Sequoyah School

Sequoyah School
Location
Pasadena, California
United States
Information
Type Independent, Co-educational, Day school, Community service
Established 1958
Faculty 40 [1]
Number of students approx. 250
Website sequoyahschool.org

The Sequoyah School is a non-profit, independent in Pasadena, California. The school, which was founded in 1958].

The student body has 300 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Educational philosophy

A Sequoyah School education challenges the mind, nurtures the heart and celebrates human dignity.

The progressive independent school offers a place-based and experience-based approach to education with an emphasis on critical thinking skills, environmental stewardship, recognition of the importance of personal accountability, and a commitment to social justice. The curriculum is integrated, emergent, and often encourages students to approach challenges from multiple perspectives. Practicing the values articulated in Sequoyah’s Habits of Mind, students and teachers strive to thoughtfully, and creatively, explore and improve their world.

Sequoyah’s high school offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum in a student-centered, experiential, and collaborative learning environment. Teachers encourage all students to share their backgrounds and individual interests so that their unique perspectives enrich the educational experience. Together, students and teachers embrace a process of learning that values diversity, social justice and environmental stewardship. The school values intellectual risk-taking, where one can learn from failure, confidently seek out feedback and develop a greater sense of ownership for one’s learning.

From its inception, Sequoyah has held a strong commitment to an inclusive diverse school community. Sequoyah aims to inculcate the values of learning to respect diversity, being resilient when one's convictions are challenged, and sustaining a strong sense of self in relation to others. The school's goal is to produce graduates who are able to think creatively and work happily as caring members of their communities.

The school-wide field studies program engages students in scientific, cultural, and historic field studies, from high-desert trips for the youngest children to international trips in high school.

Campus

The K-8 campus was originally the site of an 1887 shingle-style church. In the 1950s, the architecture firm Smith and Williams designed two buildings on the site. They built a children's chapel (1954) and a Sunday-school building (1956). Garrett Eckbo designed the grounds. The children's chapel won an AIA Award of Merit in 1954. The Sequoyah School became a part-time tenant of the church in 1958. The original church was demolished in 1974 when Caltrans was planning to expand the 710 Freeway through the site, but the project remains unrealized due to community opposition. The Smith and Williams buildings remain until today.

In 2013, the campus was expanded by Los Angeles architecture firm, Fung + Blatt Architects. Weaving into the existing mid-century campus fabric, Sequoyah’s expansion echoes the spirit of the original architecture, while providing a sustainable, contemporary interpretation for a new generation. The expansion was published in Architectural Record[2] and also won an honor award for design and a sustainability award by the AIA Pasadena & Foothills chapter [3]

The high school campus is located on the grounds of the Neighborhood Church in Pasadena, adjacent to the historic Gamble House and within walking distance of playing fields in the Arroyo and the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. It is only a few miles away from the K-8 campus.

Financial Aid

Sequoyah School maintains a financial assistance program that provides tuition support to approximately 30-40% of its student population, including its Yvonne Pinto Fund, dedicated to the students of employees of the school. The School is well known for its ethnic, racial, gender, cultural, and economic diversity.

Governance

The school is governed by a Board of Trustees.

References

  1. ↑ K-12 Directory of Schools
  2. ↑ http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/7300-sequoyah-school-expansion?v=preview
  3. ↑ http://aia-awards.com/AIAPF/gallery/projDisplay.php?RECORD_KEY(ProjectInfo)=id&id(ProjectInfo)=570
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