What can I say. Our family loves Westerly! Our eldest started at one of Long Beach's blue ribbon…read moreschools, but with the huge classes we decided to take a look at Westerly and we couldn't go back. Since then all our kids have thrived in their Westerly experience. It starts with a sizable campus with a beautiful grass field for sports and activities, newly constructed learning studios and the amazing arts village. What a great place to learn. Then the passionate teachers and staff deliver a whole child program, with a better than 10:1 student/teacher ratio.
The Westerly program includes:
Curriculum and instruction - Enthusiastic teachers with a well thought out curriculum and small class sizes enabling teachers to adapt the curriculum to the needs of your child.
Technology/STEM - Westerly recently hired a full-time Director of Instructional Technology to enhance an already strong technology/STEM program throughout the curriculum. Think coding in class, 3D printing, science and engineering fairs, etc.
Visual and performing arts - Incorporated in the curriculum is an annual school-wide play lead by the folks at TKTC. The visual arts program is second to none with the kids being exposed to public arts projects, ceramics in the new ceramics studio, mixed media, painting, photography, etc. I wish I could take the classes myself.
Wildcat, the after school program is a blessing. Our kids beg to go to Wildcat to play with their friends, work on yearbook, take film, dance, music, robotics and other after school enrichment activities.
Athletics - A legitimate, well-run PE program with enthusiastic instruction and basketball, volleyball, football teams throughout elementary and middle school.
Music - Every child takes both general and instrumental music as part of their Westerly experience.
Spanish - Kindergarten through 8th grade all the kids get introduced to the Spanish language through a dedicated Spanish instructor.
Leadership - This is quite possibly one of the most amazing parts of the curriculum. Continuing on the theme of whole child education the Director of Student Affairs leads an amazing program that goes so beyond student council, creating leadership opportunities for so many children. Programs like student council, district representatives, green team, etc., start in Kindergarten and the kids grow in responsibility as the children grow themselves. Each child also gains leadership responsibilities as a student mentor, where each older student is paired with a younger student as a mentor.
Service learning and field studies - As the kids grow in maturity so do the service learning and field studies. Our children have enjoyed trips to Catalina and other local camps, but the highlight of the program is a one week trip in 8th grade where the whole class travels to Nicaragua to conduct a service learning project, practice their spanish, and are exposed to a different culture and way of life that they are used to.
Community - Westerly is a place where without question every family places a priority on securing a great, well-rounded education for their children. Being in an environment like this is so fantastic.
Independent school is not cheap, but in our minds it's the best gift we can give to our children. Westerly also offers significant financial aid support, so if that is an issue be sure to discuss your situation with the school to see if they can make something work for your family.
P.S. This may sound like a paid ad, but it's our true feelings about this place. It's really special.