WHY BURKE’S?
At Burke’s your daughter finds her voice, and we want to hear what she has to say.
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WHY AN ALL–GIRLS SCHOOL?
LINKS DREAM VIDEO
A Burke’s girl is . . . anything she wants to be. Katherine Delmar Burke founded the school more than 100 years ago to educate girls in preparation for college. This defining purpose challenged societal expectations and norms, helping to lead the way for women’s equality.
Today, although much has improved for girls and women, we still face gender imbalance in the workplace with alarming statistics related to salaries and the lack of female leaders in top positions and in specific industries. At Burke’s, girls are not limited, exemplifying that “There Are 400 Ways to Be a Burke’s Girl.” An all-girls education helps girls be confident and true to who they are.
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A n a ll-g irls educat ion relies on teaching methods derived from the latest research on female brain development.
WHAT ARE THE UNIQUE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AT BURKE’S?
LINKS SLAVE TRADE 21ST – CENTURY LEARNING
Memorable and life-transforming experiences are abundant at Burke’s thanks to unique learning environments and classes led by innovative educators committed to project-based learning. On any given day, you’ll see students experimenting with levers while changing a tire; sewing the costumes for their class play; or taking risks riding a unicycle as they learn about balance, teamwork and self-advocacy.
The girls solve problems through invention and examine difficult subject matter such as modern-day slavery and childhood hunger. A Burke’s girl will find her own voice and utilize it to make a difference.
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OPPORTUNITIES
The teachers at Burke’s are just as innovative and unique as the classes they teach. Burke’s is a school where teachers are constantly challenging themselves through collaborating cross–divisionally and across subject matter. Burke’s teachers participate regularly in local and national professional development opportunities, pursue National Board Certification and take advantage of countless other experiences that enhance the learning of each and every girl.
As a result, our program is characterized by integrated project-based learning and a range of differentiated instruction—always focused on the whole girl.
HOW DOES BURKE’S EMPOWER GIRLS TO BE LEADERS?
Burke’s empowers girls to succeed as leaders in their classrooms, in their communities and in their own lives. They lead classroom meetings, assemblies and campus tours, and start clubs such as the Gay-Straight Alliance. Through project-based collaborative work, they learn to lead small groups, facilitate decision-making and advocate for themselves. Our girls participate in public-speaking classes and drama productions.
A hallmark in the development of voice is the presentation of each girl’s original speech to the assembled Upper School in her seventh-grade year. During her eighth-grade year, she prepares a presentation that highlights an experience she’s had, a passion she has pursued or a newfound interest she has explored. At the heart of this journey to leadership, a Burke’s girl will find her own voice and use it to make a difference.
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In both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, Burke’s g irls received the most awards of any school in their age g roup through the Toshiba/National Science
Teachers Association ExploraVision competition which required them to ident i f y a societ a l problem a nd propose a solution.
WHAT MAKES BURKE’S 3.5 – ACRE CAMPUS SO SPECIAL?
For a school situated in a city populated with more than 800,000 people — and with the highest realestate cost per square foot in the country — a 3.5-acre outdoor campus is unique; Burke’s is the only independent elementary school in San Francisco with an expansive, green campus.
At the end of California Street, you will find a city block that epitomizes joy and learning. Girls greet their classmates as they walk along a landscaped playing field and move freely around campus all day. Beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen when walking along the second floor of the Grace Magill Arts and Sciences Building.
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CAMPUS SPECS •
Four distinct outdoor spaces including a sprawling, grass soccer field •
A multipurpose gymnasium with a regulation-sized basketball court •
Three state-of-the-art science labs •
Two innovation labs known as Makery Up and Makery Down
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A fully-equipped kitchen, lunchroom and outdoor eating spaces
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Two performance spaces with professionally rigged sound and lighting systems
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Two large, light-filled art studios
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Two music rooms, each with an electronic keyboard and a full complement of Orff instruments
WHAT ARE SOME TRADITIONS THAT DEFINE BURKE’S?
A Burke’s girl will participate in a variety of institutional traditions—many of which date back to the school’s founding. As a Burke’s girl, she will square dance at the Lower School Picnic. She will attend the near century-old Fall Festival, an event that transforms the campus into an autumnal playground. She will perform in Greek plays, concerts, cabarets and musicals.
As an eighth grader, she will participate in the colorful Maypole ceremony. Tradition will follow her until the day she graduates. She will be showered with pansy flower petals during a time-honored stepping-up ceremony, followed by Commencement, a moving ceremony during which each girl is paid tribute for her individual talents and achievements.
