BE
CONFIDENT
TOGETHER
CREATIVE
CONNECTED
CHALLENGED INQUISITIVE
INSPIRED
ASSURED
It’s our invitation. Our anthem. A call to join a thriving community of thinkers and innovators, leaders and servants. Here is where we cheer, challenge, dare, and discover. Here is where we are driven with relentless passion for inquiry, academic excellence, and intellectual growth. Here is where we teach and celebrate the whole child. And embrace a steadfast commitment to serve the greater good. We know that raising the whole child takes love and grit, trust and risk, faith and investment. And so Be Breck rises to every challenge with a shared vision that unites our students and teachers, spirit and place.
About Breck
We believe that with the unwavering pursuit of knowledge comes the development of character, values, imagination, and the joy of living a purposeful life—intellectually, socially, and spiritually.
Our Story
Breck is a preschool through 12th grade college preparatory, Episcopal day school with nearly 1,200 students. Located on a beautiful 52-acre campus in Golden Valley, Minnesota, just minutes from downtown Minneapolis. Breck graduates are prepared to lead lives of intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.
Our Philosophy
• We are a community of high-achieving, motivated students and teachers focused on intellectual inquiry, engagement, and bridging educational research with classroom practice.
• We create a vibrant community that nurtures and inspires a lifetime love of learning and a commitment to the greater good.
• We live our Episcopal roots through a commitment to peace and justice, inquiry and reason, and service to the common good.
• We emphasize personalizing each student’s experience in the pursuit of excellence.
At Breck, we create an ideal learning environment for our students by carefully crafting just the right combination of trusting relationships and intellectual challenge.
NATALIA RICO HERNÁNDEZ, ED.D. HEAD OF SCHOOL
Principles
BE CHALLENGED.
From preschooler to senior, we actively cultivate the growth of the whole child.
Intellectually and emotionally. Physically and spiritually. Through trusted relationships with teachers and friends, mentors and staff, students come to understand the extraordinary dimensions of their voices and depth of their passions. They discover paths they didn’t know possible. And go forward in brave new directions.
Academic Press
Students’ intellectual curiosity thrives in cultures of high academic expectation. Breck is where students learn to love learning. Academic Press challenges and pushes each student to engage fully in learning that is interesting, demanding, and rewarding. At each developmental stage, they are surrounded with opportunities to enhance intellectual growth. In a caring environment, Academic Press encourages students to challenge themselves, and to thrive on the challenge.
Personalization
Rigorous academic programs in a caring environment unlock potential. Personalization refers to our commitment to know each unique individual’s interests and motivations, fears and doubts. Through personalization we build the trust it takes to push students to the next level in every space at Breck—classroom, athletic field, or stage.
Inclusivity
We believe the value of one should be valued by all. Through participation in a mosaic community where our differences are respected and celebrated, students develop self-confidence and a greater understanding of the world around them. We believe that a healthy academic environment is one that is versatile, embracing the richness of varying perspectives. It is through diversity work that our students develop self-confidence, a sense of social responsibility rooted in empathy, and the power of their own voice.
Spirituality
All faiths and cultures are welcome at Breck. Our Episcopal heritage is a legacy of inclusion. Our curriculum includes major world religions, and we believe that through knowledge and experience we deepen our own spirituality. We hold an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusivity, and welcome all individuals to our community, whatever form their spirituality takes.
Social Responsibility
Investment in our community is central to being a student at Breck. Community partnerships are a life-changing part of the Breck experience. From preschool through graduation, students have the opportunity to serve one another, their school, and the broader community, understanding how their actions can impact the greater good. Students build lifelong skills of compassion, problem-solving, and leadership, while making the world a better place.
BE TOGETHER. Culture
1,175
ZIP CODES
are represented in the Breck student population.
Setting foot on campus, you feel a sense of belonging, of homecoming. This is a place where people stand shoulder to shoulder, and where individual stories merge to become part of the whole.
One Campus
Fourteen grades. One campus. Our school is where preschoolers and seniors become role models for one another. Where a Middle School student can walk down the hall to take an upper-level math course.
