Chatsworth Hills Academy

Last updated
Chatsworth Hills Academy
Location
Chatsworth Hills Academy
,
Information
Type Independent, Private, Coeducational
MottoCharacter, Knowledge, and Excellence.
Established1977
AdministrationAnn Gillinger, Head of School
Tim Gerrity, Head of Middle School, Academic Dean
Nancy Salyers, Admission Director
Tom Boulanger, Athletic Director
Facultyapproximately 32
Enrollmentapproximately 230
Average class size15 students
Student to teacher ratio8.5:1
Color(s)Blue and Gold
MascotCHA Golden Eagles
Website chaschool.org

Chatsworth Hills Academy (CHA) is a private, coeducational day school located in Chatsworth, California, United States. CHA students are enrolled in Grades K through Eight and Preschool.

Contents

CHA is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). CHA is a member of National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

History

Chatsworth Hills Academy was founded in 1977 by a group of public school parents led by Liz Stillwell Shapiro. Following a co-op model, parents volunteered their time in their areas of expertise to clear the land, pour concrete, install buildings, run wiring, develop curriculum, buy books, and hire instructors. The Chatsworth campus opened in the fall of 1978 with grades 4-8, and a second site in Van Nuys held grades 1-3. The school was originally named the Neighborhood School and organized as a non-profit, public benefit corporation.

In 1980, the Van Nuys location was closed, and students in grades 1-3 were moved to the Chatsworth campus and the ninth grade was added.

In 1981, the name of the school was changed to Chatsworth Hills Academy. Towards the end of the '80s, enrollment at the middle school level decreased, grades 7-9 were eliminated, and Chatsworth Hills Academy became Preschool through grade 6 from 1988-1996. By 1998, middle school enrollment had grown again and grades 7 and 8 were returned permanently to the School. CHA started a summer camp for students Preschool through 8th grade was started in June 2000.

Chatsworth Hills Academy has evolved over the years and is no longer a "parent-run" co-op school. The Board of Trustees is composed of fourteen individuals, mostly current and former school parents. The Board is responsible, with the Head of School, to strategically plan for the future of Chatsworth Hills Academy.

Athletic Program

Chatsworth Hills Academy participates in a full range of interscholastic athletics as a member of the San Fernando Valley Private School League (SFVPSL). Beginning in fourth grade, boys' teams include Flag Football, Basketball, Soccer and/or Volleyball during the school year. Girls have the opportunity to compete in soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Team practices take place during school hours and after school. Games are played both home and away. Over the past several years, many CHA school teams have made play-off berths and have won league championships. CHA teams have won sixteen SFVPSL titles.

CHA coaches support the school's character education program by modeling and developing within each student character, teamwork, participation and sportsmanship. The athletic philosophy seeks to have all the CHA teams succeed yet premise the sports program on the belief that every member of the team must play.

Campus Facts

Chatsworth is an inland part of the coastal region of southern California that was the historic homeland of the Chumash Indians. [1] CHA is believed to be located on land once used by Chumash Indians for villages, campgrounds and/or burial sites. There was at least one large, ancient Chumash village located at the foot of nearby Santa Susana Pass. The area is now known as the Chatsworth Cairn Site. The site was used for ceremonial purposes. [2] A short distance from the Chatsworth Cairn Site, the Chumash established numerous settlements over extended periods of time. Regularly flowing water supported these settlements. [3]

CHA's campus has several rock formations containing Chumash pictographs. CHA also has a natural sulphur spring that surfaces on its lower campus. It is thought that the sulphur spring attracted Chumash and other Native American tribes to the area. According to one source, "a local sulfur spring percolated to the surface with water that was considered to contain important medicinal qualities. People from all of the neighboring villages, Chumash or Tongva were welcome to partake in the healing powers of these waters." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatsworth, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood of Los Angeles in California, United States

Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brentwood School (Los Angeles)</span> Private school in Los Angeles, California, United States

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

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) is a school district headquartered in Palos Verdes Estates, California with facilities in all four cities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Blair High School is a public high school in Pasadena, California, a part of the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). Blair is an International Baccalaureate World School serving grades 6–12. Blair offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme and the IB Diploma Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westridge School</span> Private, day, college-prep school in Pasadena, California, United States

Westridge School is a highly-ranked independent day school for girls in grades 4-12, with three divisions: Lower, Middle and Upper. Founded in 1913 by architect and educator Mary Lowther Ranney, Westridge is located in Pasadena, California.

