Brentwood School (Los Angeles, California)

Infobox Private School
background = #f0f6fa
border = #ccd2d9
name = Brentwood School


motto =
established = 1972
type = Private
religion =
head_name = Administration
head = Michael D. Pratt, Ph.D. "Head of School"
Robert Cooke, Ph.D. "Director, Upper Division"
Will Bladt M.A. "Director, Middle Division"
DawnMarie Cunnion, Ed.D. "Director, Lower Division"
city = Brentwood, Los Angeles
state = CA
country = USA
campus = 27 acres (109,000 m²)
enrollment = West Campus: 300
East Campus: 685
faculty =
class = K-6: 43
7-8: 104-105
9-12: 120-121
ratio =
year =
SAT =
athletics =
colors = Scarlet and Navymascot = The Eagles
homepage = [http://www.bwscampus.com www.bwscampus.com]

Brentwood School is a private, secular K-12 coed day school with two campuses, located four blocks apart, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.

History

Founded in 1972, Brentwood School took over the Brentwood Military Academy, which had existed since 1902. The Academy was founded by Miss Mary McDonnell in a remodeled residence located in Los Angeles. During the period from 1902 to 1972, the Academy moved sites twice, yet continued under the direction of Miss McDonnell and family members. In 1972, the Academy closed, and the property was sold to a non-profit corporation, which opened in 1972 as the Brentwood School, a college preparatory day school, Grades 7-10. The first Headmaster of Brentwood School was Father Grant. Grade 11 was added in 1973, and the school graduated its first Senior class in June 1975. In 1994, under the guidance of then Headmaster Hunter M. Temple, Brentwood School purchased the Marymount Junior School campus and opened the Lower Division West Campus, K-6, in the fall of 1995. In 2001 the 22 acre (89,000 m²) Brentwood School Athletics Complex opened on the East Campus.

Overview

Enrollment is approximately 985 students on both campuses. Tuition in the Lower Division is listed at $23,850 per year, while tuition in the Middle and Upper Divisions is listed at $27,650 per year. The School year runs from August 29 to June 9. In the 2008-2009 year, $3,000,000 in need-based financial aid will be awarded. Major admissions entry points are Kindergarten, 7th, and 9th Grade, with only sporadic openings at other levels. Admissions decisions are made by a large committee that includes faculty and administrators. Brentwood offers a liberal arts curriculum, including over 100 courses each year, including advanced placement courses in 17 subject areas. Each student also completes a minimum of 60 hours of community service before graduation.

Athletics

During any one school year, Brentwood School fields 67 different athletic teams in grades 7-12. The school is notable for mostly employing its own teachers as coaches instead of hiring from outside the school and for all of its students being held to a high academic requirement in order to participate in their respective sports. Annual events at Brentwood School include being the venue for the annual Special Olympics Games put on in conjunction with the Special Olympics Southern California Westside Chapter. In 2003 Brentwood-area resident (and now Governor of California) Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Guest of Honor and presided over the Special Olympics Games' Opening Ceremony. Since 1992, the School has hosted the Peter Vidmar Men's Gymnastic's Invitational hosted by former U.S Gold-Medal winning Olympian and Brentwood School alumnus, Peter Vidmar.

Brentwood School's Statement of Purpose

Brentwood School is a vibrant and diverse community whose purpose is to promote personal and intellectual growth. We provide challenging, engaging programs in a nurturing learning environment, devoting care and attention to every student. Embracing high standards of character, commitment, and achievement, Brentwood School encourages students to think critically and creatively and to act ethically.

Notable alumni

Brentwood alumni include Olympic Gold Medalist Peter Vidmar, actors Fred Savage and Ben Savage, who are brothers, as well as actresses Jennifer Landon, Molly Stanton,Kristy Wu and Azura Skye. John O'Brien, a soccer player for MLS team Chivas USA (formerly of Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Soccer league), and on the US national team, attended Brentwood for two years before leaving for Holland. Four members of the platinum selling pop-rock band Maroon 5, including Adam Levine, attended Brentwood School while forming the band Kara's Flowers which would later evolve into Maroon 5. In addition, both conservative best-selling author Andrew Breitbart and Emmy Award Winning New York City Entertainment Anchor Emily Frances are alumni. Jonah Hill(formerly Jonah Feldstein) attended Brentwood School, but later transferred to Crossroads School.