This is a place where caring befriends camaraderie and where lifelong friends and mentors are found. Our culture comes from our community. It’s our tradition. And part of what makes Breck truly exceptional.
Lasting Relationships
We believe students gain confidence, build character, and learn to cooperate through connections across multiple age groups.
BUDDIES
Every 1st grader has a senior buddy. A friend, a mentor, a guide. For lunch. At Homecoming. In Chapel, and even at Baccalaureate, buddies build a bond that lasts long after graduation.
BIDDIES
From the Old English term meaning “serving, eating with and post-meal cleanup,” biddies are 3rd and 4th graders who take turns biddying for preschool/ kindergarten students at lunch. It’s respect and responsibility built into a great tradition. And it ensures all Lower School students know one another, helping create friendship and trust.
FACULTY
Our teachers are the heart of Breck. They inspire and challenge intellectual and emotional growth. They create safe places to question and imagine, to struggle, and to persevere. They are patient guides and brilliant educators with an incredible commitment to bringing out the best in all students in their unique educational journeys.
Common Good
We believe that strong leaders serve the common good. In every experience, from the classroom to theater, athletics to advanced research, Breck students engage in age-appropriate forms of community outreach and advocacy that help communities thrive.
Learning Spaces
While community is the bedrock of life at Breck, we also value the importance of age-appropriate spaces for our students. Space where they can relax and chat. Play or daydream. In Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, students have their own dining room, library, and common spaces where they can study or just unwind.
Student-Teacher Ratio
Our student-teacher ratio is 7:1 in Middle and Lower Schools, and 8:1 in Upper School. The average class size is 16. Teachers know more than names—they know how individual students learn best, what they’re passionate about, and who they want to become. Community-focused and emotionally engaged student-teacher relationships are what helps both your children and our faculty thrive.
Security
Breck is a physically and emotionally safe place for students, faculty, and staff. With all grades located on one campus, teachers and students know, trust, and look out for one another. We use the latest technologies, training, and systems to ensure campus-wide peace of mind.
BE INSPIRED. Faculty
We believe students learn best from teachers who practice what they teach. Teachers who are role models. Who are passionate intellectuals eager to inspire passionate intellectuals-in-the-making.
Commitment
Our teachers are lifelong learners. They inspire students because they are inspired, not only by the subjects they teach but by the relationships they form. As mentors and scholars. As instigators of inquiry. As change-makers and guides.
Character
Our teachers arrive at Breck as highly educated professionals who care deeply about each child’s education. We give them the professional development tools they need to keep learning, evolving, refining, and adapting to the educational landscape.
I love having P-12 on one campus. I work with the youngest of our students, and I get to truly watch them grow up. There is something magical about bearing witness to this growth.
Professional Development
Our faculty participate in professional development aligned to their interests, passions, and the needs of the school through summer grants, endowed chairs, local and national workshops, and opportunities through the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education. Their presentations, articles, and research are regularly seen in national workshops and publications.
They visit exceptional peer schools to exchange ideas and host renowned experts who bring depth and breadth to all aspects of teaching.
Each year, we offer a sabbatical to a teacher who seeks inspiration and career development through travel and study beyond campus. They return to campus renewed and reinvigorated, ready to share fresh perspective with our community.
BE CONNECTED. Distinctive Divisions
Lower School PRESCHOOL - 4TH
Incredibly joyful and critically influential, a child’s early years are key to developing creativity, intellect, and character. Academically, we focus on literacy, mathematics, social studies, and science. More broadly our learning environment grows an innovative spirit through exposure to world language, music, visual arts, religion, physical education, mindfulness, engineering, and technology. Character and service education teach empathy and respect. We ensure our students are skillful collaborators, problem-solvers, independent thinkers, and confident leaders—now and in the future. These foundational years are critical in developing the whole child, and we’re honored to partner with families to grow happy, curious, and thriving children.
Middle School 5TH - 8TH
Now is the time and place to help students navigate their individual journeys toward a more defined sense of self, as academics, artists, athletes, and members of a larger community. An accomplished, experienced faculty guides and engages students in appropriately challenging yet supportive programs. Breck’s signature MindWorks program is an example—it teaches students how brains work and bolsters learning with strategies that build on existing strengths.