Le Jardin Academy is located on the Windward Side of Oʻahu in City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It offers private education from Pre-K to grade 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridges Academy</span> Independent school in Studio City, California, United States

Bridges Academy, Los Angeles, is a college prep school serving twice-exceptional learners—students who are gifted but who also have learning differences such as Autism, AD/HD, executive functioning challenges, processing deficits, and mild dyslexia. The students are driven by creativity and intellectual curiosity. The Bridges educational model is strength-based and talent-development driven. Each student has an individual learning plan created to meet their diverse learning style, academic, creative and social/emotional needs. Stimulating core classes, abundant enrichment, small class size, extensive academic supports and a vital advisory and mentoring program are all part of the Bridges approach. The school is located in Studio City, Los Angeles, California.

Cornerstone Christian Academy (CCA) of McLean County is a private, non-denominational, college-preparatory Christian school located in Bloomington, Illinois. CCA enrolls preschool through 12th grade. It has a total enrollment of over 500 students.

Saugus Union School District (SUSD) is a public California school district located in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County, California. The district serves students in grades TK/K-6 in Saugus, most of Valencia, and parts of Canyon Country. There are also pre-school programs on-site at many of the schools. The district includes 15 elementary schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Waverly School</span> Independent, day, college-prep school in the United States

The Waverly School is a nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory, progressive day school in Pasadena, California, United States for students in preschool through high school. It has three campuses, and a one-acre organic farm within walking distance. It is an independent school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Christian on the Hill</span> Private, college-prep school in Los Angeles, California, United States

Pacific Christian on the Hill was a small private college preparatory school located in the Hermon area of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milken Community School</span> Private, coeducational 6-12 school in Los Angeles, California, United States

Milken Community School is a private Jewish high school and middle school. It is located on Mulholland Drive in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest Jewish day schools in the United States. Long affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple, a Reform congregation, the school is officially non-denominational, and became independent from the temple in July 2012. Despite the separation, Milken Community Schools continues to be the school in which many Stephen S. Wise students are enrolled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camino Nuevo Charter Academy</span> Public, charter school

Camino Nuevo Charter Academy is a group of charter schools serving the Westlake/MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. In 2003 Camino Nuevo Charter Academy was awarded the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence gold medal. The school was founded by Philip Lance, an activist Episcopalian priest, community organizer, and psychologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington Christian Academy (Kentucky)</span> Private school in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, United States

Lexington Christian Academy is a private, non-denominational Christian school in Lexington, Kentucky, accredited by the AdvancED. The school serves preschool through 12th grade. Total enrollment is around 1,500, with about 200 junior high school, and 460 high school students. As a requirement for teaching at LCA, all teachers must profess Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orangeburg Preparatory Schools</span> Independent school in Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States

Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. is an independent, college-preparatory, coeducational day school enrolling students in preschool through 12th grade. It is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Orangeburg Prep has two campuses: the Lower Campus, housing preschool to 5th grade; and the Upper Campus, housing grades 6 to 12. OPS also operates a year-round day care center on the Lower Campus. Orangeburg Prep was formed through the merger of two segregation academies, Wade Hampton Academy and Willington Academy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler School</span> Independent , co-ed, k-8 day school in Pasadena, California, United States

Chandler School is an independent, co-ed day school in Pasadena, California, United States, founded in 1950. It caters for students from kindergarten through grade eight, with a total enrollment of 450 students. The 4.5-acre (1.8 ha) campus overlooks the Pasadena Rose Bowl and the Arroyo Seco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German International School of Silicon Valley</span> Official german school abroad school in the United States

The German International School of Silicon Valley (GISSV) is a private school educating children from preschool to grade 12 using bilingual full immersion. It has sites in Mountain View and San Francisco in California. Students graduate the school with both the German International Abitur and the California High School Diploma. The school is accredited with the Western Association of Schools (WASC), as well as the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and by the German government as an official German School Abroad.

Berkeley Hall School (BHS) is a coed independent school for Nursery through eighth grades located on 66 acres off Mulholland Drive near the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles, California, US. The school is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC).

Greenwood Christian Academy is a private Christian school with grades Preschool through high school located in Greenwood, Indiana. Currently, more than 800 students are enrolled at the school's two campuses.

Mount Aviat Academy is a Roman Catholic independent, co-educational school, located in Childs, Maryland, United States. It is run independently within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and is operated under the direction of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is just about 250 students, from Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Mount Aviat was selected as a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. This prestigious award is given annually to only 50 private schools nationwide.

References

  1. Chatsworth Historical Society Archived 2006-12-14 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. Walker, Edwin F. (1952). Five Prehistoric Archeological Sites in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles Public Library: Hodge Publication Fund, Vol. VI. pp. 81–100.
  3. 1 2 Jorgensen, Lawrence C. "Making History: A Chronicle of the Valley's Past". Pressanykey.com: Mission San Fernando Rey de España. Retrieved 2006-12-29.[ permanent dead link ]

34°16′23″N118°35′57″W / 34.27310°N 118.59904°W / 34.27310; -118.59904