Berkeley Hall School (BHS) is a coed independent school for Nursery through eighth grades located on 66 acres off

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

near the

405 Freeway Interstate 405 (I-405) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. The entire route is known as the northern segment of the San Diego Freeway. I-405 is a bypass auxiliary route of I-5, running along the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, US. The school is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC).

History and background

Berkeley Hall was founded in 1911 by educators Leila and Mabel Cooper. Leila Cooper was a popular teacher at the

Westlake School for Girls Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades seven through twelve. Its two predec ...

before leaving to open her own school at the urging of Westlake parents. Both Leila and Mabel Cooper were

Christian Scientists Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

. According to its website, it is currently nonsectarian and does not teach religion, and says it is committed to its "founding values" in its approach to education. In earlier years, students and their families were expected to practice the religion of Christian Science. Today, they are a diverse community in which all religious backgrounds are welcome. Berkeley Hall School was the first

coed 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 ...

independent elementary school in

. The other existing private schools – Harvard School (boys), Westlake School (girls) and Marlborough School (girls) – were single-sex. Berkeley Hall was named after Berkeley Square, the first gated community on the West Coast. It was across the street from the school's first campus which was located in what is now the historic West Adams district. The area was marked by tree-lined, upper-class neighborhoods, linked to downtown by electric streetcars. In 1913, the school moved to a larger facility on 4th Avenue in the same district. Ten years later, a committee of parents and friends began searching for a new location to accommodate an expanding enrollment. The committee secured money from 20 families to purchase a 70-acre farm known as the Rodeo Land and Water Co. in the village of Beverly Hills. 77 acres were purchased, including lots on Wilshire Blvd north of Burton Way and from Doheny to Clark Drive. Parents began subdividing & selling the lots and saved 10 acres for the school. In 1925, Berkeley Hall School moved to its Swall Drive campus in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

where it remained for 51 years. In 1976, the school purchased its current 66-acre campus on Mulholland Drive. In the fall of 1980, Berkeley Hall School opened its doors to serve the Westside of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Current tuition is about $39,480/year.

Administration

The Head of School since 2021 is Dr. Nikki Gamrath.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 34.128230, -118.483430, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Schools in Los Angeles County, California 1911 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1911