Type Independent Faculty 67 Student to faculty ratio 8:1 Grades 7–12 | Established 1971 Enrollment 540 Phone +1 310-391-7127 Color Blue and White | |
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Athletics conference CIF Southern Section
Alpha League Address 11350 Palms Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, USA Accreditations Western Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Independent Schools Similar Crossroads School, Wildwood School, Brentwood School - East Cam, Marlboro School, Harvard School Profiles | ||
The windward school rings the nyse opening bell
Windward School is an independent school in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It was founded by writer/teacher Shirley Windward in 1971. The school currently enrolls 540 students in grades 7 through 12.
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History
In 1971, two former Paul Revere Middle School teachers, Carl Parsons and Shirley Windward (for whom the school is named), founded the school in order to open up their classes to young people on the West side of Los Angeles.
Shirley's husband, Erv Windward, renovated the studios where they lived into classrooms. Many new students volunteered to help renovate the studios. The school originally had 14 full-time and part-time teachers who taught 65 students in a small building on Wilshire Boulevard.
In 1973, Windward School received its first full five-year WASC accreditation as a college-preparatory institution. As the school outgrew its first facilities the campus moved to 1414 21st Street, Santa Monica in September 1974.
In 1982, Windward moved to a 9-acre (36,000 m2), multi-building campus at 11350 Palms Boulevard, Los Angeles. Other buildings have been added to the campus over the years: the Irene Kleinberg Theater in October 1997, the Lewis Jackson Memorial Sports Center in 2000, the Arts Center and Pavilion in September 2002 and the first Innovation Classroom 510 in fall 2007. Construction of Windward's newest facilities, the Science, Dance & Music Center and the Center for Teaching & Learning, was completed in the summer of 2009.
In 2012, Windward's co-founder and namesake, Shirley Windward, died at the age of 93.
Athletics
The school has 44 teams, six full-time coaches, 2 full-time athletic trainers, and 30–35 part-time coaches. The school's athletic teams have won California State Championships in several sports. In 2008, the boys varsity teams won the CIF Division VI championships in both soccer and volleyball. In 2011, both the boys' and girls' varsity basketball teams won the CIF Division IV State Championship. In 2009, the boys' varsity basketball team won the CIF Division V State Championship. In 2012, the boys' varsity volleyball team won the CIF Division III SoCal Regional Championship (the highest level of state competition for boys' volleyball). The boys' varsity 8-man football team won back-to-back CIF Southern Sectional Championships (also the highest level of state competition) in 2010 and 2011. As of 2012, the school has moved up to play 11-man football and no longer competes in 8-man. In 2017, the Girls Basketball team won the CIF Division I State Championship, their second in school history.