Welcome to Gay Parent magazine's annual listing of gay-friendly private schools. California schools are listed below, select from the menu below for schools in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington DC.

CALIFORNIA

Archway School
250 41st St., Oakland, CA  94611
510-547-4747, www.archwayschool.org
Founded in 1973, Archway School has a long and proud tradition of providing a rich, hands-on curriculum to students in kindergarten through grade 8.  Our mission is to Prepare Learners for Life through Academics, Responsibility, Community, and Hands-on Learning.  Committed to fostering positive relationships between teachers and students, engaging children's natural curiosity, involving children in their own learning, respecting individual progress and valuing social development, Archway School offers a unique and diverse environment in which to develop academic and personal excellence.  

Our K-4 campus is located near Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, 510-547-4747, and our new 5-8 campus is located in North Berkeley, near Shattuck Avenue, 510-849-4747.  For information about scheduling a tour or coming to an Open House, please call us or visit us online at www.archwayschool.org.

Archway School is a program of Woods Edge, Inc., a nonprofit organization established in 1973.

Berkeley Montessori School
1310 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702
510-665-8800 ext. 103, www.bmsonline.org
Preschool - 8th grade
Berkeley Montessori School is an independent school serving about 270 children ages 3 to 14 in Berkeley, California. We have been empowering children since 1963, following the child-centered, peace-based educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori. We have two beautiful campuses: Preschool-Kindergarten and Elementary-Middle School. We recently opened our new Elementary-Middle School campus-an eco-friendly green school that incorporates solar energy, recycled building materials, organic gardens and more! Berkeley Montessori School is a vibrant community of educators and families, agreeing with Dr. Maria Montessori that each generation of children has the opportunity to remake the world it inherits. We cultivate and honor children's innate love of learning as they prepare for a life of purpose, integrity, and academic accomplishment. Berkeley Montessori students gain the skills and confidence to meet the challenges of self, family, community, and the world at large. Each classroom is multi-graded and staffed by two teachers. All of our head teachers are experienced and certified Montessori educators. Our community is diverse, friendly and passionate about learning, working together and having fun!

Berkwood Hedge School
1809 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94703
510 883-6991
www.berkwood.org
Kindergarten-5th grade
Berkwood Hedge is an independent K - 5th grade school located in central Berkeley.
A deep commitment to a challenging and thoughtful academic program is our top priority.  Guided by our developmental philosophy, we see children as competent, articulate, and curious individuals who learn by doing.  Our experienced teachers create lessons and activities that challenge and engage a diverse range of students.   Our teachers excel at bringing social and academic learning together in emotionally safe classroom environments.  Curriculum is designed to help students ask questions about society, examine popular culture, and think critically.  Social justice and service learning activities are integrated throughout the academic program.  Our core curriculum of mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science is supplemented by a vibrant enrichment program including Spanish, visual art, music, drama, environmental science and physical education.
At Berkwood Hedge we strive to be a healthy school, modeling environmental awareness and conservation for our families and community.  

Brandeis Hillel School

655 Brotherhood Way, San Francisco, CA  94132

415-406-1035, www.bhds.org

Kindergarten - 8th grade

Brandeis Hillel Day School (BHDS) is a K-8, independent, community Jewish day school.  It provides children with the educational and social tools to make learning, critical thinking, questioning and creating into the enjoyments of a lifetime.

Francis Parker School
6501 Linda Vista Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
858-569-7900, K – 12 grade
Founded in 1912, Francis Parker School is San Diego's oldest and largest independent, non-denominational, co-educational day school. The School is committed to graduating students who embody those qualities essential for academic success and personal fulfillment – intellectual curiosity, creative thinking, passion for learning, ethical responsibility, self-reliance, community engagement, and global competence – by offering a balanced, challenging, and integrated K-12 educational program in academics, athletics, and the arts, all in a vibrant and diverse school community.

Francis W. Parker, the School's namesake, believed students should "learn by doing," solving problems based on experiential learning, placing a premium on helping students develop social values and global citizenship.

We serve 1,230 students from more than 70 different zip codes throughout San Diego County. The 453 graduates from the classes of 2006 - 2009 have enrolled in more than 140 colleges and universities across the country and around the world.

