In 1960, as a teacher in the Midland Independent School District, Dr. Betty Woodring served as a member of a committee investigating various reading programs. After closely studying the curriculum of one program called The Carden Method, Dr. Woodring knew she had discovered that for which she had been searching. The Carden Method had a phonetic approach to reading, a curriculum that was incrementally developed, and a program that did not teach any area of language arts in isolation but correlated it with other subject areas.

   After completing the study and the 1960-61 school year, Dr. Woodring returned to Dallas and taught first grade at Stephen F. Austin Elementary School. She implemented much of the Carden Method into a "Look Say" system. As a result of her teaching, these first graders, many from low economic, low enrichment, and low parental participation backgrounds, learned to read.

   In 1962 she resigned from DISD so that she and her husband could start a family. Their daughter Jill was born the next fall, and three years later their son, Greg. As Jill approached four, the Woodrings began searching for a school using the Carden Method of teaching reading. However, to their dismay, the nearest one was a school for boys in Fort Worth, and thus they made the decision to start a Carden School themselves here in Dallas.

   On September 7, 1966, the Woodrings opened Highlander School with one kindergarten and one junior kindergarten for a total enrollment that year of twenty-nine students. The next year they added a first grade class and the enrollment increased to eighty-seven students. This trend of adding a grade each year continued until six grades completed the desired size of the school.

   Highlander is located on six acres of land in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas. The school encompasses an early childhood and elementary school up through the sixth grade with a total enrollment of approximately two hundred students.

   The school is dedicated to the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development of children during the most formative years of their lives. In addition to teaching academic skills and offering a variety of enrichment programs, Highlander is committed to nurturing children and promoting their self-esteem. The following words summarize the philosophy at the heart of instruction at Highlander: "It is a wise teacher who makes learning a joy, but an even wiser one who makes each of God's children feel special."