History & Mission
Balance Between Arts & Academics
Our Mission
To create a learning community that encourages humanity, empathy, moral depth, cultural understanding, and intellectual freedom.
Educational Goal
To create vibrant, independent thinkers who will never lose their passion for learning, their delight in research, and their involvement in cultural pursuits.
Teaching Philosophy
This student-centered method of learning, best described as Socratic, is based on inquiry, questioning, exploration, and discovery: it minimizes competitiveness and makes the curriculum personally relevant, motivating students to acquire knowledge and skills for their own sake.
The focus on mastery not tasks is reinforced by an interdisciplinary approach, which integrates rigorous academics with music, drama, and the visual arts.
Social Goal
To instill mutual respect, compassion, and an appreciation of differences among our students. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to fostering a warm and supportive environment in which children can safely address challenges and grow in their understanding of themselves and others.
Milestones in Our History
2010 7th Street & 844 University as a day school. for K & 1st graders on the lower school campus. (completed the following year) This allowed for expansion of the upper school student body. Now known as the Facility for Arts and Drama (The FAD) From specialized workshops, Black Pine Circle Day School expanded into a full-scale elementary school, and then added a middle school as well. Set in the High Sierra, whose trees provided the inspiration for our name, these workshops for college undergraduates attracted renowned guest lecturers, including Allen Ginsberg, John Searle, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
2024: DeAndre Calhoun becomes Interim Head of School
2023: BPC Acquires New Buildings
2023: BPC Celebrates 50 years
2018: Black Pine Circle School celebrates 45 years
2017: “Oasis” play area added
2015: The Q Lab: A Space for Science & Inquiry breaks ground
2014: Green field developed on 7th street
2012: Administrative building at 843 Addison Street acquired
2011: Climbing wall added on the upper school campus
2005: John Carlstroem becomes head of Black Pine Circle School
2005: Founders’ Building with classrooms and library completed
2001: Facility for Arts and Drama renovation completed
1999: Lawrence James becomes director of Black Pine Circle School
1995: Frances Kandl, one of BPC’s founders, takes over as director
1993: Acquisition of the Berkeley Landmarked Workingman’s Hall
1984: Acquisition of upper school building from Tehiyah Day School
1973: Doors open for first kindergarten class at Seventh Day Adventist Church
1968: First Black Pine Circle College workshops offered with Oscar Pemantle as director
