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All Saints’ Episcopal School is a leading college preparatory day school in Fort Worth, Texas. Grounded in the Episcopal school tradition, All Saints’ offers programming of national distinction in the academic, fine art, athletic and spiritual disciplines, which brings to life our philosophy of promoting each student’s individual genius within.
Our expansive 147-acre campus joins the new Early Childhood Center (3-year-olds - Bridge K), Lower School (K-6), Middle School (7-8), Upper School (9-12) and various athletic facilities, all centered around our prominent Chapel. For more than 60 years, All Saints’ has served families in Fort Worth and the surrounding region, and we offer transportation service from select areas. If you are interested in learning more about All Saints’ Episcopal School, contact us for more information or to set up a private tour, and if you are considering All Saints’ for your child or other relative, we would be pleased to work with you as you navigate through this important family decision.
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A Brief History
- 1951: The Reverend Canon James P. DeWolfe and the Vestry at All Saints' Episcopal Church voted to create All Saints' Episcopal School to serve preschool children in Fort Worth with growth plans to include elementary grades.
- 1961: Mrs. Donna Michels, the School's first director, came to All Saints' in 1961, was named Principal in 1964 and ultimately Director in 1977.
- 1974: Under Mrs. Michels leadership, the school moved to the Tumbleweed campus, when the Middle School was added.
- 1986: the Upper School opened its doors.
- 1988: Mrs. Michels retired and the Reverend Canon Louis H. Hayden became Headmaster. Under his leadership, the School developed new operating policies, instituted more academic programs, increased enrollment and created the formal School Board leadership model.
- 1988-1989: the first graduating class of the All Saints' Upper School.
- 2013: Under the leadership of Headmaster Thaddeus B. Bird, the School enrolls more than 800 students on the 147-acre Normandale campus, and is continuously growing.
Anglican Tradition
The Anglican tradition refers to distinctive forms of Christianity that have evolved from the third century onward in Britain and the Celtic Isles. During the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Church of England emerged within historic Christianity as "the middle way" between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism - both reformed and catholic.
From the start, Baptism, Holy Eucharist and daily prayer have been at the heart of Anglican worship where understanding and participation is enhanced by a common form of worship. The Book of Common Prayer, as revised, translated and adapted for local use, is this common denominator linking Anglicans throughout the world to their shared heritage. Within the Anglican tradition one may find a spectrum of diverse liturgical forms: evangelical preaching, cathedral choirs, charismatic praise, incense and plain chant.
Our capacity for unity within diversity is our most distinctive feature. In settling questions about how Christians should live and what we should believe, Anglicans look to three sources of authority: Scripture, Tradition and Reason. Rather than subscribe to certain doctrines, we seek unity in interpreting the faith while allowing for plurality and genuine latitude on matters not essential to Christian faith and practice. Four orders of ministry are recognized: bishops, priests, deacons and laity. Each Christian is a minister called to manifest Christ's life and love in our world.
Strategic Planning
In 2006, All Saints' Episcopal School conducted strategic planning sessions under the guidance of John Littleford of Littleford and Associates. All Saints' 20/20 was the culmination of these planning sessions, out of which three primary initiatives were identified: Defining Excellence, Enrollment Management and Financial Focus. |
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| | I. Defining Excellence From the beginning, the serious and thoughtful manner with which we have approached spiritual discernment has been reflected in the development of our academic program and co-curricular programs. All Saints’ Episcopal School is, first and foremost, a faithful Episcopal School: a School that balances faith and reason in the educational journey as a “both/and” and not an “either/or” proposition. Moreover, the School, then and now, takes to heart the roots of our Anglican tradition of via media—or “the middle way”—with respect to embracing a healthy, energetic tension between the two. From the beginning, the serious and thoughtful manner with which we have approached spiritual discernment has been reflected in the development of our academic program and co-curricular programs. A community that embraces the “what if” and “what might be” questions and understands that the answers may not likely be neat, easily grasped or readily understood is a community that is great at its core. To have faith means some questions remain unanswerable or not fully revealed. Part of the wonder of our relationship to God, part of the greatness of our School community is the mystery of grace and wonder of it all. For us, excellence means greatness, a connotation of which is goodness. For our School family it means that we are committed to the ideals of a faith-centered, broad-based program of excellence. Sustaining an academic program that positions our students for admission to the college or university of their choice in keeping with their God-given talents is a key component. The more far-reaching ideals are recognized in our expression of faith, care for each other, and care for our neighbors near and far. These are some distinctive measurable parts of our community that make us great. Members of the All Saints’ community are committed to learning at the highest level – a desire and ability to undertake our challenging, college-preparatory curriculum, perform with distinction at the next level, and strive to be productive citizens within the School and the world at large. With that in mind, the leadership of the School compiled a list of goals to help us attain greatness as defined by us. Goals
