About Us

We are a diverse community that values the freedom and courage to question, explore, and embrace new perspectives.

International School of Texas - About us

A Message from Our Head of School

Welcome to IST!

At IST, we promise to provide our students a holistic, challenging, and innovative education with a firm grounding in a global mindset. Through this foundation, our students are provided opportunities to extend their learning into the real world and pursue their passions. As an institution that values character development along with academic growth, our culture is marked by free thought, equal opportunity, and our core values of Respect, Integrity, Confidence, Intellect, and Service.

True to our Trailblazer identity, our graduates will seek to understand themselves, their passion and calling in the world, and forge their own paths. They are Servant Leaders, Community Builders, Global Citizens, and Classically Liberal Thinkers. They will embody the values of our community, the IB Learner Profile, and pursue lives that mirror our mission as a school of building respectful global communities and serving the world around them.

We invite you to come join us and find out how your child’s curiosity can meet their courage as an IST Trailblazer!

David Watson

Dr. David Watson
Head of School

Our Mission

We cultivate a respectful, global community that instills students with integrity, confidence, intellect in pursuit of improving themselves and serving the world around them.

Our Vision

To build an innovative and enduring institution that provides an exceptional education

History

In September 2013, The International School of Texas was founded by a group of 13 brave parents who shared a common vision of an exceptional education for their children: one that is marked by free thought, equal opportunity, and the development of our core values of Respect, Integrity, Confidence, Intellect, and Service. Over the years that passed, IST quickly outgrew its initial location and moved into a newly completed campus west of Austin. In August of 2024, we opened the doors to our new, state-of-the-art campus in the rolling hills of Bee Cave, and we launched our first cohort of high school students.

Since 2017, IST has been an authorized International Baccalaureate World School, currently offering the PYP and MYP. We are a candidate school for the Diploma Programme*. The International School of Texas is a candidate school for the Diploma Programme. IB World Schools share a common philosophy- a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education- that we believe is important for our students. * Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes visit http://www.ibo.org

Accreditations & Memberships

Governance

The International School of Texas is a registered non-profit 501 (c)(3) and is governed by a board of volunteer Trustees. The Head of School and Chief Business Officer serve as the institution’s executives and the sole employees of the board. The board is entrusted with the strategic preservation of the school’s mission and values. It is their fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the mission remains relevant to our community and the school’s effectiveness in fulfilling it. Trustees typically serve in 2-year terms and are usually eligible for 3 consecutive terms.