Brentwood School is an independent, secular K–12 coed day school with two campuses located four blocks apart in the Brentwood neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Founded in 1972, Brentwood School took over the property formerly owned by Brentwood Military Academy, which had existed at this location since 1930. The Academy, founded by Mary McDonnell in 1902, moved sites multiple times, and was always under the direction of Miss McDonnell and other family members. In spring 1972, it was announced that the military academy would not reopen in the fall, and the property was sold by John McDonnell to Terry Leavey Lemons and Walter Ziglar, who soon converted the school to

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

status. Brentwood School opened in fall 1972 as a college preparatory day school serving Grades 6-10. The first Headmaster of Brentwood School was Richman Grant. Grade 11 was added in 1973, and the school graduated its first Senior class in June 1975. After that, the school remained Grades 7-12 until 1995 when, under the guidance of Headmaster Hunter M. Temple, Brentwood School purchased the Marymount Junior School campus and opened the Lower Division. With the opening of the Lower Division in fall 1995, the school became Grades K-6 on the West Campus and Grades 7-12 on the East Campus. In 2001 the 22 acre (89,000 m²) Brentwood School Athletics Complex opened on the East Campus. On December 2, 2011, four new modular classrooms were installed by Gen7 at Brentwood School's East Campus. The classrooms, LEED Gold certified, provide 100% of their own energy, making them the first zero net energy classrooms in Los Angeles County. In the fall of 2019, Brentwood School opened a brand new Middle School building allowing its 6th Grade to join the Middle School from the Lower School, and increase enrollment size for each grade on both campuses. Walter Ziglar and Terry Leavey Lemons are credited as founders of the school. For the first 5 years, Ziglar served as the President. He was also the Chair of the first Board of Executive Directors, which included Bill Badham of Curtis School and Vern Simpson of Montclair Prep.

Overview

Combined enrollment on both campuses is about 1200 students – roughly 900 on the East Campus and 300 on the West Campus. For the 2021-2022 school year, tuition without Financial Support in the Lower School was listed as $39,350 per year, while tuition in the Middle and Upper Schools were listed at $46,550 per year. The school awards approximately $3,500,000 in need-based financial support each year. Brentwood is a highly selective school, with major admissions entry points in kindergarten, 6th, 7th, and 9th grades, and only limited openings at other grade levels. Admissions decisions are made by a committee composed of faculty and administrators. Brentwood offers a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

curriculum, including over 100 courses each year, including advanced placement courses in 17 subject areas. The school year runs from August 31 to June 10.

Diversity

The Brentwood School community includes students who live in nearly 120 different zip codes and come from over 220 different schools. 19% of Brentwood School families benefit from financial support. As of 2021, both the West Campus (Grades K-5) and the East Campus (Grades 6-12) reported that their student community consists of 46% students of color. In 2016, Brentwood School created its Office of Equity and Inclusion, and hired Trina Moore-Southall as the school's first Director of Equity and Inclusion. Brentwood School has a Diversity Council composed of faculty, staff and administrative representatives who are directly involved in change-based work within the school community. Members of the council are committed to ongoing personal growth and development in areas including, but not limited to, an anti-bias curriculum and thought; cultural and racial literacy; intercultural intelligence; social awareness and social justice. Members of the council are actively and visibly supportive of campus programs and events. On May 18, 2016, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

, whose daughter attended the school, expressed

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

outrage over white students using the "n-word" while rapping to a popular ASAP Ferg song. The incident spurred a

Change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

petition calling for action.

Athletics

During any given school year, Brentwood School fields 83 different athletic teams in grades 4-12. Brentwood School Upper School fields 35 teams in 17 different sports. Brentwood School's all-encompassing in-house resources support athletes in an inclusive way, offering not only coaching on the field or court, but also strength and conditioning, mental performance, athletic training, college recruiting, and top-notch athletic apparel and equipment through our Nike sponsorship. Students fill about 500 roster spots and work with more than 80 coaches. Approximately 80% of Brentwood’s students will participate in at least one interscholastic sport. The school primarily employs its own teachers as coaches, and requires that students maintain a certain degree of academic standing in order to participate in sports. Brentwood School has a history of hosting the annual

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

Games put on in conjunction with the

Special Olympics Southern California Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

Westside Chapter. In 2003, Brentwood-area resident (and former

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

)

