Academic Experience
Joy and passion light up the academic experience at Flintridge Prep, where teaching and learning lie at the heart of a full day. Classes are serious but not too serious, with the best moments arriving when play and dedication intersect. Kind humor arises often among teachers and students, and it is rare that a class period goes by without a shared laugh. Teachers exude intellectual passion and express it through a variety of approaches to learning. Through thought-provoking projects, expansive class discussions, and constructive debates, students collaborate with each other and their teachers to imagine far-reaching solutions to real-world issues. Conversation—formal or informal, inside or outside of class, focused or lighthearted—drives the course of our day.
Prep’s curriculum prepares students not simply for the demands of college but also for the fullness of an engaged life. Students gain grounding in the foundational skills of writing across disciplines, scientific inquiry, mathematical problem-solving, literary interpretation, cultural analysis, historical thinking, and world language fluency. We believe in a healthy mind in a healthy body, with an innovative Physical Education curriculum and an Athletics program committed to human development. The Visual and Performing Arts infuse the campus through ceramics exhibit in the library, the jazz ensemble’s open rehearsal in the Atrium, or a sweeping all-school musical; students embrace art’s potential to shift paradigms and perspectives. Outside the classroom, students pursue intellectual passions through our wide range of clubs, including robotics and speech and debate.
Ultimately, a Prep education prepares students to be citizens of the world around them. Students travel to Mexico City to partner with a rainwater harvesting nonprofit, calculate elliptical cross-sections for a national math exam, or measure the soil minerology of a field area in the local mountains.
We also incubate a culture of creative ideas. Teachers have ample opportunities for professional growth, both on- and off-campus, and regularly share exciting ideas from these experiences with colleagues and students. The culture of collaboration among faculty means that it is common for an art teacher to coordinate a project with an English or computer science teacher, or for faculty to be guest speakers in each other’s classes. Students have a strong voice on campus, working closely with their peers and teachers on everything from student government to community impact. It is in such creative projects and ventures that we often see the very best of our students, a combination of deep reflection and passionate action.
A common sentiment among all ages at Prep is that we feel happy each day walking onto campus: anticipating an inspiring class, a passing conversation, an after-school game or a performance. When you walk onto campus, we hope you will experience some of that joy for yourself.
Sarah Cooper
Associate Head of School