A. Community Standard of Excellence
- Commit to understanding and supporting a broad-based program of excellence which includes the development of intellect, appreciation for the aesthetic, appropriate athletic development and personal and corporate spiritual discernment
- Attract and retain students and families who exhibit and embrace lifestyles that contribute to the health of the community
- Share a community ideal of service to others: service learning and servant leadership
B. Spiritual Development
- Uphold the Anglican Tradition of worship and its manifestation in our daily life
- Continue Daily Chapel as Morning Prayer for Lower School
- Expand Middle and Upper School Chapel to Noonday Prayer
- Led by laity (students and faculty)
C. Intellectual Development
- Sustain our serious college-preparatory curriculum
- Support traditional teaching and learning methods while exploring appropriate modern techniques and opportunities
- Sharpen awareness and attention to global education initiatives
D. Athletic Development
- Support appropriate athletic development throughout the K-12 program
- Continue to expect excellence in sportsmanship
- Sustain connection between athletic development and development of the whole person
E. Aesthetic Development
- Expand Fine Arts offerings throughout the K-12 program
- Sustain connection between aesthetic development and development of the whole person
F. Parent Support Model for Assistance in Parenting Education
- Develop a Parent “Lifeline” which supports and clarifies expectations of parenting
- Offer Parent Forums which provide experts in parenting and opportunities for dialogue
- Provide a Reading Resource Library
- Expand and utilize professional connections in our community
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| II. Enrollment Management All of us need to be reminded that service to and enrollment in All Saints' Episcopal School is an honor, a privilege granted to a few and not a right. All Saints’ is committed to retaining and attracting families who share in our ideals and strive to improve every step of the way. As a result of our recently completed Upper School, we have the capacity to grow, but the space will soon be at a premium. All of us need to be reminded that service to and enrollment in All Saints’ is an honor, a privilege granted to a few and not a right. The School and parents should partner in recognition of a shared responsibility with focus on stewardship, leadership, respect, responsibility, service, inclusivity and diversity. Commitment to the highest ideals — as consistently reflected by our actions — is fundamental to our success. A. Maximize Enrollment
- Create and implement a powerful retention plan
- Research and exercise an enrollment model that
- Responds to ever changing demographics
- Focuses on qualitative vs. quantitative
- Examines class size and sections at every grade level
- Expand relationships with community organizations
- Grow the Summer Saints program
B. Showcase the Successes of All Saints’ Episcopal School
- Host events for prospective families
- Empower the entire All Saints’ community to take an active role in marketing
- Expand opportunities for public use of our physical plant
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| III. Financial Focus All Saints' Episcopal School is a financially stable and fiscally responsible educational institution. Sustaining a vigorous program, while retaining important traditions, requires an ongoing commitment to our people. In order to meet our goals, we need to secure permanent funding for our students – scholarship and financial aid, and for our people — faculty, administration and staff. Great teachers are a gift from God, and with an ever-shrinking competitive pool of faculty in our country, we need to be sure we are providing the best salaries and compensation packages available. All Saints’ Episcopal School is a financially stable and fiscally responsible educational institution which provides support for exceptional faculty, staff, and vibrant programs and the maintenance and enhancement of a state-of-the-art physical plant through the creation and sustaining of endowment funds. A. Faculty and Staff Salaries and Benefits
All Saints’ Episcopal School is committed to retaining and attracting faculty who are called to the art of teaching and are committed to excellence. Our faculty is motivated by the opportunity to contribute positively to the local community and world at large by challenging and shaping our children to live as moral citizens of the world.
- Reach and sustain the 75th percentile of faculty and staff salaries in NAIS/ISAS
- Increase level of excellence annually
- Honor and respect the teaching profession
- Focus on on-going individual and professional development
- Sustain the highest level of professional tutelage
- Maintain a progressive faculty/staff evaluation process
B. Programs
- Support a dynamic college-preparatory curriculum
- Market the Biographies Project, our self-published textbooks (Great Lives series)
- Enhance Fine Arts offerings
- Develop a sustainable outdoor learning program with the RANGE Project
(Research, Adventure, Nature, Geology & Ecology: 16-acre outdoor classroom on campus)
C. Endowment
- Increase endowment to support faculty and staff salary growth to surpass NAIS/ISAS median levels; reach and sustain 75th percentile
- Increase endowment to support merit-based and need-based financial assistance
D. Physical Plant (timing based on programmatic priorities)
- Build a free-standing Fine Arts building
- Build a student center/school store
- Complete expansion of varsity gymnasium
- Construct tennis courts
- Establish a water irrigation system
- Determine needs for an expanded Intermediate/Middle School (grades 5-8)
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