Through intentional community partnership time and experiential learning opportunities, Middle Schoolers learn to understand their place in the world and their role in supporting the common good. Upon completion, students are poised, confident, and ready for what awaits in the Upper School.
Upper School 9TH - 12TH
Central to our mission is developing each student’s unique talents and potential to excel. Through innovative curriculum, rigorous academics, vibrant arts and athletic programs, state-of-the-art learning spaces, and talented faculty who know each student, we teach to individual passions and motivations that drive deep, authentic learning.
Independent research opportunities, interdisciplinary classes, and post-AP course offerings challenge our students to explore new ideas and emerging fields of study. Combined with our community partnership program, research-informed teaching, and inclusive community, the Upper School experience prepares students for a life of learning long after Breck.
BE INQUISITIVE.
Average ACT Score: 31 compared to national average of
Structured play. Chinese for preschoolers. The first Project Adventure program in Minnesota. Advanced
science research and exceptional arts programs. At every grade and stage of learning, Breck academics challenge and inspire our students to think big, ask more, and pursue passions.
Advanced Research Programs
Advanced research programs allow students to pursue their chosen discipline through a professional research experience. All programs require a commitment well beyond the AP-level and include intensive summer research. The ensuing academic-year seminar culminates in a publication-quality research paper and formal seminar presentation. Admission to these programs is selective.
Our curated programs allow students to dive deep into fields of study they are passionate about and to learn more about a given topic. History research works on a year-long theme specific to our region. Advanced Science Research allows students to select a topic based on their interests and to partner with a professional research mentor for intensive immersion in the field. In CommunityBased Research in Mathematics, students use the lens of math to explore and analyze meaningful issues. Through all of these programs, students partner with non-profit and governmental organizations, they then apply qualitative and quantitative research to perform studies, audits, or other analyses for the organizations.
Community Partnership Program
We believe community partnerships develop responsibility, compassion, and leadership. We’ve integrated community engagement into our curriculum to provide age-appropriate interactions with organizations throughout the Twin Cities. When students reach the Upper School, they make weekly off-site visits to these non-profits, creating deep and meaningful relationships that often extend well beyond their Breck experience.
Peter Clark Center
Breck is home to one of only two centers in the nation focused on Mind, Brain, and Education science. MBE is interdisciplinary research that connects neuroscience, psychology, and education, which helps faculty and students know the how and the why of learning. This understanding allows us to personalize the educational experience and press for continued growth and development. We constantly train our faculty in the latest MBE research, so they can help each student understand learning processes and know themselves as a learner.
World Languages
A critical skill in a globalized world, learning a new language deepens understanding for other cultures and traditions and enhances analytic and problem-solving skills.
Beginning in preschool, our students discover new aspects of the world through language acquisition, vocabulary development, and cultural exploration. In their time at Breck, students have the opportunity to study Spanish, Chinese, or French.
Unique to Breck is our Chinese program. Designated as a Confucius Classroom, which is a national network of exemplary Chinese language programs. We have offered a distinguished Chinese language education for nearly 40 years.
BE CREATIVE. Visual Arts
Performing &
From still life to center stage, our Arts programs encourage individual discovery, self-reflection, risk-taking, and how to give and receive constructive feedback. We know that every student can be an artist— our halls are lined with student art and we host rotating exhibits in our gallery to empower our students to create, collaborate, and celebrate the beauty of self-expression.
Performing Arts
The Performing Arts Department puts the Breck mission into action by providing students the opportunity for self-expression, creativity, social interaction, collaboration and self-discipline. As the arts engage the whole person—the intellect, heart, spirit and body— so our Arts faculty is committed to knowing students as they are and to evaluating progress relative to each individual. The emphasis is on the process. Performances are designed to be guided extensions of what happens in the classroom.
Department members are working artists who have received specialized training and are committed to the professional model in educating our students. They provide a supportive environment in which everyone feels safe to explore, practice and perform. The ultimate goal is to instill a life-long commitment to the arts and to open the imagination in challenging, joyful and even daring ways.
