The Athenian School

An extraordinary school.

I am shocked by the dearth of reviews on Unilocal for this amazing school; you need to know about my experience.
My daughter attended The Athenian School for the full available seven years, from sixth through twelfth grade. We commuted about thirty minutes each day, carpooling with another family from our area. Prior to that she attended public school. To say that Athenian was a great experience for my daughter is an understatement. This school not only profoundly changed her life’s direction, but changed and enriched our lives as a family. Our daughter thrived in the environment created at this school under the direction of a compassionate and wise leader, Eleanor Dase. Right away as a sixth grader, our daughter was asked to take accountability for her education, and challenged to take on subjects and issues that interested and concerned her. School staff, both administrative and teaching, encouraged her leadership qualities and offered feedback and support at every turn. These are never easy years to navigate for our children; Athenian found a way to create as safe a haven as I know of in today’s disturbing culture.
When my daughter proved to be deficient in her Mathematics education given the jump from public to private school, her sixth grade math teacher tutored her until she was caught up, on her own time, without escalating the issue in any way. I only learned of this years later when my daughter told me – no drama, no worries – just got her up to speed. When my daughter’s interest was ignited in seventh grade Social Studies class on a subject seemingly beyond her years in understanding, her teacher gave her all the tools and support to run with it and worked after school with her. Ethics, critical thinking, democracy and civic duty were integrated into the fabric of the school. The relationships she developed with her teachers and administration through twelfth grade were invaluable and enriched her self-​esteem. As a family, we also developed many friendships and connections; when Athenian refers to itself as a community, they are giving an accurate portrayal of inclusion and kindness. We feel deeply grateful for having been a part of it. I still have staff to thank for making our daughter the person she is today.
One of the difficulties of a school this small in student population is that there is a limited pool of prospective friends. My daughter is an extremely social being, and without question, the lure of a large public school can be strong. Following middle school, we asked her to decide if she would like to continue on to Athenian’s high school in lieu of attending our local (massive) public high school. She knew she was compromising varied social interactions for academics, but the academic grounding she received in middle school made the decision fairly easy for her, and she opted to stay for the remaining years. (We were pleased; we weren’t going to let her leave anyway, but we wanted her to feel like it was her decision!) This is an issue that many parents will worry about, and you will have to decide for yourself what the deal makers and breakers are for you. Our focus was always academics. Another area of concern for parents is sports. For me, I loved the inclusive, noncompetitive, «sports as a lifelong endeavor» program at Athenian, but I was not training a child to become a professional athlete, as many of you are, so again, you have to decide for yourself if this is a priority.
A word of importance regarding tuition costs: do not underestimate Athenian’s commitment to bringing in a cross-​section of students from low to middle income families; they work very hard to seek out scholarship candidates who will thrive in their environment. If you think your income is too high, I would recommend that you apply to both the school and for financial aid before ruling this school out as too expensive. You might be surprised at the help available. You’ve nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain.
As a sophomore at her Ivy League school, my daughter told me she felt wonderfully competent and always at the top of her class, citing Athenian as having prepared her well. The critical thinking and interactive dialog skills developed at Athenian made her a favorite of many professors in her college courses; in a few cases, she was allowed to enroll in graduate-​level courses because her professors felt she brought so much to class discussion. Without doubt, these were tools honed at Athenian. There was an old joke Athenian kids used to make: save your «C» graded papers; they’ll be «A“s in college. A double-​major graduating magna cum laude, we are beyond proud of her, academically and ethically, and are thankful everyday that Athenian was in our lives for those critical years. Making a decision about private school is one of the hardest things we’ve ever done as parents, but Athenian School is one of the best decisions our family has ever made.

I attended the Athenian School from 7^th grade through my high school graduation and had a fantastic experience. My teachers, classmates, and social and academic experiences shaped me into a worldly and compassionate person with strong moral values. The challenging coursework well-​prepared me for college (I attended an Ivy and graduated from there with a strong GPA and a double-​major). I am employed at a tech company in the silicon valley and would say, without doubt, that beginning my true academic career at Athenian is what gave me the foundation for the success I am fortunate enough to hold today. I would also assert that experiences such as mine are the norm after seeing my classmates progress through their college years and young-​professional lives.

