B OUR MISSION
urke’s mission is to educate, encourage, and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.
FOUNDED IN 1908
65% of campus is OPEN SPACE GRASS ATHLETIC FIELD
3.5 ACRE CAMPUS in Outer Richmond/ Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco
48% Students of Color
400 Students
My favorite thing about Burke’s is that all of the girls here are willing to raise their hand in class, and they all are eager to learn.
- BURKE’S 6TH GRADE STUDENT
AVERAGE TEACHER TENURE
21 Years
ACADEMICS
A
t Burke’s every girl is empowered to shine in her own way. Through a joyful and challenging academic experience, students develop as scholars, artists, athletes, leaders, and compassionate community members. Guided by expert teachers and supported by a culture of belonging, girls gain the courage to take risks, the resilience to learn from mistakes, and the confidence to pursue what is possible.
LOWER SCHOOL (K-4)
Burke’s Lower School program is designed to spark a lifelong love of learning. Through a deeply engaging academic experience, girls are encouraged to ask questions, explore their interests, and build confidence as learners. Our understanding of how girls develop academically, socially, and emotionally allows us to meet each student where she is and help her thrive. With a lead teacher and a full-time associate teacher in every classroom, alongside dedicated learning specialists, students receive personalized attention that helps them take risks, embrace challenges, and grow into their fullest potential. Extended Care and After School Enrichment programs offer even more opportunities for discovery, creativity, and connection beyond the classroom.
UPPER SCHOOL (5-8)
The Upper School years are a time of remarkable growth, confidencebuilding, and self-discovery. Guided by talented teachers, students are challenged to think critically, communicate with conviction, and engage deeply with complex ideas. Through a rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum that blends academic excellence with collaboration, creativity, and realworld problem-solving, girls develop the resilience, independence, and leadership skills needed to thrive in high school and beyond. Small advisory groups and close relationships with teachers ensure that every student is known, supported, and empowered to meet the world head-on.
ACADEMICS
FACULTY & STAFF SPECIALISTS
Both Lower and Upper School students work with specialist teachers in the following curriculum areas: Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Music, Art, Technology, Drama, Service Learning, Library, and Physical Education.
MAKERY MINDSET
Burke’s has two dedicated maker spaces on campus — together, they’re known collectively as The Makery. Each space is home to numerous supplies and technologies — including 3-D printers, laser cutters, and much more — perfect for the tinkering and brainstorming required for today’s learners. Our students try out their ideas, make mistakes and learn from them, collaborate with each other, and stretch their creativity in all their areas of study. We call this effect the Makery Mindset and it builds nimble and independent learners ready to take on whatever awaits them next.
TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIO
WORLD LANGUAGES
We introduce French, Spanish, and Mandarin instruction in the 4th grade to expose students to all three offerings before selecting one language for study in the Upper School. Our simultaneous emphasis on speaking, listening, reading, writing, and the structure of language with instruction by native speakers results in high skill levels and life-long appreciation and use of the student’s chosen language.
PRESCHOOLS represented in current Kindergarten
28% OF STUDENTS receive financial assistance
OUTDOOR EDUCATION
At Burke’s, some of the most transformative learning happens beyond the classroom. Through a progression of outdoor education experiences in grades 3–8, girls build confidence, resilience, leadership, and independence while exploring the extraordinary landscapes of Northern California.
OUR GRADUATES
Beginning in 7th grade, Burke’s students work in close partnership with our Secondary School Counselor (who also serves as our 7th grade speech instructor) to determine the next best place for each student as an individual. While students generally matriculate to local independent high schools, we also have girls attend public, parochial, and boarding schools across the country. High schools report that Burke’s graduates stand out not only for the strength of their academic preparation but also for their eagerness to learn. This reflects Burke’s longstanding commitment to preserving a joyous learning experience in a highly academic environment.
Why choose between a joyous learning experience or a highly academic environment?
Burke’s believes that our students can have it all.
A JOYFUL CLASSROOM AND COMMUNITY
At Burke’s, we are intentional about developing not only exceptional students, but confident, compassionate young women. Our joyful and challenging academic environment is paired with a deep commitment to social-emotional growth, ensuring that girls build the self-awareness and courage to navigate an ever-changing world. Students learn to trust their voices, celebrate their identities, and support others in doing the same. The result is a girl who leaves Burke’s knowing who she is, what she stands for, and how she can make a difference.
JOYFULNESS
Burke’s educators prove every day that hard work and joyful play not only belong together, but that this combination helps develop lifelong learners to make the world a better place. We believe happiness and play are deeply connected to how children learn. The Burke’s curriculum is carefully designed not only to bring joy to learners, but also to encourage profound meaning and engagement, in and out of the classroom.
GROWTH MINDSET
At Burke’s, we believe one of the greatest gifts we can give girls is the confidence to try, fail, learn, and try again. Across every grade level, students are encouraged to embrace a growth mindset—the belief that abilities, intelligence, and confidence are developed through effort, persistence, and reflection. Guided by caring teachers, girls develop the confidence to raise their hands, share bold ideas, tackle unfamiliar problems, and pursue new opportunities. They leave Burke’s not afraid of making mistakes, but empowered by what those mistakes can teach them.
RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM
We know that a girl’s confidence, sense of belonging, and emotional well-being are essential to her success in school and in life. That’s why we place equal value on developing character and academic excellence. In classrooms filled with trust, joy, and meaningful connection, students learn to communicate effectively, collaborate thoughtfully, navigate challenges with resilience, and build strong relationships with others. By nurturing the whole child, Burke’s helps girls develop not only the skills to excel academically, but also the self-awareness, empathy, and confidence to lead with purpose in an ever-changing world.
