The Willows

Our school culture, our flexible approach to innovation, and the beauty of our developmental kindergarten through eighth grade structure create a world where students are eager to learn and grow each and every day.

The Willows is an environment “where great minds grow”—by design.

The Willows is truly an exciting place. Vibrant student art graces the hallways.

A constant hum of activity streams from classrooms and common spaces.

Student Art // Day of the Dead

Middle School Student Photography

At The Willows, we believe each child brings our community an extraordinary gift: a curious mind, ready to explore and eager to learn. Our mission is to grow that gift by challenging our students to uncover meaning and significance in the world around them and to become capable, confident individuals who demonstrate character, engagement, and a joyful passion for creative inquiry across a lifetime.

“ From a small seed... a mighty trunk may grow...�

Aeschylus // Ancient Greek Poet

4th Grade Student Views Sun Through a Solar Telescope

Our Philosophy The Willows is committed to a balanced yet demanding progressive curriculum rooted in experiential learning and social values. We teach and model a zest for learning and the courage to take risks. We challenge children to challenge themselves and set high standards for academic excellence, which they pursue with energy and joy. We nurture a sense of compassion and community that begins at home, reinforcing what it means to be a respectful, involved citizen-of-the-world. We believe that great minds grow in a near-infinite variety of ways. In the spirit of the willow tree itself, our “great minds� are flexible, resilient, and beautiful at every stage of development.

Willows students grow through the years in a DK-8 program that recognizes the needs of each developmental stage, while fostering leadership and mentoring opportunities, multi-age learning, and skill development.

Our Book Buddies and Science Buddies programs pair our oldest and youngest students to engage in hands-on activities promoting empathy and understanding.

“ If I could design psychologically safe schools, every elementary school in the United States would go from kindergarten through grade eight . . .�

Michael Thompson Renowned Child Psychologist and New York Times Bestselling Author

On our campus, there is a strong culture of care in operation. The more secure and cared about a child feels, the better able a child is to navigate the world. If you are understood and respected, then you develop an understanding of others that leads to a global perspective.�

Lisa Rosenstein Head of School

Learning at The Willows is dynamic, centered on the principles of intellectual curiosity and challenge, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.

We are a community of joyful learners.

3rd Grade Science Properties of Matter Experiment

“ Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

J ohn Dewey Philosopher, Psychologist and Educational Theorist

“ Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up.�

Oliver Wendell Holmes American Writer

1st Graders and Science/Maker Teacher Collaborate in the Tinker.Make.Innovate. Lab

Kindergarten Math Class

“ I want to emphasize that the man I am today is the result of my time at The Willows, where a sense of self-confidence was instilled in me along with a feeling that I could make a valuable contribution not only to the school, but to the world broadly.�

5th Grade Study of Colonial American History

Jackson Malle Willows Class of 1999 B.A. Cultural Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz M.A., New York University; Doctoral Program, SUNY Binghamton

The Willows embraces innovation—not change for the sake of something different—but innovation that energizes curriculum, creates a dynamic campus climate, lends a new perspective to learning, and generates an exceptional community of learners.

Joined together, innovation and fundamentals are powerful learning tools that speak to the needs of our students.

3rd Grade Class Designing with littleBits

" In the past, schools overvalued learning with one's head. The future requires a recalibration—beginning with valuing learning with one's hands, heart, and head equally. .. . Schools should be in the business of making meaning and memories. Constructive technology use goes a long way toward achieving those aims.

Gary Stager, Ph.D. Co-author of Invent to Learn, Founder of Constructing Modern Knowledge The Willows Special Assistant for Innovation to the Head of School

“Light it Up” Dance Costumes // Students Created Dance Costumes Using LED Lights, Circuit Boards, and Micro-controllers

1:1, 24:7 Middle School Laptop Program

Creative inquiry is fundamental at The Willows. Creativity is not restricted to the arts, but fostered in every discipline. Creativity and technology are integral parts of our curriculum, designed to develop out-of-the-box, 21st-century thinkers and problem solvers. Our goal is to inspire our students to creatively explore, reflect, analyze, synthesize, and then apply what they are learning.

In our classrooms, our S.T.E.A.M. Educational Lab, our Tinker.Make.Innovate. Lab, and throughout The Willows’ campus, teachers link disciplines in experiential projects that nourish creativity, deep thinking, and collaboration.

We encourage our students to ask questions and take intellectual and creative risks.

Middle School Family Latin Night

Developmental Kindergarten Student Measures Height with Math Manipulatives in DK Penguin Unit

The Willows’ academic program builds foundational and critical thinking skills but is also structured to help our students discover optimal ways to express themselves and excel.

