, motto_translation = Excellence is its own reward , established = 1978 , type = Independent,

Coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

al , head_name = Head of School , head = James P. Skrumbis , address = 11052 Independence Avenue (lower campus)
20801 Rinaldi Street (upper campus) , city = Chatsworth, Los Angeles , state = California , country = USA , campus =

Suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

, 37 acres , enrollment = 1,100 , faculty = 170 , class = 17 , ratio = 10:1 , colors = Navy and white , conference = CIF Southern Section
Gold Coast League , nickname = Trailblazers , newspaper = The Standard , homepage = Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, coeducational university-preparatory day school located in Los Angeles, California. Sierra Canyon enrolls students in preschool through grade 12. Sierra Canyon School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS). SCS is a member of National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

History

Sierra Canyon School began in 1972 as the Sierra Canyon Day Camp, started by founders Mick Horwitz and Howard Wang, a proprietary endeavor that became the impetus for starting the school. In 1978, the needs of the North San Fernando Valley spurred the evolution from a day camp into Sierra Canyon Elementary School. The elementary school began with 150 students, spanning Early Kindergarten through 6th grade. In 1990, Sierra Canyon was the only school in Los Angeles, and the only private school in California, to be honored as a Recognized School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. Founding directors Mick Horwitz and Howard Wang, and Principal Ann Gillinger received the Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence in Education from President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

at the White House. By 2001, the school had grown to nearly 700 students from early kindergarten through 8th grade. An independent, non-sectarian, co-educational high school had not been built in the San Fernando Valley since 1961, during which time the Valley's population had grown by 60 percent. The need for a high school prompted the founders to appoint James P. Skrumbis as head of school in 2004 in order to expand and open an Upper School. The new Upper School opened in 2006, serving 7th through 12th grades. The upper and lower schools merged and incorporated as a non-profit organization for early kindergarten through 12th grade and established itself as a college preparatory private school. Sierra Canyon graduated its first senior class in June 2009. Each summer, over 600 campers still come to Sierra Canyon for its Sierra Canyon Day Camp program.

Educational program

Sierra Canyon School offers all students a fully UC-approved, comprehensive, four-year curriculum that includes extensive honors and advanced-placement courses. At the beginning of the seventh grade year, each student is assigned an academic advisor. The SCS International Program welcomes nearly 70 foreign students from countries such as Brazil, China, Germany, India, Korea, Russia, and Singapore to its Upper Campus each year to study with fellow students in 9th through 12th grades.

Athletic program

Sierra Canyon School participates in a full range of interscholastic athletics as a member of the CIF Southern Section. Boys' teams include lacrosse,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, baseball, basketball,

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 ...

, tennis, wrestling, cross country,

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 ...

, golf, and swimming during the school year. Girls have the opportunity to compete in soccer, basketball, tennis, softball, beach volleyball, cross country, track, swimming, and volleyball. In 2009, the girls' basketball team became the first to win a California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section title in any sport for the school. In 2015, the boys' and girls' basketball teams won California Interscholastic Federation State championships. It was the first time in school history that both the boys' and girls' teams won a state basketball championship in the same year. The girls' basketball championship was their third consecutive state title. In 2015, the girls' soccer team won the California Interscholastic Federation Regional championships. The football team won the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championship, and the following year, 2016, the Trailblazers won the CIF-Southern Section Championship, won the CIF State Southern California regional and won the CIF State championship, finishing the season with a 16-0 record. In the 2016 fall season, the Trailblazers won the CIF-SS Division 4 Championship in Football and won its first ever CIF-SS Championship in girls' volleyball. During winter, the Trailblazers won their third ever CIF-SS soccer championship and second regional championship. The 2016-2017 school year was very successful, as the Trailblazers won a school record eight league titles (football, girls' volleyball, boys' basketball, girls' soccer, lacrosse, golf, and softball). In 2017, Sierra Canyon girls' volleyball team won the regional and state championships, the first state volleyball championship for the school. In 2019, the boys' high school basketball team added

Bronny James LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr. (born October 6, 2004) is an American basketball player. He was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in 2023. He is the eldest child of professional basketball player LeBron James. Early life Bronny Jam ...