INCLUSIVITY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING A
t Burke’s there are “400 ways to be a Burke’s girl.” We celebrate the unique identities, experiences, and perspectives that make each student who she is, creating a community where every girl feels a true sense of belonging. Here, students are empowered to be themselves—and inspired to help others do the same.
Burke’s students in grades 3-8 can join Lower and Upper School affinity groups, and take part in a number of multicultural community events. Our full-time Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging works with the Parents’ Association Inclusivity and Community Building Committee to meaningfully open discussions and strategies for inclusivity and diversity topics. Our standing Board Equity and Inclusion Committee works to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is embedded into Burke’s governance and is part of the Board of Trustees’ mindset.
PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION INCLUSIVITY AND COMMUNITY BUILDING COMMITTEE
This Committee gives our parents a safe space to have meaningfully open discussions around equity and inclusion. The Committee hosts a number of schoolwide inclusivity and diversity events throughout the year including: family meals, the BLEND dinner, affinity coffees, and community dialogues.
STUDENT AFFINITY GROUPS
The affinity and alliance groups are facilitated by faculty and staff members with topics derived from students’ interests. They provide an opportunity for students who identify with similar characteristics, backgrounds, and lived experiences to gather in a safe space where they can build common connection across grade levels with other students. To strengthen community connections, parents have their own affinity groups as well.
FACULTY AND STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Burke’s faculty and staff participate in yearly inclusivity trainings. The subjects have included: Building Curriculums to Empower Counternarratives, Gender Inclusive Schools, and Anti-Bias Training in the Workplace.
Gender Inclusion Statement
Burke’s mission is to educate, encourage and empower girls. As a girls’ school, we believe there are 400 ways to be a Burke’s girl. Burke’s supports, respects, and values each girl’s identity and expression across the gender spectrum. Burke’s is committed to the education of all students who identify as girls, regardless of their biological sex.
OUR CAMPUS W
ith 3.5 acres of land in northwest San Francisco, our expansive campus is unsurpassed in the city with a large grass athletic field, a sports court, and two multipurpose courtyards with play structures.
Our facilities include a state-of-the-art Campus Center and performance space, 5,500-square-foot library, two Maker studios, three science labs, two fine arts studios, three music and drama studios, a gymnasium, and large light-filled classrooms. The Lower School classrooms and courtyards have been re-imagined to allow our students to access indoor and outdoor learning spaces. You can find students reading in the shade of our cherry trees or working out problems on the courtyard chalkboards. All grades take advantage of the close proximity of Lands End and China Beach for field trips and scientific explorations. Back on campus, many of the classrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows bringing in sunshine and the gorgeous views of Lincoln Park.
STUDENT LIFE
At Burke’s, every student position is held by a girl. Each year, every elected position in Youth Voice, Burke’s student government, is won by a girl. Girls are the captain of every sports team and play the lead roles in every production. But beyond that, cultivating confidence, resourcefulness, and resilience is something that every student experiences in her years at Burke’s.
BURKE’S SCHOOL FAMILIES
Each Burke’s employee “co-parents” one of over 30 School Families with a colleague or two, gathering with a dozen or so students from all grades at multiple events over the course of the school year. Each student stays in the same School Family for her entire tenure at Burke’s creating meaningful, nine-year, cross-grade relationships. At the core of Burke’s School Families are the relationships between Big Siblings (fourth graders) and Little Siblings (kindergarteners), who are paired off each fall and stay together throughout both girls’ time at Burke’s. The Big Siblings will be the Little Siblings’ connection to the Upper School and join them in special activities throughout the year.
ATHLETICS
At Burke’s, we value the many benefits — physical, psychological, academic, and social — that middle-school girls gain from participation in athletics. Our Upper School after-school sports program gives all interested students opportunities to improve their skills, gain team experience, and compete in volleyball, crosscountry, basketball, futsal, and soccer. With as many as six different teams in a given season practicing indoors and out, we pride ourselves on maximizing playing and leadership opportunities for girls throughout the wide spectrum of skill levels found in any group of middle-school athletes. Mixed-grade teams build friendships across grade levels, strengthening the Upper School community.
FULL-SIZE
Sports Gymnasium
PLAY STRUCTURES AND RECREATIONAL COURTS
FINE ARTS STUDIOS 2
SERVICE LEARNING
Burke’s is committed to empowering girls to be agents of positive change in their school, community, and world. Our service-learning curriculum is rooted in a social justice framework, meaning students are guided to consider aspects of identity, diversity, justice, and action while engaging in meaningful service. Through community partnerships with organizations like Hamilton Families, the Richmond Neighborhood Center, and The Presidio Trust, students at each grade level participate in both direct and indirect service.
YOUTH VOICE
Our students see themselves as leaders and changemakers. Through Youth Voice, they help shape Upper School culture by leading service projects, advancing sustainability initiatives, and building community. Along the way, they develop the confidence to speak up, collaborate, advocate for their ideas, and take meaningful action on issues that matter.
MUSIC AND DRAMA STUDIOS
INDEPENDENT,
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (KINDERGARTEN THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE)
ACCREDITATION:
California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS)
MEMBERSHIPS:
National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS); National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS); People of Color in Independent Schools (POCIS); Schools, Mentoring and Resource Team (SMART); Bay Area Directors of Admission (BADA); Breakthrough San Francisco