Mission

The Waverly School cultivates curious, resourceful, confident learners who demonstrate intellectual engagement, critical and creative thinking, respect for individual differences, a strong awareness of personal responsibility, and an active commitment to social justice.

To realize our mission, the school embraces the following ideals:

Community

Relationships are paramount at Waverly, defined by trust, understanding, and mutual respect. Meaningful, authentic interactions occur everywhere: in the classrooms, on the playground, on the quad, at the farm, and on outdoor trips. Students collaborate to problem solve, discuss, and make connections. Waverly teachers know students on a personal level, with a keen understanding of cognitive and social-emotional needs. Student-teacher conversations are open, challenging, and playful. Waverly teachers model intellectual curiosity, a commitment to a life of meaning, and the highest integrity. Waverly is a community where students, teachers, and families learn from one another.

Progressive Education

Waverly’s educational philosophy asserts that students learn best when they are actively involved in their education, when they become responsible for their growth as students, when they are encouraged to work to their highest level, and when their learning is based on life experiences.  Children and young adults develop in stages; Waverly respects and supports each child’s journey through these stages. The educational program at Waverly incorporates all aspects of human development—intellectual, social, physical, aesthetic, and ethical—and strives to integrate learning by guiding students to be curious about all that the world has to offer.  While Waverly is inspired by the work of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky, amongst others, the school also pays attention to current research and best practices in education.

Diversity, Equity, and inclusion

The Waverly School is commit­ted to social justice educa­tion and thus seeks to provide all members of the commu­nity with the tools to recog­nize and speak out against acts of bias and the discrim­i­na­tory systems of power that produce struc­tural inequal­i­ties. The school is commit­ted to treat­ing indi­vid­u­als with dignity and provid­ing a safe envi­ron­ment where all members of the commu­nity can engage in dialogue, ques­tion, learn, and contribute fully. This commit­ment to full partic­i­pa­tion encour­ages commu­nity members to be self-reflec­tive about their atti­tudes toward them­selves and others. A diverse and inclu­sive school commu­nity makes members better informed, more empa­thetic, and better prepared to effect posi­tive change in the world. To that end, Waverly fosters an envi­ron­ment in which indi­vid­ual differ­ences of race, ethnic­ity, biolog­i­cal sex, gender iden­tity, sexual orien­ta­tion, socioe­co­nomic circum­stance, national origin, immi­gra­tion status, ability and disabil­ity, phys­i­cal char­ac­ter­is­tics, reli­gious belief, and all aspects of iden­tity are acknowl­edged and celebrated.

Fast Facts

Grades: PS-12
Total Enrollment: 360
Religious Affiliation: None
Student Population: Coed
Founded: 

The Waverly School
67 W. Bellevue Drive
Pasadena, CA 91105
(Elementary Campus and
Business Office)
626.792.5940

admissions@thewaverlyschool.org