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HOW DOES BURKE’S CARE FOR THE “WHOLE GIRL”?
At Burke’s, our focus extends beyond the classroom. We aim to provide our students with a multifaceted education that includes physical and wellness education, outdoor education, service learning, confidence building and mindfulness. We make it our mission to know and care for the whole girl.
It is our goal that at the end of a student’s time at Burke’s, she leaves not only well-versed in academics, but as an empathetic individual who finds joy in learning, is emotionally and physically self-aware, is fortified with coping and resiliency skills, is confident in her ability to achieve whatever may come to mind, and practices self-efficacy.
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HOW DOES THE BUR K E’S COM M U N I T Y REFLECT THAT OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD?
Burke’s faculty and staff establish an environment that cares for the whole girl and, by extension, the whole family. We are an inclusive community that prepares all of our students for participation in an increasingly global community. This work is the responsibility of everyone on campus. Diversity is celebrated throughout our curriculum, and our Director of Inclusivity and Community Building and our Multicultural Committees help guide our efforts.
In our new strategic plan, Burke’s is committed to creating a diversity task force to research and develop a three-pronged approach of recruitment, enrollment and inclusion to ensure that the school continues to reflect the rich diversity of the Bay Area in the student body, faculty and staff.
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Although the numbers below shift with each incoming class, our current community reflects the following demographics:
54% DUAL WORKING PARENTS
35% STUDENTS OF COLOR
18% RECEIVE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
6% DUAL HOUSEHOLD FAMILIES
2% SINGLE PARENT HOUSEHOLDS
2% ADOPTIVE FAMILIES
1% LGBTQ HOUSEHOLDS
HOW DO BURKE’S GIRLS ENGAGE THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF BU R K E’S CA M PUS WALLS – LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY?
LINKS OUTDOOR PROGRAMS
When a girl joins the Burke’s community, she joins a group of friends, family and mentors. Burke’s girls learn to give of themselves in our smaller community and outside of our campus. The girls appreciate the many opportunities they have to participate in our school recycling program, field trips throughout San Francisco, Burke’s Gives Back and our outdoor education programs.
The girls gain a strong understanding of who they are and have many opportunities to develop their voices and utilize them to make a difference.
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WHAT DO STUDENTS DO AFTER SCHOOL?
At Burke’s, the day does not end at the ring of the dismissal bell. Lower School students have the option of attending Tree House, an after-school program that fosters play, friendships across grade levels and time to relax and reflect on the day.
In addition, classes are offered through the After School Enrichment Program in areas such as woodworking, languages, writing, yoga, musical instruments and more. Upper School students attend study hall and athletic practice, and some volunteer at a local neighborhood center or elementary school.
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WHAT HAPPENS AFTER BURKE’S?
LINKS ALUMNA LAREINA YEE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNAE
A Burke’s alumna is confident and engaged in the larger world and connected to her alma mater. Burke’s girls attend high schools and colleges that further engage their curiosit y and interests post graduation. They have gone on to have careers as research biologists, concer t musicians, technolog y entrepreneurs, senior executives of Major League Baseball teams and Pulitzer Prizewinning novelists. Whatever the path chosen, each young woman knows where her passions lie and goes on to make a difference in her community.
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HOW CAN PARENTS GET INVOLVED IN THE BURKE’S COMMUNITY?
At Burke’s, volunteerism is taught in the classrooms and by example from our parents. There are many opportunities for Burke’s families to become involved in the Burke’s community. We enthusiastically encourage parent participation, and most parents find volunteering a rewarding way to share in the school life of their daughter and to meet other parents.
There is a vast array of volunteer opportunities that can accommodate a full range of parent schedules, such as helping with morning dropoff, assisting in the lunchroom or driving on field trips.
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In addition, parents can serve on the Parents’ Association on a variety of special committees, such as Sustainability, Burke’s Gives Back, Wellness and others. They can help make Annual Fund phone calls, work on Dinner Auction or Fall Festival or help plan the Burke’s Speaker Series, as well as other special events throughout the year.
When parents give of their time they do so joyfully, knowing that they are contributing to an environment in which their daughters are learning about volunteerism and are developing their own voice and sense of confidence.
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At Burke’s your daughter finds her voice, and we want to hear what she has to say.
If you would like more information, contac t the Admissions Of f ice at 415.751.0177 ex t. 221. We look for ward to hearing from you!