Athenian School

Last updated

Athenian School
Location
Athenian School
2100 Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd.

Danville
,
California

United States
Information
Type Private, college-preparatory, independent, day, and boarding
Established1965
Head of schoolEric Niles
Grades6-12
Enrollment528
NicknameOwls
Website www.athenian.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Athenian School is a co-educational, college preparatory boarding and day school located in Danville, California. Students in grades 6-12 attend classes on a 75 acre campus in Contra Costa County. The school was founded by Dyke Brown in 1965.

Contents

As of 2025, the school has an enrollment of 528 students in the middle and high school. [1] Approximately 60 students and 18 teachers live on campus full-time. The student to teacher ratio is 8:1 [2] and the average class size is 15. [1]

Aerial view of Athenian School Aerial View of Athenian School.JPG
Aerial view of Athenian School

According to Niche, Athenian is ranked 147th on the 2020 list of Best Private High Schools in America and the number one school in Contra Costa County. [3] Athenian is also ranked as the 40th best boarding school in the United States. [4]

Athenian holds an average SAT score of 1385 (out of 1600) [5] and an average ACT score of 32. [6] According to Boarding School Review, this gives Athenian the 8th highest SAT score of any boarding school in the United States. [7]

History

Dyke Brown conceived of the idea of a mission-driven boarding school during his tenure as Vice President of the Ford Foundation, influenced by his foundation work in youth development and the prevention of juvenile delinquency, and by his own children's educational experiences. [8]

Athenian is a founding member of Round Square, an international organization of schools whose philosophy is influenced [9] by the German educator Kurt Hahn. [10] As of 2021, there are approximately 200 Round Square member schools worldwide.

In 1962, Brown left the Ford Foundation to begin to raise money for the school he had in mind. Inspired by the Oxford system of individual colleges sharing common resources, his original plan was a series of four campuses sharing a library, science classrooms, athletic facilities, a performing-arts complex, and other facilities. He found 80+ acres of land in what was then rural Contra Costa county, a portion of what was then the Blackhawk Ranch, bordering on Mount Diablo State Park.

Construction began in 1963, and the founding head, W. Robert Usellis, began recruiting the pioneer classes in the fall of 1964. Brown's vision was startling at the time: he planned for both integration and coeducation. In the early 1960s, very few private schools were recruiting students of color. The value of integration for private schools was seen by a very few visionaries, including the founders of A Better Chance. [11] The norm for boarding schools at the time was single-sex; a coeducational boarding program was unusual. In September 1965, the school opened with approximately sixty students, in ninth and tenth grades. In 1968, the founding class graduated, with a full enrollment of about 120 students, of whom only about six were day students.[ citation needed ]

In the 1970s, Athenian weathered local, national, and international changes. The surrounding area was transformed from cattle ranches to upscale developments. Athenian's neighbor, Blackhawk Ranch, was sold to land developer Ken Behring, and by 1979 2,500 upscale homes were built. The population boom in the area meant that there was an increased demand for day student places at the school.

Nationally, at least two forces were at work. First, the stagflation of the 1970s meant that parents had less discretionary income, thus weakening the pool of prospective boarding students. Other demographic changes, such as the increase in divorce, affected the pool of prospective boarding students.

In 1979, there was sufficient interest in the surrounding community for Athenian to open a day-school-only middle school, serving students in grades 6–8. Most of them continued on to finish high school at Athenian.

Athletics

Aerial view of Athenian School pool area Aerial View of Athenian School Pool Area.JPG
Aerial view of Athenian School pool area

Athenian is one of ten schools in the Bay Counties League - East. The school colors are terra cotta and earth; the sports teams wear orange and black. The full list of sports offered includes wrestling, soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, tennis, dance, golf, swimming, track & field, cross country, club sailing, basketball, baseball, badminton, women's lacrosse and a variety of other non-team athletics, including hiking, fencing, yoga, outdoor adventure, and weight training. [12] In 2024, Athenian boys basketball team won its first CIF State championship. [13]

Athenian Wilderness Experience (AWE)

While Athenian's founder, Dyke Brown, was influenced by Kurt Hahn, a wilderness expedition was not originally required in the curriculum. In the summer of 1968, two female members of the class of 1969 participated in the only program available for girls in the Boundary Waters Park. Upon their return to school, they impressed upon Brown and other school leaders the importance of having such an experience by part of the Athenian education. The addition of the Athenian Wilderness Experience as a required part of the curriculum further emphasized Athenian's experiential approach to education.

