19 Questions to Help You Evaluate a Private School for Your Child… ANSWERED

List of 19 frequently asked questions.

• HOW CAN PARENTS BE INVOLVED AT THE SCHOOL?

  All parents are members of the Berkeley Hall Parent Association, the body which, in partnership with the school, organizes community-wide events and activities that enhance the community and support the BHS mission and vision. These events provide fun and rewarding volunteer opportunities and create moments for parents to connect with each other and form strong friendships. 

  
  

  Parents are elected to serve on the Parent Advisory Councils to better advise the Head of School of issues important to parents, but also help disseminate information from the Administration to the parents. Parents are also selected to serve on the Board Advisory Council to work in consort with our Board of Trustees. 

  
  

  Parents are critical to the continued success of Berkeley Hall. Through leadership involvement, volunteerism, and a deep care of others, parents build a stronger and more vibrant community that enhances the educational experience of our children.

• IS THERE A DRESS CODE OR UNIFORM?

  Berkeley Hall students in first through eighth grades are required to wear the school uniform consisting of a logoed polo shirt or logoed sweatshirt, appropriate bottoms and shoes.

• ARE THERE AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES?

  Berkeley Hall offers a broad range of after-school activities on campus for grades nursery through eight. Classes are taught by outside professionals, and include: Ballet, Being Da Vinci - Art, Science & Culture, BHS Junior Chef, Checkmate Chess, Cooking, Hip Hop, Breakdancing & Tumbling, Intro to Tennis, Karate, Lacrosse, Musical Theater, Professor Egghead, Rhythm & Percussion, Technology 101:  Lego Robotics; Coding & Minecraft, Tennis Academy, Time & Place Etiquette Class, plus more.

  
  

  Extended Day Care is also offered for parents who cannot pick up their child at the normal pick-up time.

• BEYOND TUITION, WHAT FEES OR ADDITIONAL CHARGES CAN I EXPECT DURING THE YEAR?

  Berkeley Hall assesses additional fees for outdoor trips, for technology, and a one-time fee for new students. Busses, lunches and after school programming are not included in tuition.  Additionally, like most independent schools, Berkeley Hall does not budget for tuition to fully cover expenses which results in fundraising efforts during the year and allows a tax break for you. The Berkeley Hall atmosphere is one of giving and we are grateful to report that 100% of our employees and current families participate in the Annual Fund Drive.

• TELL ME ABOUT YOUR TEAM SPORTS PROGRAM (Age requirement, Cut policy, League membership, Sports offered)

  Students in grades four through eight are eligible to play Team Sports. Our 28 Berkeley Hall Bobcat teams compete in the San Fernando Valley Independent School League. 

  
  

  At Berkeley Hall, boys and girls interscholastic team sports are an active part of community life. Student athletes compete in baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and track and field. And with superior athletics facilities on our 66 acres (you have to see it to believe it), a substantial portion of the games are played on our home fields.

  
  

  Every student can compete in and enjoy sports, and experience the joy and satisfaction of being part of a team.

• IS COMMUNITY SERVICE REQUIRED?

  Community service is not required, but there are several events throughout the year where participating is highly encouraged. Everything from food and clothing drives around the holidays, beach clean ups, serving food at homeless shelters, helping at humane societies, and planting trees on Earth Day happen throughout the year. Many times, the students plan, organize and help implement the event.

• WHAT DO YOU DO TO SUPPORT PARENTS AND PARENTING?

  Berkeley Hall partners with parents to support the journey of growth for each student.  Several resources are available to give parents information. As a member of Common Sense Media, BHS sends parents a weekly newsletter that includes the latest research and tips on how to help navigate the digital minefields facing youngsters today. A digital consultant, brought in each year, gives advice and instruction on the latest trends and challenges to help keep children safe as digital citizens. The BHPA (Berkeley Hall Parent Association) regularly brings in speakers on topics that help parents be better parents, from mindfulness to how to pack a healthy lunch, to cultural celebrations that help expose our whole community to the diversity reflected in our student body.

  
  

  Frequent meetings are held in the library which allow parents to openly discuss challenges with our Head of School, Dean of Students, and Dean of Academics. Conversations span the gamut as parents raise questions about child development, social-emotional learning, and parenting and so much more.  

  
  

  The From Head and Heart column by our Head of School gives helpful advice about topics such as how to put grades in perspective or what to look for when applying to high school. Open gradebook in grades 4-8 give parents the ability to monitor their child’s academic activity in order to provide support to their child. Teachers in N-3 send home regular communications about the students’ progress. 

• WHAT IS THE SCHOOL’S PHILOSOPHY?

  At Berkeley Hall we view all children as inherently intelligent, good, and uniquely talented. Our curriculum challenges students to think and act according to their own highest ability in an environment in which the unlimited God-given potential of each child is recognized and valued. This perspective has consistently enabled our students to achieve both academic and personal success throughout our more than 100-year history. Our four core values are RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, HONESTY, and COMPASSION.

• ARE THERE OFF-CAMPUS TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES?