Middle School Core (History & English) Class

3rd Grade Lucy Calkins’ Writing Workshop

The Willows’ definition of a great mind also includes an emphasis on character and heart—the ability to communicate honestly, work collaboratively, take responsibility, and contribute meaningfully to the community.

We prepare our students to become empathetic adults who make sound decisions and practice ethical behavior.

DK & 8th Grade Buddies’ Community Service Project for PATH (People Assisting The Homeless)

The Willows is a family.

Connections are vital.

Community, culture, and global connections are an integral part of our school life. We actively foster community service, global awareness, multicultural engagement, and inclusivity. We want our students to build bridges that connect them to each other, the classroom, the school, the world, and within, to know themselves.

Our students are individuals and part of a team. Community is not simply part of our name; it is the very fabric of our school.

1st Grade Class in the Library/Media Center

Our teachers are experts in child development and education, but most importantly, they care deeply about children. Our teachers are passionate about teaching. They are devoted to making a difference in the lives of their students, spurring them on to deeper learning, greater collaboration, and individual accomplishments. They take the time to guide each child to discover his or her unique passion and potential.

Our teachers are also dedicated to continuing their personal professional development to keep their teaching practices fresh and cutting-edge.

The Willows is an environment where each student can thrive as an individual and a valued member of a community.

Collaboration has always been a hallmark of The Willows’ educational approach. Throughout the school year, teachers embrace cross-disciplinary, collaborative opportunities at every grade level.

Our faculty also models collaboration through our acclaimed Willows Academy: Teachers Teaching Teachers professional development program, where our faculty share ideas, knowledge, and expertise to enhance their classroom teaching practices. Our ideas@The Willows Speaker and Workshop Series also extends our collaboration into the community, as we join together with all of Los Angeles in our love of learning.

Ultimately all our students benefit from The Willows’ collaborative efforts.

Middle School Rock Band

Middle School Dance Troupe Performs at Family Arts Night

Our multicultural programming, service learning projects, visiting authors, and experiential class trips, all integrated with classroom curricula, help students identify and understand the challenges and issues in today’s world with an emphasis on designing solutions.

We seek out opportunities to engage with others and “walk the walk� with our students. Our annual multicultural programming is a celebration of diversity that brings the world outside The Willows inside our doors. Our overnight field trips beginning in second grade and community service opportunities offer students a real-world link to curriculum.

Building bridges culturally and educationally prepares our children for success in our multicultural society and new global reality.

8th Grade Memphis Trip 2014

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1 Buddhist Monks 2 Canyon Creek 3 5th Grade Boston Trip 4 Chinese Dragon at The Willows’ Dedication Day 2014

5 Native American Portrait 6 Brazilian Dance Troupe 7 Diana Nyad // Author & Long Distance Swimmer 8 Nyad-inspired Pencil Drawing

“[Our daughter] has grown in confidence and wisdom, because every day when she comes into school, she feels cared for and seen and held and encouraged. Every single one of her teachers . . . has nurtured her along the way and been certain to take the time to truly know who she is. She has transitioned from being very quiet and unsure at school to having a ‘voice’ that she trusts and a strong sense of self. The environment at The Willows has played a significant part in shaping and developing who [she] is today. And throughout the process, as parents, we have been guided and listened to whenever we needed an ear.”

Willows Middle School Parent

Middle School Student Photography

The Willows has a true appreciation of tradition. From our annual Poetry Night, to the third grade construction of a 12-foot tipi out of paper bags, to Step-Up (our end-of-year celebration), each year our community eagerly anticipates and embraces our time-honored traditions.

A long-standing tradition is our annual school-wide theme. Each year across grade levels and disciplines, a thought-provoking theme is integrated into the curriculum as a springboard for collective thought and community spirit. Themes since 2000-2001 have included Time, Celebrations, Teamwork, Perspective, Choices, Possibilities, Balance, The Environment, Courage, The Ties That Bind Us, Inspire, Becoming, and Bridges.

3rd Graders Paint Native American Pictographs on Paper Bags in the Construction of a 12-foot Tipi

Middle School Photography and 6th Grade Student Poem from Annual Poetry Anthology

Step-Up Celebration

2012-13 School-Wide Theme // BECOMING

Learning is not a solitary process at The Willows, but most definitely a group effort where students and teachers share, question, and grow together. Our open and spacious environment inspires listening and learning from all sides. We have constructed a climate of creativity, accessibility, and companionship.

The campus is alive with learning, play, and endless possibilities.

Albert Einstein // Physicist

Middle School Student Photography // Organic Garden

The ideal school “is designed to reflect an educational process that is nonlinear and encourages personal expression.�

Eric Lloyd Wright // Architect

We encourage students to explore the road less traveled, to ask difficult and thoughtful questions, to take intellectual and creative risks, and to dare to dream. We want our students to live the credo:

Student Art