Originally, Athenian students went on courses provided by the Sierra arm of Outward Bound. After several years, the school devised its own program and hired staff, and made participation in AWE a graduation requirement. Now, Athenian students in their junior year spend twenty six days backpacking in either the Sierra Nevada during the summer, or Death Valley during the spring semester. The course is designed to promote personal growth, develop a sense of community, and foster environmental stewardship amongst Athenian students. On the homecoming day, AWE participants take part in a tradition known as "Run In", during which students run from a location that is 8 miles away from the school back to the campus. [14]

Clubs

Student activity clubs include Asian Club, Poker Club, Outdoor Adventure Club, Interweave (Gay-Straight Alliance), Jew Crew, Black Student Union, Christian Club, Interfaith Dialogue Club, Philanthropy Club, Tea Club, Entrepreneurship, Round Square Club, and more. [15]

Robotics

The Athenian School's Acropolis Robotics competes regularly in the FIRST Robotics Competition as team 852. In 2019, Athenian hosted their first FIRST LEGO League (FLL) tournament with the help of the Acropolis Robotics high school students. The Athenian Middle School had three FLL teams of their own in 2019, all three of which competed in the FLL tournament.

Heads of School

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alamo, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Alamo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, in the United States. It is a suburb located in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay region, approximately 28 miles (45 km) east of San Francisco. Alamo is equidistant from the city of Walnut Creek and the incorporated town of Danville. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,314.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ʻIolani School</span> Private, independent preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

ʻIolani School is a private coeducational college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It serves over 2,200 students with a boarding program for grades 9 - 12 as well as a summer boarding program for middle school grades. Founded in 1863 by Father William R. Scott, it was the principal school of the former Anglican Church of Hawaiʻi. It was patronized by Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma who gave the school its name in 1870. ʻIolani in the Hawaiian language means "heavenly hawk". Today, ʻIolani School is affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the United States. It is administered by a Board of Governors and is one of the largest independent schools in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Thacher School</span> Private, independent, boarding school in Ojai, California, United States

The Thacher School is a private co-educational day and boarding school in Ojai, California. Founded in 1889 as a boys' school, it began admitting girls in 1977 and is California's oldest co-educational boarding school, as well as the oldest private boarding school west of the Mississippi River. The school educates approximately 250 students in grades 9–12, who come from 21 states and 12 countries.

Villanova Preparatory School is an Augustinian Catholic co-ed day and boarding school in Ojai, California, United States. Sitting on more than 130 acres (53 ha), the campus contains two dormitories, a chapel, trails, and assorted academic and athletic facilities. Villanova Prep is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association. The school offers both day and resident programs and is the only co-ed Augustinian boarding school in the United States.

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

Loyola High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school for boys in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was established in 1865 and is part of the Society of Jesus. It is the oldest continuously run educational institution in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Catalina School</span> Private, day and boarding school in Monterey, Monterey County, California, United States

Santa Catalina School is a private school in Monterey, California, United States, founded by Sister Margaret Thompson and the Dominican Order in 1950. Situated on a 36-acre hacienda-style campus, the Upper School is an all-girls boarding school that also accepts local students. The Lower and Middle School serves both boys and girls. Students are required to wear uniforms. The school emphasizes building a sense of community that challenges its students mentally and spiritually. Santa Catalina is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In addition, the school is associated with the National Association of Independent Schools, the Association of Boarding Schools, National Catholic Educational Association, and the National Coalition of Girls' Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polytechnic School (California)</span> Private K–12 school in Pasadena, California, United States

Polytechnic School, often referred to simply as Poly, is a college preparatory private day school located in Pasadena, California with approximately 850 students enrolled in grades Kindergarten through 12.