, son of NBA player LeBron James, later joined by five-star basketball recruit

Ziaire Williams Ziaire Williams (born September 12, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal. Early life Williams was born ...

and Zaire Wade, son of NBA player

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

. The Sierra Canyon boys' basketball team held a media day on October 10, 2019 - one of few high school teams to do so. The media day attracted local and national news outlets.

Campus

The campus is park-like with more than 700 trees, groomed lawns, flowers, and a custom designed horse trail on the lower campus which continues into Brown's Canyon. The lower campus includes a computer lab, a music room, and library. The upper campus includes a technology center, a media center for digital filmmaking, the black-box theater, and the Upper School Library. In the Spring of 2010, the student-designed Community Garden was added at the top of the campus.

Notable alumni

* Marvin Bagley III, basketball player for the Detroit Pistons *

Amari Bailey Amari Bailey (born February 17, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Selected as a McDonald ...

, college basketball player for UCLA *

Ireland Baldwin Ireland Eliesse Baldwin (born October 23, 1995), also known as Ireland Basinger Baldwin, is an American fashion model. Baldwin started modeling and acting in 2013 and appeared in the film ''Grudge Match'' and in editorials for magazines such as ...

, model and daughter of actors

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

and Kim Basinger *

Brandon Boston Jr. Brandon Elliot "B. J." Boston Jr. (born November 28, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High scho ...

, pro basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers *

Cecilia Cassini Cecilia Cassini is an American fashion designer. She started her career at the of age 10 in 2009. Michelle de Castro Cassini is her mother. She is a Latina from Encino, California, and in 2010, lived in Los Angeles. She takes part in New York ...

, fashion designer * Jarron Collins, professional basketball player and coach * Jason Collins, professional basketball player, first male openly gay active athlete in the four major North American sports * Corinne Foxx, actress and daughter of Jamie Foxx *

G Hannelius Genevieve Knight Hannelius (born December 22, 1998) is an American actress, singer, and YouTube personality who made her acting debut starring as Courtney Patterson on the ABC series ''Surviving Suburbia'' (2009). She had recurring roles on the ...

, actress and singer *

Kendall Jenner Kendall Nicole Jenner (born November 3, 1995) is an American model, media personality, and socialite. She is a daughter of Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner, and rose to fame in the reality television show ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians.'' Je ...

, American socialite, reality television star, model *

Kylie Jenner Kylie Kristen Jenner (born August 10, 1997) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021 and is the founder and owner of ...

, American socialite, reality television star, founder and CEO of Kylie Cosmetics *

Michael Kuluva Michael David Kuluva (born May 6, 1983) is an American fashion designer and founder of the New York fashion week label Tumbler and Tipsy. He resides in Los Angeles, California. In 2012, Kuluva collaborated with a video game software company, U ...

, Professional Figure Skater & Fashion Designer of

Tumbler and Tipsy Tumbler and Tipsy is a brand of clothing and accessories founded by Michael Kuluva in 2009. Kuluva graduated from Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising with a degree in fashion design in 2012. Tumbler and Tipsy by Michael Kuluva became the f ...

Kenyon Martin Jr. Kenyon Lee "KJ" Martin Jr. (born January 6, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended IMG Academy for his postgraduate year in Bradenton, Florida. High s ...

, basketball player for the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, son of

Kenyon Martin Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. (born December 30, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los An ...

, basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies * Scotty Pippen Jr., basketball player for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, son of Scottie Pippen and Larsa Pippen * Willow Smith, singer, actress and daughter of actors Jada and Will Smith * Cassius Stanley, basketball player for the

Motor City Cruise The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play a ...

Notable students

, high school basketball player, son of LeBron James

References

External links

*
Sierra Canyon High School Foundation
- ProPublica {{authority control Private elementary schools in California Private middle schools in California Private high schools in California Preparatory schools in California 1972 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1972 Chatsworth, Los Angeles