  Fifth and sixth grade students participate in our renowned outdoor education program which entails extensive multi-day experiential learning trips to places such as Astro Camp, Pali Institute, Catalina Island, and Yosemite, as well as day-long field trips to the Santa Barbara mission, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Riley's Farm, the Getty Museum, the Lincoln Shrine Museum, Skirball Center, Disney Concert Hall, the Griffith Park Observatory, and many more exciting destinations.

• HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL TEACH CITIZENSHIP?

  Half of our mission is to develop conscientious citizens. To gain an understanding of our four core values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, and Compassion, students are asked to practice expressing these qualities and build the strength of character necessary to face whatever challenges come their way throughout their day with good character and conscientious citizenship. Our weekly Bobcat Assembly focuses on teaching different aspects of the core values through examples. Students are assigned a House (Respect House, Responsibility House, Honesty House, Compassion House) when they become a Bobcat and are associated with that House during their life as a Bobcat. Several times during the year, we have Bobcat House Days involving activities that support expanding the core values in fun and challenging ways. Citizenship is not just talked about at BHS, it’s graded and taken very seriously. We have a Citizenship Award which is quite challenging to earn. Cultivating a greater understanding and expression of citizenship (in our community and as a global citizen through our Difference Makers Series), is an essential element of being a full-fledged Bobcat. 

• HOW DOES THE SCHOOL MEET EACH STUDENT’S ACADEMIC NEEDS?

  Early Childhood Department (ECD), nursery and early kindergarten, at Berkeley Hall is a time of early childhood development. We teach our youngest learners in a supportive and nurturing environment during that all-important transition from home to school to embrace learning, self-discovery, and opportunities to interact well with others – thus helping them to launch a journey of discovery that will last a lifetime. To find out more about ECD, please visit our website at www.berekleyhall.org.

  
  

  Our Primary Department (PRI), grades K – 3, provides a dynamic and engaging curriculum designed to inspire each child’s innate curiosity and motivates students to think analytically as well as creatively. Expository, opinion, and narrative writing are heavily integrated into all the core subjects beginning in first grade. A hands-on, experiential approach to math emphasizes problem solving and critical reasoning. In addition, quality literature forms the basis for many interdisciplinary projects integrating reading and writing with social studies, math, science, art, music and drama. To find out more about PRI, please visit our website at www.berekleyhall.org.

  
  

  The Intermediate Department (INT), grades 4 – 6, is when students are encouraged to develop their own points of view through evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing what at times may be disparate ideas, information, and facts. Teachers and students here engage in Socratic discussions and regular reflective assessment of their own, and others’ work. 

  
  

  And learning at Berkeley Hall extends far beyond the classroom. Fifth- and sixth-grade students participate in our renowned “outdoor education” program, which entails extensive multi-day experiential learning trips to places such as Catalina Island, Shalom Camp, and the Nature Bridge program, as well as day-long field trips to JPL, the Santa Barbara mission, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Riley's Farm, the Getty Museum, the Lincoln Shrine Museum, Skirball Center, Disney Concert Hall, the Griffith Park Observatory, and many more exciting destinations. To find out more about INT, please visit our website at www.berkeleyhall.org.

   

  The Junior High Department (JH), grades 7-8 - Berkeley Hall’s junior high students are the role models that our younger students look up to and seek to emulate. Our environment and culture instill self-confidence and create student leaders. This is because, at Berkeley Hall, junior high school students are at the top of the pyramid, rather than at the bottom of a 7th – 12th grade structure.

   

  Not surprisingly, both research and experience have confirmed the value of a Berkeley Hall education – which is characterized by interdisciplinary teaching, a personalized, student-centered approach, cooperative group work, rigorous academic and character education programs, and ongoing interactions with caring, supportive, attentive teachers – who are well-suited to teaching students in their “tween” and early teenage years.

   

  When our graduates leave us, they are fully prepared to assume leadership roles at their respective high schools and beyond. To find out more about JH, please visit our website at www.berkeleyhall.org.

• HOW CAN I MONITOR MY CHILD'S PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOL?

  At Berkeley Hall, grading, attendance and performance are easily and instantly accessed on our website (password protected), so parents can monitor progress at any time. Teachers post photos of classroom activities on their class page (also password protected). They preemptively reach out to parents if more work is required academically or in citizenship, and three parent-teacher conferences are scheduled throughout the year. Depending on the grade, parents and other family members are invited into the classroom to attend presentations from the students throughout the year.

• WILL MY CHILD BE REQUIRED TO TAKE STATE-MANDATED TESTING?

  As an independent school, we do not require our students to take state-mandated testing. Our teachers do internal assessments throughout the school year to keep track of students’ individual progress. In the spring, to verify that our academic program continues to improve and to prepare students for standardized test taking, 3rd graders through 8th graders take the Education Records Bureau WrAP to assess writing and CTP-5 which covers reading comprehension, language arts, and math concepts. We then look for a correlation between our internal assessments and normative testing general trends.

• HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE ARTS AT YOUR SCHOOL AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE AT VARIOUS GRADE LEVELS?

  Our Visual Arts program and curriculum are nationally-renowned, award-winning, and most recently named a California Exemplary Visual Arts Program in 2015. This premier program is headed by the 2013 Elementary Art Teacher of the Year in California.

  
  

  The curriculum, based on the California and national visual art standards, is designed to develop in our students the ability to create and express their ideas in a visually creative, impactful, and meaningful manner through drawing, painting, digital photography, cinematography, and ceramics.

  
  

  Our Performing Arts program students discover their own voice and special expressive talents through music, theater, singing, dancing, video production, and screen-writing. They gain extensive exposure to, and are deeply involved in, staging, lighting, and set design for the numerous productions throughout the school year.

  
  

  All Berkeley Hall students participate in a wide variety of Performing Arts productions throughout their entire experience from Nursery to 8th grade.

• WHAT DOES A GRADUATE LOOK LIKE AT YOUR SCHOOL?

  A Berkeley Hall graduate understands that each person has unlimited God-given potential and that mankind has the power to positively transform their environment through self-reflection, critical and creative thinking, and expansive love for the world. A BHS graduate is resilient and is joyously committed to pursuing a life of purpose and service. She or he is a flexible and resilient thinker, confidently welcoming challenges as opportunities to learn and ready for the rigors of high school academics.  A Berkeley Hall graduate values diverse perspectives and is fair and trustworthy, leading and collaborating with integrity and humility.

• WHEN DOES WORLD LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION BEGIN AT THE SCHOOL AND WHICH LANGUAGES ARE TAUGHT?

  World language instruction begins in first grade with a dedicated Spanish teacher and curriculum.

• WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOUR CURRICULUM FROM OTHER SCHOOLS?

  GROWTH MINDSET: Berkeley Hall promotes a growth mindset which means that every opportunity is taken to teach students that their ability to learn is not a static nor a fixed thing. Learning can change and improve with persistent effort over time. Therefore, failure is temporary and can be seen as a stepping stone to further learning. Failure is not a permanent condition that defines a student, but rather, an opportunity for that student to expend more effort and to advocate for him or herself to learn something new.

  
  

  DEPTH OF STUDY: At Berkeley Hall, we improve learning through improving teaching. This is a huge differentiator between BHS and other schools.

  
  

  We have a cohesive educational plan that we call “Depth of Study” in which our teachers meet regularly in teams to come to a clear and common understanding of exactly what a student being at “grade level” looks like from 8th grade all the way down to Nursery.

  
  

  This work has resulted in a clear, commonly-shared professional understanding of what each of our students should understand and be able to do both academically and as conscientious citizens in order to be at, or above, grade level.

  
  

  This professional clarity means that your child’s educational experience is seamless, since teachers across disciplines work together to create projects and to approach core concepts in a more unified way. For example: if a child studying the Westward Expansion in his or her homeroom goes off to art, the vocabulary and the core concepts intertwine, and the art projects integrate with the social studies curriculum.

  
  

  N-8 MODEL: Berkeley Hall is committed to a Pre-K through 8th grade model to prepare students for high school. Our Junior High students are role models for the younger students, are encouraged to take on leadership roles at school, and work with their younger “buddies” on a regular basis as mentors. These middle school years are a key time for students to deeply understand who they are and to learn to make mindful, good choices rather than looking to other kids – including the 15-18 year olds that they will find on a high school campus – to do it for them. When they leave us they have a strong enough sense of who they are to select their high school friends rather than falling in with whatever crowd approaches them first.

  
  

  In addition, we get to know our students very well, and we do a lot of hand-holding and individual prep work to get each of our 8th graders placed in the very best high school for them.

  
  

  51% DIVERSITY: Studies show that when students engage with those of diverse socio-economic backgrounds, deeper learning and flexibility are gained, qualities necessary for 21st-century jobs. Berkeley Hall currently supports 51% ethnic diversity and our community is also socio-economically diverse and religiously diverse. This creates 

• HOW DOES THE SCHOOL SUPPORT THE HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS?

  Our Head of School works in partnership with you and your student to find a high school “match” that honors your child’s unique gifts and achievements. She knows the schools and knows your student, and advocates for them. Berkeley Hall students are sought after as high school freshman because they are well-prepared, self-assured, well-spoken, well-rounded and strong moral citizens. In 2019, 88% of Berkeley Hall eighth graders were accepted at their top high school of choice. Berkeley Hall is not a feeder school for one particular high school, but rather works very closely with 8th graders and their parents to hand-select the high school that will be the very best fit for that child. These include the top-rated independent high schools in Los Angeles.

• WHAT ARE YOUR TOP OUTDOOR AMENITIES?

  • A 66 acre campus with trails and green space for outdoor learning.
  • Four Playgrounds
  • Two playing fields (football and baseball), a track, and a heated pool.
  • Two eating terraces, one outdoor classroom, and amphitheater.
  • Learning garden, native plant garden.