you may have.

A: The Board of Trustees was guided by several priorities through this data-driven process:

Honor the previous histories of both schools in a way that is meaningful to current students, faculty, staff, leadership, alumni, and parents;

Envision a bright future for the benefit of both current and future students, as well as the communities our graduates will join and contribute to next;

Escalate the unique value of our Independent, college preparatory education;

Ensure our Catholic identity is clear, foundational, and welcoming; and

Separate ourselves from the pack in Austin and work to create a nationally recognized preparatory school.

A: We will begin operating under St. Michael’s Catholic Preparatory School as of August 1, 2024.

A: Just as we do not always use the full St. Gabriel’s Catholic School and St. Michael’s Catholic Academy names, but rather shorten to St. Gabriel’s and St. Michael’s, so too will there be times when we use the full name of St. Michael’s Catholic Preparatory School and times we use the short version when we refer to ourselves by using St. Michael’s Prep.

A: We are continuing to work with EdwardsCo this spring to finalize these decisions. The logo and color decisions rest with the Board of Trustees, but the mascot decision will be a process that will include valuable input from the students, from PreK all the way through our Seniors. That fun process will occur this spring.

A: Yes, with a new color scheme, we will work with our uniform company to design a new uniform for our PreK-8th grade students. However, just as we have done previously when we’ve changed uniform styles, we will have a rolling onboarding of a new uniform. So if your child’s current uniforms still fit in August, then by all means wear them through next year. As your child outgrows their uniform next year, you’ll be directed to purchase the new uniform style when ordering. All students will be required to wear the new uniform beginning in August 2025.

A: There will not be a uniform requirement for grades 9-12 for the 2024-2025 school year. We will continue conversations about dress and uniforms at the upper school throughout the spring semester of 2024.