Relation to Olympics

Brentwood School Track and cross-country coaches Joanna Hayes and Malakai Davis participated in 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Joanna Hayes was a Gold-Medalist in the Women's 110-Meter Hurdles competition for the United States. Malakai Davis was a participant in the Men's 4x400 Meter Relay for Great Britain. Jason Rogers, a Brentwood School alumni as well as an Ohio State graduate, was a participant in the 2004 Olympic Games, as a Sabre Fencer for the United States National team. He is currently on the 2008 team in the Beijing Olympics and won a Silver Medal in the Team tournament for Sabre. Peter Vidmar, who led the United States to a Gold-medal in Men's Gymnastics at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California is also a Brentwood School alumni, and was an acting member of their Board of Trustees for several years.

Famous speakers

Brentwood School also runs the [http://www.bwscampus.com/about_us/special_programs/ John Hutson Memorial Guest Lecture Series] on campus, an event where various notable speakers address a mixed audience of students, faculty, parents and members of the public. The Guest Lecture Series is name in honor of John Hutson, the former Chair of the Political Science and History Departments at Brentwood School. Past speakers in the John Hutson Memorial Guest Lecture Series include:
* Edward Albee - American playwright
* Dr. Maya Angelou - African-American poet
* Doris Kearns Goodwin - Biographer of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt
* Dr. Jeane Kirkpatrick - former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Senior Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute
* Frank McCourt - writer
* Leah Rabin - widow of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
* Amy Tan - American novelist, of "The Joy Luck Club" fame
* Kurt Vonnegut - American novelist of "Slaughterhouse-Five" fame
* Leon Panetta - former White House Chief of Staff
* Joyce Carol Oates - American writer
* William Styron - American novelist ("Sophie's Choice, The Confessions of Nat Turner")
* Tony Kushner - American playwright ("Angels in America, Homebody/Kabul")
* Edward O. Wilson - American Biologist
* Alice Walker - American novelist of "The Color Purple" fame
* Alice Sebold - American novelist of "The Lovely Bones" and "Lucky" fame
* Eric Schlosser - best-selling author of "Fast Food Nation"
* Margaret Atwood- Canadian novelist of "The Handmaid's Tale" and other works

Past speakers not part of the John Hutson Memorial Guest Lecture Series include:
* Orville Schell - Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley and member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
* Jason Rogers, Malakai Davis and Joanna Hayes - Members of the Brentwood School Community and participants in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
* Doctor Drew Pinsky (A.K.A. Dr. Drew) - board-certified Physician and Addiction Medicine Specialist as well as co-host of popular late-night radio show "Loveline", who hosted a forum on adolescent sexuality and parenting at Brentwood School.
* Mark Mathabane - former tennis player, White House Fellow for the Clinton Administration, and novelist of "Kaffir Boy" fame.
* Antonio Villaraigosa - current Mayor of Los Angeles and former California State Assemblyman.
* Gus Lee - American author of "China Boy" fame.

Accreditation

Brentwood School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and is a member of the following organizations:
*National Association of Independent Schools
*California Association of Independent Schools
*A Better Chance
*Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs

External links

* [http://www.bwscampus.com Brentwood School] - official website
* [http://www.bwscampus.com/about_us/special_programs/ Past Speakers in the John Hutson Memorial Guest Lecture Series and other Special Programs put on by the School] .
* [http://www.smmirror.com/volume3/issue24/novelist_styron_to.asp Link to Notes on William Styron presentation at the Brentwood School John Hutson Memorial Guest Lecture Series.]
* [http://www.petervidmarinvite.org/ Official Webpage of the Peter Vidmar Men's Gymnastics Invitational]