Since 2001, we have completed a $50 million capital campaign and six phases of construction, opening the following state-of-the-art buildings on two campuses: 2 libraries, 2 lecture halls, 11 science labs, 55 new classrooms, 19 renovated classrooms, 2 Commons buildings, Visual Arts center, Music Building, Student Services Center and new athletic fields.

Live Oak School

1555 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
415-861-8840, www.liveoaksf.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade

Marin Academy
1600 Mission Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901
415-453-4550, www.ma.org
9th - 12th grade

Marin Country Day School
5221 Paradise Drive, Corte Madera, CA 94925
415-927-5900, www.mcds.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade
Marin Country Day School is an independent K-8 coed day school enrolling 540 students at its 35-acre bayside campus in the San Francisco Bay Area. The school's mission, underscored by core values of respect, responsibility and compassion, asks children to become skilled learners and ethical individuals, motivated to make a difference in the world.

MCDS teachers work to support both personal and academic development. The broad and balanced program encourages students to question, to reason and to make connections. The classroom atmosphere is highly participatory, with teachers acting as coaches who encourage students' exploration, discovery and reflection.

The founders of MCDS believed that learning is a joyous and lifelong process and that each child's unique gifts should be nurtured. They sought an environment which allowed room for study and laughter, noise and quiet, thought and action. Perhaps most important, they believed that members of a diverse school community could contribute immeasurably to the well-being of one another.

MCDS actively seeks to build an inclusive community which reflects the diversity of race, ethnicity, economic circumstances, family structure and lifestyles of the greater Bay Area. Perhaps the school's most enduring characteristic is its vibrant spirit-of students, families, teachers and staff engaged in working together.

Menlo School

50 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton, CA 94027

650-330-2000, www.menlo.org

6^th – 12^th grade

New Roads School
3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA  90404
310-828-5582 www.newroads.org
K - 12th grade
New Roads School is an accredited, independent K-12 school with four campuses in Santa Monica, Malibu and Los Angeles, California.  We offer young people a supportive, challenging, and stimulating education.  We are looking for students and families who are excited about becoming part of a diverse, vital, and academically challenging school.
 
New Roads School offers open admissions by application and admits students of any color, national or ethnic origin, religion or creed, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school.  We welcome students of any color, ethnicity, religion, creed, gender or sexual orientation.
 
Please contact admissions@newroads.org or (310) 828-5582 for more information and to request an application. Visit our website at www.newroads.org   

The Nueva School
6565 Skyline Blvd., Hillsborough, CA 94010
650-350-4528, www.nuevaschool.org, admissions@neuvaschool.org
Pk-8th Grades
The Nueva School meets the unique needs of pre-kindergarten through 8th grade gifted and high-ability children in the Bay Area. Founded in 1967, Nueva emphasizes integrated studies, creative and visual arts, differentiated and experiential curriculum and social-emotional learning. Through a child-centered and progressive approach, Nueva builds a true sensibility of lifelong learning and empowers students to connect their studies to the real world. Students learn to hone their critical and analytical skills and experience how joyful and meaningful education can be.

Learning by doing extends to the 33-acre wooded campus itself, where our "2008 Top Ten Green Buildings Project" models sustainable architecture and energy use. Our green buildings house a state of the art media lab and library, and the Innovation Lab which partners with Stanford University's Institute of Design and is the first K-8 Design Thinking program of its kind. The nearby Hillside Café offers freshly prepared lunches daily. Our notable Nueva forts, nestled in a grove of olive trees, give the students many opportunities for outdoor education, imagination, and emerging social emotional learning. Extracurricular opportunities include a variety of individual and team sports, art, drama and music instruction and performances, Japanese, Spanish, and Mandarin language programs, as well as national and international student trips. Bus service is also available for San Francisco and South Bay families.

Nueva students and families are supportive of each other, the school, and of the wider communities and neighborhoods to which we belong. We celebrate individuals and value the diversity of our community and our world. Community at Nueva is part of the daily fabric of Nueva life, and is ultimately a benefit to our children. 

Oakwood School
11600 Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91601-3015

Nancy Goldberg, Dir. of Admission (K-6)
Delcie Phillips, Dir. of Admission (7-12)
818-752-5277, www.oakwoodschool.org
Kindergarten - 12th grade
Founded in 1951, Oakwood School is a co-educational, independent day school in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.  In keeping with its founding mission - to provide creative and intellectual challenge in a positive, joyful, humane atmosphere - Oakwood takes the growth and development of children seriously.  Elementary students study arts, sciences, and humanities as coordinated disciplines.  Secondary students enjoy a challenging college preparatory program balanced with extensive opportunities in fine and performing arts, athletics, and other co- and extra-curricular activities.  Through close relationships between teachers and students, Oakwood fosters personal integrity, independence of thought, a passion for knowledge, and the desire to make a difference.  The Oakwood community welcomes students and families of diverse backgrounds.

