Garza Independence High School, Austin | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I attended Garza shortly after it opened a few years back. If you don’t want to read the full review at least read the following. I and many of my academically successful and creative friends voluntarily transferred to Garza from McCallum because it gave its students the freedom and tools they needed to build their own success, rather than spoon feeding answers to tests and herding them through a system like abused cattle. At Garza you learn an unprecedented amount of self-agency and critical-thinking skill, all within an understanding and supportive environment.

I can say this school is the reason I graduated at all. I originally attended McCallum and suffered under the demeaning and stifling ‘rule’ of that school’s staff. I was taking some advanced classes and found my teachers to be knowledgeable and pleasant but the administrative staff made my life horrible. I was a good student, yet I was put into detention for going to my locker during class (with teacher permission), and the more I explained my case and attempted to use reason the more trouble I got into. Several occasions of similar events led me to feel tense and nervous every time I went to that school because I didn’t agree with their idea that a child shouldn’t be an opinionated free-thinking spirit, but rather an obedient robot (which is a strange concept for an art magnet school). I felt so oppressed that I dropped out of school for a semester.

Then a few of my friends told me they were voluntarily transferring to Garza because there was more freedom there. This was absolutely true! Some of the brightest, most creative students at McCallum transferred to Garza because it gave them the room to grow. Garza was not my last resort because I was failing academically, rather it was my savior from a school system that was repressing the potential of its more asymmetric students.

Additionally, at Garza not only are the staff genuinely caring, but the student body is as well. It wasn’t uncommon for your friends to help you get through a tough time, whether it be personal or academic. Another benefit is the lack of strict deadlines, which means you can take the time to master that challenging subject without being forced to move along to the next topic as in traditional public schools. As I mentioned before, at Garza, because you are teaching yourself, you learn an unprecedented amount of self-agency and critical thinking skill, all within an understanding and supportive environment. I can’t recommend this school enough!

I love this school. We had years of trials including long-term illness. We actually moved to Austin because of my son’s illness. I can’t express to you in mere words how happy we are to have found Garza, Dr. Webb, and Ms. Hickerson. My son had been in a gifted and talented school in Manhattan with a 95 GPA when he became ill. He’s a very smart STEM person, but had shut down because of his illness. Garza has an incredible group of teachers and administrators. Everyone at Garza has done and continues to do everything they can to get my son back in school and thriving. And he’s thriving BIG TIME. They stuck with us through all the bumps in the road. They have an amazing ability to inspire kids and to get them to thrive. Every city needs several schools like this. There are so many kids out there who need it. It can change their lives. It changed ours. Thank you all at Garza. Thank you, thank you.