Friday, October 27th is a day for celebration once again at the Hill Country Youth Ranch. It’s dedication time for the brand new Cailloux Charter School Building in Ingram.

After a year of huddling in makeshift situations around the Ranch, the children of our newest charter school now have real classrooms decorated with educational posters, hung with blackboards, and filled with school desks.

Thanks to the Cailloux Foundation, the Meadows Foundation, and other donors, another dream is in place, and we’re celebrating!

The dedication ceremony will feature a performance in song and words by the children of the school, along with dedicatory remarks by HCYR Executive Director Gary Priour and Charter School Superintendent Mike Wood.

The Cailloux family, and its Foundation Trustees and staff will also be in attendance to celebrate the opening of their namesake facility.

Special guests will tour the new school and be treated to a first hand look at the classrooms and the wonderful angel murals designed and painted by Carol Priour and Marcy Dorman.

Afterwards they will be escorted to the dining hall for lunch hosted by the HCYR Auxiliary.

The school is the culmination of a new dream for the Youth Ranch that began when Priour recognized that many students were not being served to their potential in public school classrooms.

For many years, Priour and Wood had discussed their vision for bringing children’s twin needs for healing and learning together in a school setting. They began the experiment five years ago with the Brune Middle and High Schools at Big Springs Ranch near Leakey.

A year after the start of the elementary school, we have continued to attract top-notch teachers and paraprofessionals who have dedicated their lives to helping our children grow.

Operating at an optimum 6-to-1 student-teacher ratio, the three schools offer comprehensive individualized instruction for grades 1 through 12 on two campuses.

Coupled with the chance for some of the children to attend public school to enhance their extracurricular opportunities, we have a broad array of choices for our children and their futures.