Young Women’s Leadership Academy Primary – San Antonio

The Young Women’s Leadership Academy: Primary (YWLA Primary) is San Antonio’s only all-girls, tuition-free, public elementary school. Building upon the success of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA), YWLA Primary offers elementary-aged girls a school with focuses on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math), social-emotional learning, leadership, and early college preparation. Aside from targeted academic focuses, YWLA Primary also provides girls a single-gender environment in which they can harness their self-confidence and learn to use their voices with purpose.

The doors of YWLA Primary opened in August 2019 with 165 inaugural kindergarten and first grade students. Each year, YWLA Primary will phase in another grade level, becoming a full K-5 program by the year 2023.

YWLA Primary is open to all girls living in Bexar County who will be in one of the eligible grade levels, and admission for YWLA Primary is based on a lottery system without academic entry requirements. For the 2020-2021 academic year, YWLA Primary accepted applications for kindergarten, as well as applications for limited seats in first grade and second grade.

A Single-Gender Environment Where Leadership Grows

YWLA Primary empowers girls and prepares them for success in a challenging, nurturing, and inclusive learning environment where their intrinsic leadership can shine through. In a single-gender environment, every child’s leadership can blossom, and students develop the self-confidence to achieve challenging and complex tasks while developing a sense of personal responsibility.

A STEAM School for the 21st Century

YWLA Primary integrates a unique curriculum that allows students to focus deeply on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to better prepare them for college and careers. Aside from an integrated curriculum that helps students build critical thinking and problem-solving skills, students at YWLA Primary also enjoy separate courses in STEAM, music, fine arts, and physical education.

Focusing on Social-Emotional Learning

At YWLA Primary, teachers and students focus on social-emotional learning, which includes competencies of self-awareness, emotional health, persistence, and resilience. This focus helps students learn to navigate and communicate their emotions in order to make responsible decisions and cultivate healthy relationships with others.

From Kindergarten to College-Ready

YWLA Primary is a college-preparatory elementary school, which means students are exposed to college-going habits as early as kindergarten-age. Using AVID Elementary strategies, writing across content, and focused note-taking, YWLA Primary students begin to build strong academic habits early and often.