Park Day School
370 43rd Street, Oakland, CA 94609-2223
510-653-0317, www.parkdayschool.org
Kindergarten - 6th grade
Located in Oakland, Park Day School, founded in 1976 by group of teachers and parents, is a school for children in grades kindergarten through sixth. Park Day School is proud of its success in developing a diverse student body. Differences in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic position are they encourage.

Park Day School offers a strong curriculum in math, social studies, science, language arts, and Spanish. Teaching materials are culled from many sources, often times created by the teachers, specifically geared to the learning styles and levels of their students. Park Day School community service projects include a long-standing relationship with the retired women of the Matilda Brown Home located next to the school. At the home, children visit the ladies to sing for them once a month, to participate in their ice cream socials, and to present them with Valentine's Day cards. Park Day School also believes that establishing connections with Oakland public schools will benefit and enrich the community and has built a connection with Emerson Elementary School, a public school two blocks away.

Park Day School helps children develop their social conscience and helps them learn to recognize and confront issues of race, class, and gender. The school wants students to be able to recognize the biases that exist in society and for them to develop and articulate their own values. Students are taught how to live in a diverse society and to be comfortable with the ways in which they are alike and different from others. Contact Flo Hodes, 510-653-0317 ex. 101, flo@parkdayschool.org.

Prospect Sierra School
2060 Tapscott Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530
510-236-5800, www.prospectsierra.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade
Prospect Sierra students are passionate about learning. Our exceptional teachers inspire students to seek deep, meaningful understanding; to develop strong academic skills; and to become creative and independent thinkers. Prospect Sierra cultivates compassion, fairness, respect, and individuality within a community that celebrates diversity, authenticity, and service.

Prospect Sierra is an independent co-ed school located on two beautiful campuses in the El Cerrito Hills (San Francisco bay area). Both the elementary (K-4) and the middle school (5-8) campuses are adjacent to city parks and have sweeping views of the bay. The enriched learning environment includes master teachers, challenging and meaningful academics, high school preparatory curricula, science labs and technology centers, modern and expansive libraries, comprehensive performing and visual arts programs, interscholastic sports, performing arts and sports center, French and Spanish language instruction, service learning program, after school program, financial assistance, and school bus service.

Prospect Sierra School embodies several key assumptions in philosophy and daily practice: that learning is the young person's pathway to personal growth; that school should be both challenging and joyous; that school is a community through which students, teachers and parents develop trust, demonstrate cooperation, show respect, and acquire an understanding of the rights and needs of others; and that diversity, in its many human forms, brings quality and strength to our welcoming and inclusive school. To learn more about us, please visit our website at www.prospectsierra.org or call 510-236-5800.

Presidio Hill School
3839 Washington St., San Francisco, CA 94118
415-751-9318, www.presidiohill.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade
Presidio Hill School is the oldest continually-operating progressive school in California. Founded in 1918 by two artists, Flora Arnstein and Helen Salz, who were inspired by the innovative ideas of educational reformers John Dewey and Maria Montessori, especially the concept of replacing traditional learning by rote with learning by doing.

Presidio Hill is a co-educational K-8 school with an enrollment of approximately 158 students. Each grade has one class, averaging 16 students. In addition to a 1-year kindergarten, the school offers the option of a 2-year kindergarten program to serve younger five-year-olds born in the summer and early fall.

The founders' vision included creating an environment that fostered cultural diversity, community involvement, and social action. Presidio Hill School's staff, student, and parent body reflects San Francisco's richness. Race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, economics, alternative family structure, disability, religion, learning differences, and other forms of diversity are valued. Among Bay Area independent schools, Presidio Hill has one of the highest percentages of its budget devoted to financial aid. The school strives to be a model of democracy and humane relationships.