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

was the Guest of Honor and presided over the

Games' Opening Ceremony. Since 1992, the School has also provided a venue for the Peter Vidmar Men's Gymnastics Invitational, hosted by former U.S Gold-Medal winning Olympian and Brentwood School

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

Peter Vidmar Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

Relation to Olympics

Brentwood School

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and cross-country coaches

Joanna Hayes Joanna Dove Hayes (born December 23, 1976, Williamsport, Pennsylvania) is an American hurdler, who won the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She originally specialized in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the silv ...

and

Malachi Davis Malachi Davis (born September 13, 1977, in Sacramento, California) is a sprinter who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, representing Great Britain. Davis placed 5th in the finals for the relay team. He competed in two Olympic events i ...

participated in

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

was a Gold-Medalist in the Women's

100 metres hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten Hurdling, hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first h ...

competition for the

. Davis was a participant in the Men's 4x400 metres relay for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. Jason Rogers, a Brentwood School

as well as an Ohio State graduate, was a participant in the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, as a Sabre Fencer for the United States National team. He was part of the 2008 team in the Beijing Olympics and won a

Silver Medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the Team tournament for

Sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

, who led the United States to a Gold-medal in Men's

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, is also a Brentwood School alumnus, and was a member of the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

for several years. Casey Wasserman who attended Brentwood School led

' successful bid for the

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

and is serving as the head of the organizing committee for the event.

Relationship with the Veteran's Administration

Since 1972, Brentwood School has supported the

Veteran's Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

and veterans through school engagement that includes direct services and student engagement. In 2016, Brentwood School formalized its on-going relationship with a significant commitment to the VA valued at closed to $1.8 million annually in rent and in-kind services. This partnership specifically benefits veterans and their families, supports the VA in the achievement of its master plan goals, and enriches the lives of Brentwood students. On August 29, 2013, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero responding to a lawsuit by the ACLU, ruled that the West Los Angeles Veterans' Administration Enhanced Sharing Agreements that allowed VA land to be leased to Brentwood School, UCLA, and other businesses were not valid As of the start of the 2014-2015 school year, the ruling that the VA must terminate those leases was under appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 22-acre athletic complex, built by Brentwood School on VA land, is a shared space known as the VCRE (Veterans Center for Recreation and Education). In addition to being home to Brentwood School athletics, it offers extensive recreational, vocational, educational, and wellness opportunities to veterans and their families. Examples of ways in which the connection is deepened and strengthened each year include the following: *Meals for Veterans: 43,986 *Donated Items L: 4,696 *Student Service Hours: 2,000 *Bags of Food: 1,800 *VCRE Veteran Members: 998 *Veterans to Brentwood School: 500 *Summer at Brentwood Scholarships: 168 *Veterans Housed: 0

Notable alumni

Joseph Baena Joseph Baena is an American film actor, bodybuilder, fitness model and real estate agent. Despite being the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger, he chose not to use the same last name. Early life Joseph Baena is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mil ...

- Film actor, bodybuilder, fitness model and real estate agent *

Andrew Breitbart Andrew James Breitbart (; February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012) was an American conservative journalist, and political commentator who was the founder of ''Breitbart News'' and a co-founder of ''HuffPost''. After helping in the early stages of '' ...

- American journalist and media executive *

Don Diamont Don Bruce Diamont (born Donald Feinberg; December 31, 1962) is an American actor. His best known roles include Brad Carlton on ''The Young and the Restless'' and Bill Spencer Jr. on ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. In 1990, Diamont was chosen as ...

- Actor *

David Forst David Lee Forst (born May 18, 1976) is an American baseball executive with the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He is the general manager of the Athletics. Early and personal life Forst was born in Santa Monica, California, and rais ...

- baseball executive *

Emily Frances Emily Frances is a former news entertainment anchor for WPIX in New York City. Currently, she is hosting the show "TRENDING" on the International Israeli channel, i24 News. Early life Frances was born in Malibu, California. She lived in Ecuado ...

- Former news anchor *

Talita von Fürstenberg Princess Talita Natasha von Fürstenberg (born May 7, 1999), known professionally as Talita von Furstenberg, is an American socialite, fashion designer and model. She is the granddaughter of fashion designers Diane von Fürstenberg and Prince E ...

- fashion designer * Jennifer Grant - Actress *

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad (film), Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), ''21 Jump Street (film), 21 Jump Stre ...

