BRENTWOOD SCHOOL INSPIRES EVERY STUDENT TO:
Think critically and creatively. Act ethically. Shape a future with meaning. EAST CAMPUS // GRADES 6 THROUGH 12
TRUST
RESPECT
RESPONSIBILITY
HONESTY
CARING
DIVERSITY
COMMUNITY
K-12 Notable Numbers
25,000
HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE BY BRENTWOOD STUDENTS EACH YEAR
40% 200
FAMILIES FROM
90
ZIP CODES
STUDENTS OF COLOR
30 years
OF HELPING VETERANS THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WEST LA VA
INTERNSHIPS COMPLETED BY BRENTWOOD STUDENTS AND ALUMNI EACH YEAR
100+ SCHOOLS ATTENDING OUR STUDENT-RUN YOUNG WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Dozens
61
MIDDLE AND UPPER SCHOOL ATHLETIC TEAMS
OF PROJECTS FOCUSED ON REAL-WORLD CHALLENGES THROUGH OUR BELLDEGRUN CENTER FOR INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP
7CORE VALUES AT THE HEART OF ALL WE DO
BRENTWOOD SCHOOL
Start Curious, Stay Curious, Go Anywhere Brentwood School provides its students with powerful intellectual challenges; and this is just one aspect of the Brentwood experience. Yes, our students excel in the classroom. They also achieve in the arts and athletics. They explore yoga, meditation, improv, and coding, and can choose to join Benefacta, our service learning honor society. They complete internships at ABC News and in research labs at UCLA, and they grow their leadership skills by organizing the Young Women’s Conference that draws participants from far and wide. What’s more, they have the chance to not only try various options but also pursue them in greater depth. At Brentwood, young people find superb academics and a world of other options, all with the goal of shaping a future with meaning.
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NURTURING INTELLECT AND IMAGINATION
Exploring Boldly The learning experience at Brentwood is inspired by ambitious goals: for students to build sophisticated intellectual skills to prepare for the challenges we know lie ahead as well as those impossible to foresee. Everything we do begins with the relationship between skilled and dedicated educators and students who are multitalented, highly motivated, and eager to learn. Together these teachers and students, partners in exploration, encounter a wide, rich world of ideas. And together they work to cultivate an impressive array of abilities. These include the powers of critical and creative thinking, clear communication, and resourceful problem solving, as well as the confidence to face ambiguity and complexity.
“ E XCELLENCE LIES IN SETTING HIGH STANDARDS AND HOLDING OURSELVES TO THEM, IN BEING CHALLENGED AND RISING TO THE CHALLENGE. THAT IS THE PATH TO CAPABILITY, CONFIDENCE, AND ACHIEVEMENT.” Latin Teacher
“ If you love learning, then Brentwood is the place for you. It all stems from the teachers. Their passion for their subjects emanates and makes you want to share it.”
“ WE LEARN THE STEPS TO GET FROM A TO B. WE ALSO BUILD THE SKILLS IT TAKES TO THEN GO FROM C TO D ON YOUR OWN— EVEN WHEN THAT MEANS ANALYZING A PROBLEM OF A KIND YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.” Physics Teacher
Upper School Student
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WHY NOT TRY Award-Winning Robotics Teams // Choral Groups // Outdoor Retreats // Clubs and Activities for Every Interest // Human
What new INTEREST will you discover?
“ Creating a show means learning about process. It’s singing, then dancing, then doing both together, then adding costumes. It’s getting each part solid before moving on. We discover the hard work and the teamwork it takes to make something really good.”
MANY PATHS TO EXPLORE
THEATER TEACHER
This is a place where athletes, artists, activists, inventors, and aspiring leaders are all at home. It’s also a place where one person can take on many of these roles. At Brentwood School, we believe you should be—and be celebrated for—all the things you want to be.
Rights Day // Benefacta Service Honor Society // Probability Carnival // September Splash
“ At Brentwood School, the fields, the gym, and pool are all extensions of the classroom. From the beginners just starting in a sport to our competitive athletes, this is an experience of learning and personal growth directly rooted in our school’s values..” ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, EAST CAMPUS
“ As an educator, the best thing that can happen is when a student finds an answer to a problem that’s different and better than yours. With our students, that happens all the time. Exploring the design-build process through robotics projects provides the perfect opportunity.” MATH TEACHER AND ROBOTICS COACH
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Growing as a strong individual
Growing as a strong community EAST CAMPUS // BRENTWOOD SCHOOL .07
Growing in Character As we guide our students, we strive to help them to grow in integrity, self-understanding, resilience, and leadership. These priorities are part of the spirit of Brentwood School. They are also built into the structure of daily life. Carefully planned advisory programs in Middle School and Upper School pair students with faculty mentors. Service learning opportunities take students beyond the bounds of campus to explore new perspectives. Weekly Community Time gatherings create a forum to reflect on emotional intelligence, equity and inclusion, ethics, and more. And, our distinctive Peer Leadership and Foundations programs each focus on the needs of 9th graders as they enter Upper School, exploring issues, creating space for dialog, and connecting new freshmen with older student guides and role models.
