Northwestern Preparatory School (NWPS) is a post-high school graduate preparatory school designed to prepare young men and women who aspire to attend

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 territori ...

military academies A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

. It focuses on improving students' standardized test taking skills through

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, mathematics,

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, and

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

study. Founded in 1915 in

Mound, Minnesota Mound is a city in western Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,052 at the 2010 census. Mound was the birthplace of the Tonka truck that is named after Lake Minnetonka, which the eastern part of town sits on. Mound i ...

.
James Hoiby
served as Headmaster for over two decades. In 1982, NWPS relocated to

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

. It remained there for the next few years until again relocating to the San Bernardino Mountains. From 1988–1989, NWPS was located at Camp Cisquito (near Green Valley) in the heart of the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mounta ...

. In 1990, NWPrep relocated to Malibu on the Pacific Coast Highway, leasing Camp Joan Mier from Ability First, formerly the Crippled Children Society . After the 1995 Malibu fire, NWPrep moved to another Ability First facility, Camp Paivika, in the San Bernardino Mountains, CA. Followin
James Hoiby's death
Mrs. Suzanne Durbeck was appointed Headmistress by members of the NWPS school board. The school is very effective at achieving its stated goal of assisting students in their quest for an appointment to a Service Academy with over 2,000 placements at the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Coast Guard Academy, the United States Military Academy, West Point, the United States Naval Academy, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point.

Life at NWPS

Students endure rigorous training daily, testing memorization skills and developing high endurance in athletic training. Each student is expected to remember 20 selected vocabulary words each day and test in the morning (Except Sundays) The students also run everyday, have 1 hour and 15 minutes of physical training every weekday. Students also take math, chemistry, physics and English.

Notable Alumnus

General David L. Goldfein -- Former United States Air Force Chief of Staff

References

External links

Northwestern Web Site

Northwestern Recruitment Web Site
Schools in San Bernardino County, California {{California-school-stub