Visual Arts
The Visual Art Department at Breck is studio based in the best sense of the word – the artist studio being core to what makes our program so vital. Artists teach what they know, love, practice, and what rouses their own curiosity. Students engage as artists in beautiful spaces filled with Master Art references from around the world, visually compelling props, and vibrant student art. They plumb their ideas and play with a wide range of materials to enact a process of complex problem solving that has no one right answer, yet infinite possibilities.
With an authentic studio environment in the classroom, students are stretched to move beyond what they already know and feel comfortable with – into a place where they take creative risks in search of new ground. With this expectation to activate fresh experience, they also are challenged and mentored to craft their work in sensitive ways, honoring the timeheld traditions of the artisan. This nuanced interplay between searching and honing, sets the stage for a real artistic undertaking to be cultivated in our classrooms with all ages and levels of students.
“Whether it be in the quiet comfort of the art studio or under the bright lights of Cargill Theater’s stage, both places have not only provided me with a space to develop my respective artistries, but have also provided me with insights, experiences, and friendships I never knew I needed.”
BRECK JUNIOR
BE CONFIDENT. Athletics
Breck Athletics builds character, perseverance, and confidence. With 27 co-curricular programs, our athletic program is essentially a continuation of the classroom. We see coaches as teachers who help students work as a team, demonstrate leadership, learn time management skills, and strive to be mature adults and productive members of society.
Philosophy
Consistent with our mission, Breck provides a comprehensive and competitive athletic program that emphasizes the importance of commitment and preparation, personal growth and teamwork. Breck athletes strive for excellence in their sport and, independent of outcome, they compete with grace and school pride.
Programs
The development of a Breck athlete begins long before the first competition. Beginning in sixth grade, our students have the opportunity for competitive play in a variety of sports and competitions. As an athlete’s skill progresses, competition exists at the highest levels and amongst some of the most competitive and winningest teams in the state.
Breck offers 27 different athletic programs and competes in the Independent Metro Athletic Conference (IMAC), which typically competes in the Minnesota State High School League’s Class A Division. To learn more about athletics at Breck, go to breckathletics.org.
Sports by Season
FALL
Cross Country
Football
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Girls Swim and Dive
Girls Tennis
Volleyball
WINTER
Alpine Ski
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Gymnastics
Boys Hockey
Girls Hockey
Nordic Ski
Boys Swim and Dive
SPRING
“Breck is an excellent school with both amazing academic and athletic programs. The teachers and coaches here help you become a well-rounded student-athlete. During my time at Breck, our swim team has won 5 consecutive state titles, while also maintaining a strong team GPA.
I am so happy to be in a place where I am able to maximize my potential as a student and an athlete.”
BRECK SENIOR
Baseball
Boys Golf
Girls Golf
Boys Lacrosse
Girls Lacrosse
Softball
Boys Tennis
Track and Field
V = Varsity; JV = Junior Varsity; CS = C-Squad; MS = Grades 7-8; Cub = Grade 6
A lifetime
BE ASSURED. of value
Character, curiosity, and confidence don’t begin in college. They begin here.
When you choose Breck for your children, you do more than simply give them a great education. You invest in their journey from childhood to adulthood. In unexpected opportunity and incredible possibility. In who they are, and who they will become.
Each year, Breck distributes more than $7.5 million in financial aid. Visit our website at breckschool.org to learn more.
OVER A QUARTER of the student population receives financial aid
Who We Are
Breck School is an Episcopal, independent, college-preparatory day school enrolling students of diverse backgrounds in grades preschool through twelve.
Our Mission Statement
We create confident learners who lead lives of intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.
Our Core Values
Compassion
Honor the dignity of all human beings.
Excellence
Strive with integrity for the highest standards.
Inclusivity
Foster a just and welcoming community.
Respect
Value each other’s unique talents, spirit, and potential.
Get Connected
To learn more about life at Breck, visit breckschool.org to sign up for a visit or request more information. To speak with a member of our Admissions team, email admissions@breckschool.
Apply Online
To start the process, find out more at breckschool.org/apply