I attended Athenian for high school only, and graduated in 2007. After Athenian I went to Yale, and graduated in 2011. To be sure, it was a non-​traditional experience, but I can’t imagine having gone anywhere else. I was a tightly wound 9^th grader who likely would have imploded under the stress of a more traditional prep school. For motivated students, Athenian offers an amazing opportunity set one’s own curriculum and drive personal research agendas. The seminars are outstanding and advanced, and in many ways harder and more interesting than those encountered at college. Athenian teaches students how to think — largely by immersing them in many modes of epistemology: both historical and current. Students don’t read ABOUT a tradition, they read their texts first hand. To name a few, I read: the Ramayana, Plato’s Republic, Nagarjuna’s emptiness texts, the Bible, Joseph Campbell, Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, and Levi-Strauss’s Mythologiques. Thank goodness for an early seminar on Europe’s modern literature, or I might have been seduced by semiotics in college…
To be fair, all of this thinking has a drawback — Athenian is weak on «facts.» While the math department is great, and students excel on the calc APs /​SAT2s, they’re otherwise ill-​prepared for subject tests. I graduated with almost no US history, given Athenian’s non-​traditional approach, and had to tutor independently for subject tests in science. I wouldn’t have had it any other way though — facts are easy to learn later, thinking is not.
Athenian truly fosters the individual, and helps students develop all aspects of themselves. Classes are small and student-​teacher relationships close; student needs are met before the student knows to ask.

I attended both the Athenian middle and upper school — seven years — and I loved every minute of it. In college I remember hearing the high school horror stories of my peers, and thinking that I had nothing to contribute. I had Morning Meeting instead of Home Room. Many classes were held outside in full view of the rolling hills of Mt. Diablo instead of dark, concrete classrooms. On my daily march to drama, I walked past a Peace Pole rather than a metal detector.
Athenian’s rigorous academics prepared me well for the small liberal arts college I attended after high school. I was not afraid of the looming ten-​page paper. One of the most important skills that Athenian taught me was how to self-​manage and self-​motivate. I had confidence in my skills as a scholar, and I knew how to manage my time. I ran cross-​country all through high school and then added winter and spring track to the docket in college. A year-​round athlete with three-​hour daily practices, and I still managed to graduate summa cum laude AND have a social life. Athenian taught me to be dedicated to my team, efficient in my studies, and deeply invested in my relationships.
Athenian is not just a school; it is a community of passionate and caring individuals — of all ages. In the seventh grade my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the entire middle school organized for meals to be brought to our house for months and months. In suburbia where we knew little about the neighbors who shared our streets and stop signs, the Athenian community became my family’s safety net. The bonds of that community have never been broken. I am still close with friends and teachers I met while at Athenian. I make at least one annual pilgrimage to California’s Bay Area to scamper through the hills with old friends.
I struggled with the Athenian Wilderness Experience (AWE) as did all students. It is not meant to coddle you — but rather, empower you. I sprained both my ankles the first week, and yes, it hurt. There were long, cold nights in the desert, when the sun sank below the canyons leaving us in sub-​zero temperatures, huddling together for warmth. Yes, I still laugh when I think about the food that the boys ate on the trail: sardines, mustard, squeezable butter, peanut butter and jelly sandwiched between two pieces of military-​issue hardtack (think flour-​frisbee). But the patrol leaders were well-​trained wilderness guides, and they knew how to walk the line between discomfort and danger. They always intervened before things got out of hand. We were high schoolers after all! What’s more, AWE only fostered in me a love for the wilderness. I am now an experienced «Fast and Light» backpacker. I have traveled all over the US and the world crossing freezing rivers, endless mountain passes, and climbing peaks to behold the vast wonders hidden in the remaining pristine corners of this earth.
I am now a post-​doctoral research scientist in the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Although, I spend most of my time living in Kenya and Tanzania studying how to simultaneously ensure environmental sustainability, poverty alleviation, and food security in sub-​Saharan Africa. I love the challenge of my job, the dedication of my colleagues, and the relationships I know have with families on the other side of the world. I would not be here without Athenian — the skills, the curiosity, and the confidence that my seven years there instilled in my heart.

I spent seven years of my life attending both the Athenian Middle and Upper schools, and can say with conviction that I am better off for it. Athenian is a community where students are encouraged to pursue their passions, both inside and outside the classroom. They definitely prepare students for college academically (and have a track record of students gaining admission to top universities) but also develop students into functioning members of society.
While at Athenian, I had the privilege of traveling to both Vancouver and Massachusetts for school conferences through Round Square, an organization that Athenian is a member of. My time trekking through Death Valley on AWE taught me how to be a compassionate person and to lead by example, not to mention keep a sense of humor through all times, good and bad.
I played soccer and basketball all four years at Athenian’s upper school and had a great time doing it. Athenian’s athletic program is becoming increasingly competitive (several athletes have received Division 1 scholarships in recent years), yet the great thing about Athenian is that no one can ever be cut from a sports team. If you want to play a sport, you will have the opportunity to.
There are so many great things about The Athenian School, that one review is simply insufficient to encompass it all; I highly recommend The Athenian School to any prospective student.

My step daughter graduated from the Upper School. I thought that her 4 years here was an excellent experience (and education) for her all the way through. And it will make her college experience even better.