San Dieguito High School Academy, originally known as San Dieguito Union High School and San Dieguito High School, is a public high school in Encinitas, California. It is part of San Dieguito Union High School District. The school was established in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westtown School</span> Private school in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Westtown School is a Quaker, coeducational, college preparatory day and boarding school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. Founded in 1799 by the Religious Society of Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty High School (Maryland)</span> Public high school in Eldersburg, Carroll County, Maryland, United States

Liberty High School (LHS) is a four-year public high school in Eldersburg in Carroll County, Maryland.

Danville High School (DHS) is a public high school located in Danville, Illinois, United States. It is part of Danville District 118, which also includes two middle schools and eight elementary schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mira Mesa Senior High School</span> Public school in San Diego, California , United States

Mira Mesa Senior High School (MMHS) is a public high school in San Diego, California. It is part of San Diego Unified School District. The school serves the Mira Mesa community as well as students participating in the district's Voluntary Enrollment Exchange Program (VEEP). It is recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's School (Vancouver)</span> Private day and boarding school in British Columbia, Canada

St. George's School is an independent boarding and day university-preparatory school for boys in the Dunbar area of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dyke Brown (1915–2006) was best known for founding The Athenian School in Danville, California.

Paso Robles High School (PRHS) is the only comprehensive high school located in the city of Paso Robles, California. The school receives its students from Lewis Flamson Junior High School, located in Paso Robles, as well as from the Lillian Larsen School, a public K-8 school in San Miguel, California, Cappy Culver Elementary and Middle School, a public K-8 school in Lake Nacimiento, California, and Pleasant Valley Elementary School, a public K-8 school located in an outlying area of northeastern San Luis Obispo County. Additionally, the school receives students from private K-8 schools such as Trinity Lutheran School and St. Rose Catholic School, both located in Paso Robles, and some from Santa Lucia School located in Templeton, California

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton</span> Private school in Atherton, California, United States

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton is a private, Roman Catholic, co-educational school in Atherton, California, United States. It was established in 1898 by the Society of the Sacred Heart and is governed by an independent board of trustees.

Covenant Christian School is a private Christian school located in Panama City, Florida. The school educates students in Pre-K to 12th grade. The school is a ministry of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Panama City. It was founded in 1982 and had its first graduating class in 1989. The current school headmaster is Michael Sabo. It is accredited by the Association of Classical Christian Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Norte High School (San Diego)</span> Public high school in San Diego, California

Del Norte High School is a public high school in San Diego, California. It primarily serves the communities of 4S Ranch and Del Sur. It is part of Poway Unified School District.

Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a private, coeducational university-preparatory day school located in Los Angeles, California. Sierra Canyon enrolls students in preschool through grade 12.

Half Moon Bay High School is an American public high school located in Half Moon Bay, in San Mateo County, California. It is part of the Cabrillo Unified School District.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Athenian School - California Association of Independent Schools". www.caisca.org. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  2. "The Athenian School in California". www.usnews.com.
  3. "2019 The Athenian School Rankings". Niche.
  4. "2019 The Athenian School Rankings". Niche.
  5. "At A Glance - The Athenian School". www.athenian.org.
  6. "The Athenian School Test Scores and Academics". Niche.
  7. "Boarding Schools with the Highest Average SAT Scores (2018-19)". www.boardingschoolreview.com.
  8. The history section is adapted from Athenian: An Oral History.
  9. "Beginnings". Archived from the original on January 2, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2018. The beginnings of the Round Square Conference
  10. "The Athenian School - San Francisco Bay Area Private School - The Athenian School". www.athenian.org.
  11. "A Better Chance: Mission and History". Archived from the original on August 21, 2004. Retrieved July 25, 2018. Mission and History of A Better Chance
  12. "Athenian (Danville, CA) High School Sports - Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, and more | MaxPreps". www.maxpreps.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  13. "Athenian boys basketball tops Verdugo Hills for first CIF State crown". highschcool.si.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  14. "Twenty-six Day Wilderness Experience Challenges Athenian Students to the Max". Danville, CA Patch. March 27, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  15. Equity and Inclusion: Student Activities Archived 2010-01-27 at the Wayback Machine
  16. The Athenian School Names New Head [ permanent dead link ]

37°50′07″N121°56′59″W / 37.8354°N 121.9498°W / 37.8354; -121.9498