Founder Richard de la Cuadra is the first to vouch for the transformative power of education. He experienced his own metamorphosis as early as the fifth grade, newly arrived from Ecuador to an inhospitable neighborhood in New York City’s Lower East Side. Motivated by his Jesuit educators at the Nativity Mission Center School and later at Xavier High School, who encouraged him and his peers to cultivate their whole selves as learners and as human beings, Richard paved his way out of poverty and into a life of purpose.

Deeply inspired by his teachers’ commitment to building genuine relationships with each student, Richard developed his own passion for changing the way young learners experience academics. Upon graduating from College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, he entered the field of education and moved to Texas. While serving as a teacher and administrative leader in a variety of schools ranging from large public high schools to small private schools to religious schools, Richard witnessed students grow frustrated and hopeless in traditional and rigid academic settings.

Devoted to creating a new education model where learning is student-centered, flexible, stimulating, and personalized, Richard opened the doors to Xavier Academy in West University (Houston), Texas in 2007. The school has since expanded to two additional campuses in the Houston area (Memorial and the Woodlands) and its sister institution, Xavier Academy International, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Members of the Xavier team are trained in collaborative leadership and positive psychology, enabling faculty to connect with students on a more meaningful and personalized level. Through international trips, unique electives, rigorous but supportive courses, and an overall focus on well-being, Xavier students receive a comprehensive education that nurtures them on an academic and personal level. Xavier Academy now serves hundreds of extraordinary students at its Galleria-area campus.