St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School (formerly St. Michael’s Catholic Academy) is a private college preparatory school in

Barton Creek Barton Creek is a tributary that feeds the Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. The creek passes through some of the more scenic areas in Greater Austin, surrounded in many parts by a greenbelt of protected lands that ser ...

, a community in unincorporated

Travis County, Texas Travis County is located in Central Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the List of counties in Texas, fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat and most populous city is Austi ...

(

Greater Austin The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of ...

), with an enrollment of approximately 750 students in grades PreK-12. It is within the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin The Diocese of Austin () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church comprising 25 counties of Central Texas in the United States. The diocese estimates a population of over 625,000 Catholics. As of 2021, the D ...

. In 2023, it was merged with its sister school, St. Gabriel’s Catholic School, as one unified school. However, both schools still kept their own campuses. In 2024, both schools officially renamed to St. Michael's Catholic Preparatory School. The student-teacher ratio is approximately 10 to 1, and the mean ACT Composite is 26.6. In 2015 and 2016, St. Michael's won the Class 4A Henderson Cup, awarded by the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools for excellence in academics, fine arts and athletics. In 2016, St. Michael's won four state championships: academics, women's tennis, women's cross country and men's track and field. In athletics, St. Michael's has won more than 30 state championships. Many former St. Michael's student-athletes have played, or are now playing, Division 1 sports at the college level including American football, baseball, basketball, track and field, golf, volleyball, cross country, baseball and soccer.

Background

The school was established in 1984 to fill the void left by the closing of the only Catholic high school in Austin in 1972. From 1972 to 1984, Austin was the only sizable city in the USA without a Catholic high school. A small group of parents and Catholic lay leaders commissioned a study that ultimately revealed enthusiasm in the Austin community for such a school. In 1984, St. Michael's Catholic Academy opened. It was one of the first Catholic schools in the USA established entirely by lay persons.

Notable alumni

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, 2010, NFL offensive lineman for the

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, actress

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael's Catholic Academy Catholic secondary schools in Texas Educational institutions established in 1984 High schools in Travis County, Texas 1984 establishments in Texas