St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School
16 Baldwin, San Mateo, CA 94401
650-342-5436, www.stmatthewsday.org
Contact:  admission@stmatthewsday.org
Preschool - 8th grade
St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School was founded in 1953 as a co-ed, independent Episcopal Day School serving 230 students of all faiths in preschool through eighth grade. The School offers an enriched academic program that develops intellectual curiosity, self-confidence, moral courage, and the habits of heart that prepare students to be leaders of positive change, in their high schools and their world.

The curriculum reflects an approach designed to help students understand the inter-connectedness and interdependence of the disciplines they study.  Emphases on student service-learning and family community service are two ways in which the school fulfills its mission to instill a sense of social responsibility and prepare students for life beyond the classroom.

The ability to thrive and succeed in the School's challenging academic environment is the primary criterion for admission.  Enrollment is open to qualified students without regard to race, creed, ethnic origin or economic status.  Need based financial assistance is available.

St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the National Association of Episcopal Schools and is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools.

Saint Mark's School
39 Trellis Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903
415-472-8000, www.saintmarksschool.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade
Saint Mark's School is an independent, nonsectarian, coeducational, elementary school for students in grades kindergarten through eight. The Saint Mark's community is composed of 380 bright and motivated students, over 80 faculty and staff, more than 600 alumni, and their many families and friends. The school's ten-acre campus is located in a quiet neighborhood in San Rafael, California.

Saint Mark's provides a challenging academic program in a nurturing community that values respect, responsibility and trust. The curriculum emphasizes mastery of basic academic disciplines while providing broad exposure to the arts, athletics and world cultures. The school works in partnership with families to foster academic success and personal growth. Saint Mark's recognizes that a diverse community enriches the learning of all students and promotes global understanding and citizenship.

Saint Mark's School believes that educational excellence and justice demand a diverse, inclusive and socially responsible community. By choosing Saint Mark's, families commit to inclusiveness and fairness, in keeping with the school's Seven Pillars of Character.

Please feel free to contact the Admissions Office at (415) 472-8007 if you have any questions, would like to receive an application packet, or are interested in scheduling a visit. Barbara Finley, Director of Admissions, bfinley@saintmarksschool.org.

St. Paul's Episcopal School
116 Montecito Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610-4356
510-285-9600, www.spes.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade
Celebrating 30 years of academic excellence, St. Paul's Episcopal School is Oakland's private school with a public purpose. The School is located downtown near Lake Merritt and serves 334 students in grades K-8. Throughout its history, St. Paul's has been equipping young people to be good citizens as well as good scholars. The School features excellent academics, a multicultural curriculum, diversity, spirituality, and an award-winning Service Learning Program in which all students participate.

St. Paul's provides a respectful, safe, and nurturing environment for students and families who reflect the broad diversity of the greater Oakland area. Over half of all students are children of color, and over one-third of all students participate in the School's model Tuition Assistance Program. This ensures socioeconomic diversity. The School also reflects diversity in religion and culture, as well as providing a warm and friendly atmosphere for gay and lesbian families, immigrant families, and young people with learning differences. 

San Francisco Day School
350 Masonic Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118
415-931-2422, www.sfds.net
Kindergarten - 8th grade
In 1977 Sally and Toby Rosenblatt gathered a small group of friends in their living room to talk about Sally's dream-an independent coeducational elementary school in San Francisco. Today San Francisco Day School is highly regarded and continues to advance the goals articulated by the founders offering an academic program designed to take full advantage of the City's resources, a desire to create a diverse and inclusive community, a commitment to attract and retain an outstanding faculty, tuition assistance for 10 to 25 percent of the students, and an extended day-care program. Diversity is an important component of the academic excellence of the school. San Francisco Day School recruits, welcomes and celebrates children, families, faculty and staff differences. Learning occurs both within and outside the confines of the school. Students learn to cooperate within the school community and the City of San Francisco provides an important learning laboratory for the school. Students in all grades participate in an age-appropriate service learning program that educates the children about the challenges of urban life while providing an opportunity to become active contributors to organizations and individuals in the community. It opens its doors to neighborhood groups and forges alliances with other schools and community organizations to work for the good of the community and its children.

Synergy School
1387 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110
415-5677-6177, www.synergyschool.org
Kindergarten - 8th grade
Founded in 1973, Synergy School is a non-profit teacher cooperative for children kindergarten to eighth grade, located in San Francisco. The schools curriculum is multi-cultural fostered by an environment which struggles against racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice. The Synergy community is one of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds.

