Key Facts Black Pine Circle School Lower School 125 students 6:1 student-faculty ratio Upper School 199 students 7:1 student-faculty ratio Whole School 21 typical class size 324 students 100% students learn Spanish in grades K-5 (grades 6-8 choose Spanish or Mandarin) Full-Time Teaching Assistants in EVERY classroom, grades K-5 Whole Child Approach social and emotional learning curriculum, including Responsive Classroom, Kimochis, Second Step, advisories, and buddies Student Support Services learning specialists and school counselors Outstanding Campus Facilities music, art, and drama, new science and maker space, climbing wall, and athletic field Where do our graduates go to high school? About half of each graduating class goes on to public high school. Others choose independent or parochial schools. All have excellent choices! Three-year average 2020-2022 graduating classes Diversity by the Numbers 40% FAMILIES who identify as people of color 33% FACULTYwho identify as people of color 46% BOARD MEMBERSwho identify as people of color 30% FACULTYborn outside the US 33 ZIP CODESin the student body 30% FINANCIAL ASSISTANCEpercent of families * self-identified; most facts as of Sept 2022 Our Teachers are Lifelong Learners Every day, Black Pine Circle School’s teachers put the nurturing of young minds at the center of their personal mission. Our talented faculty bring a wealth of personal interests and skills to their classrooms: they are poets and songwriters, makers and artists, ultramarathoners and Olympic swimmers. See Our Faculty 46 faculty 1850 aggregate hours of professional development LEARN MORE > How Our Faculty Hone Their Craft Black Pine Circle School is as committed to encouraging lifelong learning in its faculty and administration as it is to encouraging its students to be lifelong learners. Each year, we invest over $100,000 in workshops and training, both on site and by sending faculty and staff to important local and national conferences. Providing teachers and administrators with the opportunity for professional growth and personal development is key to their retention and job satisfaction. It is also an important component of what drives BPC to improve its program year after year. Art and Curriculum Design at SFSU Autism, Asperger’s, Sensory Processing Disorder, and ADHD Bay Area Teachers Development Collaborative Training Bridges in Mathematics Computer Using Educators Contexts for Learning Mathematics Council in Schools | The Ojai Foundation Differentiated Instruction Training Exploratorium: Summer Institute for Teachers FabLearn Conferences Gender Spectrum Train the Trainers Gettysburg College (NEAH workshop) Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History Learning and the Brain Conference Lucy Calkins: The Reading and Writing Project Maker Ed Convening National Council for Teachers of Mathematics Conference Orff-Schulwerk Association Origins: Developmental Designs People of Color Conference reMAKE Education Responsive Classroom Socratic Seminars International SXSW Edu Teach21 Teaching for Social Justice Women Rising, Honing Leadership Art and Curriculum Design at SFSU Autism, Asperger’s, Sensory Processing Disorder, and ADHD Bay Area Teachers Development Collaborative Training Bridges in Mathematics Computer Using Educators Contexts for Learning Mathematics Council in Schools | The Ojai Foundation Differentiated Instruction Training Exploratorium: Summer Institute for Teachers FabLearn Conferences Gender Spectrum Train the Trainers Learning and the Brain Conference Lucy Calkins: The Reading and Writing Project Maker Ed Convening National Council for Teachers of Mathematics Conference Orff-Schulwerk Association Origins: Developmental Designs People of Color Conference reMAKE Education Responsive Classroom Socratic Seminars International SXSW Edu Teach21 Teaching for Social Justice Women Rising, Honing Leadership 50% faculty with advanced degrees 10.5 average years teaching at our school 19.5 average years teaching experience LEARN MORE > Experience Counts! Black Pine Circle would not be the school it is without its extraordinarily committed faculty and staff. At our school the situation for students is hopeless: around every corner is a kind, caring, dedicated adult. No one is going to fail to challenge them to be the best person in scholar they can be, and support them along this journey. The majority of BPC teachers have over 20 years of teaching experience and some have well over 40. But experience alone does not explain why the BPC faculty is as beloved and effective as they are. Put simply, they believe in themselves, their students, and the enduring value of their efforts. To a person, they embrace the knowledge that the truest reward for a life’s dedication to others is the satisfaction that their contributions lead to a better world for all. We are profoundly grateful. 30 to 50 years Michael Feferman Anatoliy Gulimovskiy Madeleine King Catalina Lacy Diane Wirtschafter 25 to 29 years John Carlstroem Rachel Durling Maria Palmer Dina Weinshelbaum 20 to 24 years Vera Balarin Pamela Brenman DeAndre Calhoun Jonathan Cohen Josefina Jacquin Kimberly Livingston Andra Marziano Alyson Mitchell Christine Mytko Stephanie Piper Romina Ronquillo Carwai Seto Cheryl Sumsion 10 to 19 years Cheryl Burger Christine Chun Kanoelani Connor Rem Djemilev Eileen Duncan Megan Hubbard Jerry Kennedy Jennifer Levy Nicole Lockwood Maureen Ray Jenny Reeves Marcelo Vaz 1 to 9 years Gerry Branner Stephanie Colker Mason Hanson Emmeline Hill Stephanie Somersille Paths of Belonging 74 upper schoolers in sports teams playing co-ed basketball, volleyball, and soccer 15 consecutive years All-Star Mathletes 73 students played violin & cello 59 students in our band program 62+ students who joined the Maker Club and ran booths at the East Bay Mini-Maker Faire & Bay Area Maker Faire 4 chickens hatched on campus and living in coop built by students, parents and faculty 600,000 words collectively written by 67 students during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) See What Else is Unique about Our School
