Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Academic Orchard, School, 9 E Windemere, Leander, TX.
At The Academic Orchard, students learn through a Montessori inspired approach that combines rigorous academics, regular integration and access to nature, and real world applications, supporting both personal growth and college readiness.
06/16/2026
Today we go back to early March for a morning nature walk. After a freeze, we headed out into the orchard on a cool, crisp morning to evaluate how our plants handled the frost. We got to see a spring time friend as well and learned about bluebonnet resilience.
Our first post in our Summer Throwback Series
This one features one of our “OG” high school students, Scar, showing her entire year of nature journaling. Scar has been with TAO since the very first day and is considering a future career in Environmental Sciences 🌎
She takes enormous pride in her journal, and it’s such a beautiful example of primary source environmental documentation that she will likely treasure for the rest of her life. It’s also a snapshot of the plants, animals, and environmental conditions that existed in Central Texas during this moment in history.
This journal in particular will then become a model and inspiration for younger students, helping carry forward our commitment to meaningful, high quality work in everything we do, both curricular and beyond ❤️☯️
05/29/2026
05/22/2026
Yesterday, was our last day of school and our 2nd Annual Field Day! We had so much fun and we will miss some of our friends that are leaving but looking to the future. More videos and photos to come! Have a great summer break!
05/14/2026
A sneak peek at our TAO 2026 yearbook before our students receive them next week ♥️📖
Check out the "Meet Our Chickens" page in particular we created with Picaboo Yearbooks!
We’re hoping for our second yearbook award in a row with this creative and beautiful book, designed and created by our students during an elective led by our talented Director of Humanities and Academic Operations, Ms. Beth
05/14/2026
This week our adolescents continued their exploration of local colleges with a visit to St Edwards University. We had a wonderful tour guide who showed us inside several campus buildings, including a behind the scenes look at their multimedia center and podcast studio. Students learned about the university’s academic programs and the many ways St. Edward’s supports a wide variety of learners and learning styles. The campus is also a beautiful jewel of old Austin property that was fun to explore.
05/05/2026
A key part of The Academic Orchard’s success is the parent community, which has helped build and sustain the culture we see today.
This week, Mario came in and spoke with students as part of our literature study of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. He shared his firsthand experience growing up during apartheid in South Africa, but what truly stayed with everyone was the story of his mother. He described her strength and determination as she involved their family in the fight to vote for change, even in conditions that were harsh, dangerous, and deeply unjust. It was a living example of sacrifice and what it means to stand for something when the cost is high.
We also had Eric from Kolbe Corp work with students on their Kolbe results. He helped them understand how they naturally approach tasks and problem solving, focusing on instinctive strengths. Students were able to see patterns in how they work, what tends to come easily to them, and where they could collaborate with those that are similar and different to them.
Grateful for these contributions and the many others this year that have helped.students grow in empathy, and develop stronger understandings of themselves as they move toward their futures.
Our puppet making elective performed at our Spring Fling celebration. Great ending about finding motivation and working with friends. We are so proud of our students making the sets, the puppets, script and really pushing their creativity.
A glimpse of our nature journaling time in the garden with our adolescent students during this beautiful drizzly morning in Central Texas ✍️🌦️🌿 listen to hear our morning bird songs 🎶🐦
04/25/2026
Hard to believe we are only one month away from the end of our 2025–2026 school year! 🌱
At TAO, our gardens and orchard are bursting with spring growth, and there is so much energy across campus. Students are diving into new electives with our incredibly talented staff, playing chess ♟️, painting with watercolors 🎨, learning percussion 🥁, creating puppets and putting on puppet shows🎭, and enjoying yoga and PE at the end of each day 🧘♀️
Our classes are moving through the final pieces of their curriculum, with students completing projects and presentations and showcasing hands on work throughout the classrooms.
We are already reflecting on what an incredible year of growth this has been for our students and our programs, and we are looking forward to finishing strong and celebrating together as we head into summer ☀️