Concord High School (Santa Monica, California)

Concord International High School
Established	1973
Type	Independent
Head of School	N.N.
President	Richard Corlin, MD
Faculty	0
Grades	9-12
Location	12021 Wilshire Boulevard, #410, Los Angeles, California, United States
Accreditation	WASC
Student to faculty ratio	5:1
Average class size	10
Website	http://www.concordhs.org

Concord International High School (also known as "Concord High School") has operated as an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school for 37 years with 50-100 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12. The school has its campus in Santa Monica, California.^[1]

The school filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2010, shortly after longtime director Packer Davis left the school.^[2] A lawsuit alleges that Davis misused school funds for personal purposes, leading to the bankruptcy.^[2]

History

Concord International High School was founded in 1973 as a non-profit organization by Sonya Packer, who served as director.^[3] Since its inception, the school has focused on college preparation, using the University of California’s “a-g” requirement as both its curricular pattern and graduation requirement. Concord offers up to eighteen Advanced Placement courses to the students enrolled in grades nine through twelve. Consistent with the school’s goal of providing a rich educational experience, great care is taken in selecting new students who are committed to and will likely thrive in such a challenging academic environment.^[4] The school has not acquired permanent premises but over the course of its history has operated from various sites in the Santa Monica area, on Olympic Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and most recently Lincoln Blvd.

Tuition

During its first two decades, tuition at Concord International High School was well under $10,000 per year. However, annual tuition steadily increased and reached $21,000 in 2006 and $29,000 per year in 2010.^[5] This tuition is among the highest among area private schools. However, unlike most other private schools in Southern California, the school has never conducted any fundraising drives and all additional expenses for costs such as books, art materials and science laboratory activities were included in the tuition.

Advanced Placement

Concord International High School has graduated a high percentage of its students with distinction every year. Accordingly, acceptances into top-ranking colleges have been significantly higher than in other schools in the area.^[3] All of the courses are college preparatory and are accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges.^[6]

Athletics

Concord students use the sport facilities and participate on sports team at Pacific Palisades High School by special arrangement. In addition, many students are enrolled in sports clubs on the Westside.

Formation of Concord Prep High School

The sudden departure of the long-time director Susan Packer Davis in November 2010 necessitated various attempts at reorganization. This led to considerable uncertainty and dissatisfaction among teaching faculty and parents.^[5] In January 2011, all Concord teachers and the majority of parents of Concord International High School decided to reconstitute under new management. A new high school entitled Concord Prep High School was formed with financial support from Oxford West Foundation in Santa Monica.^[7] Concord International High School currently remains as an administrative unit without faculty and as a "school without walls".^[5]

Notable alumni

• Jessica Biel, actress
• Jaycee Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer, son of Jackie Chan

References

1. ^ Concord High School
2. ^ ^{a b} Rivera, Carlos (10 April 2011). "Bankrupt Santa Monica school's ex-director accused of misusing $1 million - latimes.com". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-concord-high-20110410,0,2197117.story. Retrieved 10 April 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Concord High School
4. ^ Welcome
5. ^ ^{a b c} Teachers, parents fight to save Concord High
6. ^ Curriculum
7. ^ Oxford West Foundation