“ SOMETIMES IN LIFE THINGS JUST WON’T GO YOUR WAY. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WE HELP STUDENTS SEE THAT THEY CAN BUILD THE SKILLS TO SUCCEED THE NEXT TIME. AND WE HELP THEM GAIN THE PERSPECTIVE TO REALIZE THERE WILL BE A NEXT TIME.” History Teacher
“ STUDENTS WHO JOIN THIS COMMUNITY FIND SO MANY POINTS OF ENTRY INTO EXPERIENCES OF SELFDISCOVERY AND PERSONAL GROWTH, AND SO MANY CHANCES FOR LEADERSHIP. THERE REALLY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE.” Director of Student Life
C O R E VA L U E S
TRUST RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY HONESTY CARING DIVERSITY COMMUNITY
PUTTING OUR VALUES INTO ACTION We live the ideals we learn
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WE COME TOGETHER FOR Choral Groups // Peer Leadership Program // Coffeehouse // Exploratory // Small Group Advisory // Student
The warmth of the Brentwood School community contributes to a positive and stimulating learning environment. Students exchange ideas freely, knowing their voices will be heard and respected.
Truly
OPEN AND WELCOMING
Government // Student and Family Affinity Groups // amaranth Literary Magazine
From Madrigals to Student Government to softball, students can find opportunities to connect and collaborate with others who share their interests.
“ You don’t have to change yourself to come here and fit in. Brentwood sees the greatness in each person. Be yourself. Be the best version of yourself.” Upper School Student
“ When we visited Brentwood, it felt like a home to us. The people we met were outgoing and warm. The students were clearly comfortable here. Over time, that first impression proved exactly true.” Brentwood Parent EAST CAMPUS // BRENTWOOD SCHOOL .11
United by a Sense of Community
Alive with the Pulse of Energy EAST CAMPUS // BRENTWOOD SCHOOL .13
LEARNING INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP
Intentionally Dynamic At Brentwood, we proudly see our school as a work in progress. By continuing to explore and evolve, we bring a unique vitality to the Brentwood School experience. Nowhere is this spirit more clear than in the Belldegrun Center for Innovative Leadership, a groundbreaking initiative through which our teachers and students engage with real-world challenges in exciting ways. Uniquely, the BCIL encompasses K–12 curricular and extracurricular programming. Experiences in the BCIL range from entrepreneurial contests that promote social change to prototyping products designed from reusable waste materials to exceptional professional development opportunities for our K–12 faculty. Through BCIL leadership training, students learn that it takes trial and error to achieve their best results. They seek answers in creative and collaborative ways. They discover that their work can have an impact.
“ At the Belldegrun Center for Innovative Leadership, we help students follow their curiosity beyond the textbook, grapple with questions for which there are no prescribed answers, and develop lifelong leadership skills.” Director of the Belldegrun Center for Innovative Leadership
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS • Middle School projects inspired by realworld challenges, such as safeguarding endangered species by connecting approaches from many fields of study • Groundbreaking Upper School courses such as Sustainable Earth Engineering, Fabrication and Design, Refugees and Resettlement, the Science of Well-Being, and LatinX in LA • Summer offerings, such as a course in Global Health that includes a week-long hands-on experience in Panama
• Extracurricular options such as entrepreneurial competitions, the LA Teen Hackathon, and a unique speaker series in which visiting thought leaders discuss real, timely issues and leave students with a “Challenge of the Month” • High-profile events, such as Brentwood’s celebrated Young Women’s Conference • Extensive specialized professional development experiences for faculty
• Leadership workshops that help produce innovative problem solvers, courageous risk takers, effective managers, adept communicators, and inspired community builders
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Finding Success in College and Beyond As alumni over the decades can attest, Brentwood School provides an exceedingly strong foundation for the rigors of higher education—and as they’ve shown through their diverse careers, it also provides the foundation for lives of meaningful achievement after college. As Upper School students prepare for the transition to life beyond Brentwood, they receive thoughtful, individual, and professional guidance from the school’s exceptional college counseling team. Counselors help students grow in self-understanding and recognize the full range of college choices available so they can find a school that represents a truly strong, individual fit: an institution where they will thrive and be inspired to continue their lifelong journey of learning and personal growth.
“ THE LEVEL OF INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION WE ARE ABLE TO OFFER EACH STUDENT SETS OUR COLLEGE COUNSELING PROGRAM APART. WE KNOW OUR STUDENTS BEYOND THEIR TRANSCRIPTS.” Director of College Counseling
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Substantive informational meetings for students and for parents/guardians in Grades 9–12 • Annual workshops on PSAT preparation, college essay writing, and the financial aid process • Specialized staff expertise, including extensive experience in college and university admissions work • Personalized support for student-athletes taking part in the college athletic recruiting process
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WEST CAMPUS // BRENTWOOD SCHOOL
• A college-visit program that brings admissions representatives from more than 100 institutions nationwide to Brentwood each year • An East Coast college tour during Spring Break, giving juniors the opportunity to visit a range of campuses and meet with Brentwood alumni • A West Coast college tour for sophomores to tour campuses closer to home • A belief that, at its best, the college search process should not only yield a great result, but also become a valuable experience Kelsh Wilson Design kelshwilson.com
• Extensive individual interaction and support for all students throughout the search and application process
BWSCAMPUS.COM An Independent, Coed College Preparatory K-12 School, Founded in 1972