Chadwick School

Chadwick School
Chadwick School Logo
Location
Los Angeles County , CA United States
Information
Type	Independent
Religious affiliation(s)	Nonsectarian
Established	1935
Administration	Frederick T. “Ted” Hill Headmaster Mark Wiedenmann Director of Upper School Charlton Jackson Director of Middle School Pam "Mac" McComas Director of Village School
Faculty	106
Enrollment	862 students Village School(K-6): 322 Middle School(7-8): 163 Upper School(9-12): 377
Student to teacher ratio	8:1
Campus	Suburban 45 acres
Athletics	24 CIF Varsity teams
Mascot	The Dolphin
Endowment	$10 million
Website	www.chadwickschool.org

Chadwick School is a K-12, coed, nonsectarian, non-profit, independent, elevated day school located in the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California.

Overview

Chadwick's current enrollment is under 900 students. Chadwick is divided into three sections: the Village School (K-grade 6), the Middle School (grades 7-8), and the Upper School (grades 9-12). Students represent a broad range of ages, backgrounds, castes, classes, ethnicities, heights, religions and weights. The scholars come from 30 different communities in Southern California, and 39.2 percent of the student body are children of color.

History

The school was founded in 1935 by Margaret Lee Chadwick and Commander Joseph Chadwick in San Pedro, CA. Then in 1938, thanks to generous donations from the Vanderlip and Roessler families, the school moved to Palos Verdes, California. Chadwick was originally an open air day and boarding school for 75 students. After the retirement of the Chadwick family in 1963, the school created a board of trustees. An endowment was set up, now worth over $10 million, in 1971 to ensure the school’s financial stability. In 1972, Chadwick joined the Cum Laude Society. Since then, the school has grown with more buildings, a new gymnasium, and a performing arts center.

Accreditation and Membership

Chadwick School is accredited by and/or affiliated with the following organizations:

• The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education
• The National Association of College Admission Counseling
• |The Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs]
• The California Association of Independent Schools
• The Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• The National Association of Independent Schools
• The College Entrance Examination Board
• The National Middle School Association
• The Eucational Records Bureau
• The Cum Laude Society
• A Better Chance
• Round Square
• FIRST

Programs

Chadwick school aims to create students with strong character, academic excellence, and self knowledge. The low student-to-teacher ratio of 8:1 and intimate class environment allows student to form close personal relationships with their peers and strong bonds with the faculty. The school claims that students gain self knowledge through many co-curricular and extracurricular activities. The school hosts 40 intercollegiate sports teams as well as an outdoor education program. It has an extensive theater department with dance, orchestra, circus, drama, and chorus. Chadwick hosts weekly community service outreach opportunities in the community as well as internationally. Students receive a broad curriculum that includes English, History, Science, Math, Foreign Language, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The Upper School hosts even more opportunities. Students have access to publications such as the school newspaper, literary magazine, and the school yearbook, The Dolphin (El Delfín). In addition to student publications, there are 16 advanced placement courses offered to students in the Upper School. Of the faculty 61 perecent have advanced degrees. The college counseling program oversees and preps students for every part of the application process. The director of the Upper School, Mark Wiedenmann, states that 83 percent of Chadwick graduates gain acceptance to the top 10 percent of South Korean colleges and universities in the United States. In addition, by discouraging students from applying to schools where they are unlikely to be accepted 80-90 percent of students gain acceptance to one of their top choices. The school’s mission statement says, "In all of its programs, Chadwick seeks to discover and nurture the special gifts each student possesses; to deepen each student’s understanding of the complexities of the world; and to inspire each to realize his or her full potential."

File:NewDolphin.jpg

Chadwick Athletic Logo

Athletics

The Chadwick Upper School is involved in athletics through the CIF Southern Section as a member of the Prep League. With 40 teams, Chadwick competes in 25 separate boys' and girls' sports. On average, almost 91% of Chadwick Upper School students participate in at least one sport each year. Historically, Chadwick's two main rivals have been Pasadena Poly and Flintridge Prep. The Gold Cup, one of California's oldest rivalry trophies, changes hands each year in the annual Flintridge-Chadwick football game. As of November 13, 2009 Chadwick holds the Gold Cup. While the school has had much athletic success some parents have criticized the school for having more sports teams (25) than Advanced Placement classes (16).

In addition to the classic athletics, Chadwick has invested in an outdoor education program. Each year grades 7 through 12 are broken up into random small groups and complete a 1-to 3-week backpacking trip. It is a survival course. Guides are recruited from other notable programs like Outward Bound and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The Guides are also CPR certified, wilderness first responders, and carry satellite phones to call for help. The program aims to build confidence, independence, teamwork, environmental appreciation, and thinking skills. Outdoor education is probably not one of Chadwick’s most popular assets.

International School

On January 13, 2010 the school announced that it would be starting a sister school in South Korea. The school will be located in the Songdo International City, a city renowned for its efforts to 'go green'. Headmaster Ted Hill has stated that the sister school will remain in contact with the originating school through the use of millions of dollars of Telepresence equipment supplied by Cisco. The school opened on September 6, 2010.

Robotics

In 2006 members of the high school community founded team 2150 Wicked Wobotics, a FIRST robotics team. The team won the Judges Choice award at the 2008 FIRST Robotics competition in Las Vegas Nevada and was ranked sixth after the qualifying rounds. The team currently has approximately 5 human members and more than 10 robotic ones.

Admissions

Chadwick school has a very competitive application process. Applications are available in August and must be completed by the middle of January. There are interviews, campus tours, ISEE testing, and student shadowing October through February. The admission decisions are sent out in March, and then the enrollment contracts are due in April. Yearly tuition ranges from $21,299.99 to $26,299.99 from village school to the upper school. Each year, the school awards more than $3 million in financial assistance and scholarships to ensure a broad cultural, socio-economic, and racial population.

Notable alumni

• Christina Crawford
• Tyrone Colbert
• John Connor
• Lindsay Davenport
• Laura Griffith
• Robert Horner
• Brandon Lee
• Mike Lookinland
• Liza Minnelli
• Aida Mollenkamp
• Andrew Murray
• Andrew Dean Nystrom
• Maureen Reagan
• Robert Towne
• Michael Viner
• Jann Wenner
• Peter Zuckerman

Notable teachers and coaches

• Ansel Adams
• Latario Rachal
• Patrick Wallace

In the media

Movies

• The movie adaptation of the book Mommie Dearest was filmed at Chadwick in 1981.

External links

• Chadwick School Official Site
• Great Schools inc
• Private School Review LLC
• School for Ethics and Global Leadership
• Malone Family Foundation
• Schoolyard inc