- Actor, attended Brentwood School, but later transferred to Crossroads School. * Tra Holder - Basketball player *

Ryan Kavanaugh Ryan Kavanaugh (born 1974) is an American film financier. He co-founded and served as CEO of Relativity Media, where he brokered deals between Wall Street investors and major film studios. He credited his risk-assessment algorithm with Relat ...

- Businessman and film producer *

Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and '' Sherlock Holmes''. He ...

- Writer and producer *

Jennifer Landon Jennifer Rachel Landon is an American actress. She is known for her role as Teeter on the Paramount Network series, ''Yellowstone (American TV series), Yellowstone'' (2020–present). She is also known for her role as Gwen Norbeck Munson in the C ...

- Actress *

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...

- Producer of

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

and

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

l *

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

, members including Adam Levine,

Jesse Carmichael Jesse Royal Carmichael (born April 2, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for the pop rock band, Maroon 5. He also has a solo project called 1863 and a side project titled Circuit Jerks. Life and c ...

Mickey Madden Michael Allen Madden (born May 13, 1979) is an American musician and a former bassist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. Life and music career Madden was born in Austin, Texas. He began playing in junior high school at the Brentwood School in L ...

, and former member

Ryan Dusick Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Mort ...

- attended Brentwood School while forming the band

Kara's Flowers Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Mor ...

which would later evolve into Maroon 5. * Sidney Miller - Music producer *

Lorraine Nicholson Lorraine Broussard Nicholson (born April 16, 1990) is an American actress and director. She is known for playing Alana Blanchard in the biographical film ''Soul Surfer'' (2011). Early life Nicholson was born in Los Angeles to actors Jack Nichols ...

- Actress * Antoinette Nwandu - Award winning playwright * John O'Brien, a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player for

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

team

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

(formerly of Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

), and on the US national team, attended Brentwood for two years before leaving for Holland. * Jason Rogers -

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

ist *

Fred Savage Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series ''The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such as ...

- Actor and director *

Ben Savage Bennett Joseph Savage (born September 13, 1980) is an American actor. He played the lead role of Cory Matthews on the ABC sitcom ''Boy Meets World'' (1993–2000) and its Disney Channel sequel ''Girl Meets World'' (2014–2017). Early life Sava ...

- Actor *

Katherine Schwarzenegger Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt (born December 13, 1989) is an American author. She has written three self-help books, on subjects like self-image, forgiveness and finding direction after college; she has also written a children’s book about ado ...

- Author *

Patrick Schwarzenegger Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993) is an American model, actor, investor, and entrepreneur. He is the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. Early life and family Schwarzenegger was born at Providence St ...

- Model, actor * Azura Skye - Actress, attended Brentwood but later transferred *

Molly Stanton Molly Stanton (born March 13, 1980) is an American actress. Biography Stanton is best known for her role as Charity Standish on the soap opera ''Passions'' from the show's debut in 1999 until 2004. Stanton also played Charity's evil doppelgang ...

- Actress *

Katy Tur Katherine Bear Tur (born October 26, 1983) is an American author and broadcast journalist working as a correspondent for NBC News. Tur is an anchor for MSNBC Reports, where since 2021 she has hosted ''Katy Tur Reports'' on MSNBC. She has also re ...

- Broadcast journalist * Two Friends - DJ/producer duo made up of Eli Sones and Matt Halper *

ist * Casey Wasserman - Entertainment executive and President of the

Los Angeles 2028 The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

Olympic Organizing Committee

Accreditation

Brentwood School is accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...

and the California Association of Independent Schools, and is a member of the following organizations: *

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

* California Association of Independent Schools *

A Better Chance A Better Chance (ABC) is a non-profit organization with the goal of helping more talented young people of color to become well-educated by attending high-achieving boarding, day, and public schools in the United States. ABC was founded in ...

* Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs *

INDEX Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...

* Private School Village * Private School Axis *

Young Eisner Scholars Young Eisner Scholars (YES) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying underserved students and providing them with resources and support to facilitate their success in high school, college, and beyond. History Eric Eisner started iden ...

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 34.061157, -118.475597, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Educational institutions established in 1972 Defunct United States military academies High schools in Los Angeles Private K-12 schools in Los Angeles County, California Preparatory schools in California Brentwood, Los Angeles 1972 establishments in California