Academic skills are achieved within a non-competitive atmosphere. The Bay Area Writers Project, interdisciplinary projects, specific skill development utilizing phonemic awareness, and whole language/literature based programs are the foundations of their language arts curriculum. There is an emphasis on problem solving and the written expression of mathematical processes and procedures. Science at Synergy is experiential and hands-on, includes field trips in Northern California and an annual science fair. In their music program children listen to classical and ethnic music and create their own. Students produce and perform plays in Synergy's art and drama program and Spanish is taught to all grade levels. An Afterschool programs is available and over one-third of the children receive partial financial aid.

The Harker School

500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA  05129

408-249-2510, www.harker.org

K-12th grade

The San Francisco School
300 Gaven Street, San Francisco, CA 941134
415-239-5065 ext. 103, www.sfschool.org
Preschool - 8th grade
The San Francisco School embraces multiculturalism and celebrates diversity. The San Francisco School staff is a diverse group of men and women with a variety of ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds as well as sexual orientations. All teachers participate in an ongoing professional development program where teachers reflect, attend workshops, and do independent research. The core of the professional development program involves regular meetings of small groups of teachers focused on questions about student learning. Teachers hone their practice looking at current research, at their own instructional approach, and at student work. The San Francisco School preschool is a Montessori program while many common elements in the Elementary Program provide consistency for the students as they move from grade to grade. While each level has its own goals and challenges, the students can also look forward to familiar routines that build self-esteem and independence throughout the elementary years. Many elements in the Middle School program unite the Middle School students and provide common settings for individual and collective growth.

The Urban School of San Francisco
1563 Page Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
415-626-2919, www.urbanschool.org
9th - 12th grade
The Urban School of San Francisco was founded in 1966 by a group of Bay Area parents seeking an innovative alternative to conventional secondary education. They believed that adolescents are curious, creative, and eager to make sense of the world around them and that their self-esteem is best developed in an atmosphere of trust, honesty, and mutual respect between students and teachers.

Urban School believes that the best education occurs in a school made up of students, teachers, and parents drawn from many different socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, races, religions, and sexual orientations. Students are encouraged to ask questions, to search for their own answers, to voice their opinions, and to think critically and independently.

A feature of the Urban School is the assignment of a faculty advisor to each student. The faculty advisor is the liaison between student, school, and family. Students meet with their advisors in weekly group advising meetings and in individual meetings to review and plan their academic progress. The advisor is also available to discuss areas of concern and offer counsel and support.

Walden Center & School
2446 McKinley Avenue, Berkeley, CA  94703
510-841-7248, www.walden-school.net
Walden is an Arts-based progressive, teacher-run elementary school.  Our curriculum combines developmentally appropriate expectations with challenging units of study.  The school's environment enhances each child's academic, emotional, social, creative and physical growth.  Parents and educators founded Walden Center & School in 1958 to create a learning environment that treats artistic expression as an essential element of every child's academic experience.

The Walden staff supports experiential learning, cooperative endeavor, creativity and appreciation of personal expression within a broader community.  Children and adults at Walden value the racial, social, ethnic and economic diversity of the East Bay within the School's nonsectarian and multicultural learning environment.

Walden School
74 S. San Gabriel Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107
626-792-6166, www.waldenschool.net
Pre-K - 6th grade
Walden School students do as Henry Thoreau: "Be True to your work, your word, your friend." Walden School, founded in 1970, is an independent, accredited elementary school, enrolling 240 students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in multi-grade/age classrooms.

Founded on the instructive words of Henry Thoreau, a Walden education is based on balance. Instruction assures children will develop traditional academic skills through innovative and progressive teaching practices. Teachers also strive to lay the foundation for wisdom, to encourage the spirit of Renaissance learning and to help students to understand how they are counted on as a learner and a friend. Students develop a true love of learning. They value their own interests and pursue them with passion and determination.

The Storyteller-in-Residence works with teachers and students to help give voice to the children's experience of the world and to develop the vocabulary to say what they mean and mean what they say.

Walden students matriculate to the finest independent and public schools in the area. Its graduates are described as articulate and forthright, respectful, reflective, resilient, academically ambitious, and globally aware. Walden graduates have learned how to question the status quo in an informed and reflective manner.

Please call (626) 792-6166 ext. 12 for tours. Tours begin at 9:30am, are for adults only, and do require reservations.

Windrush School