The Grauer School to host Open House on November 4, 2017

The Grauer School welcomes the community to learn about renowned independent education at its Open House event on Saturday, November 4, 2017. The event will take place on the Grauer campus, located at 1500 South El Camino Real in Encinitas. Families are encouraged to drop in anytime between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Grauer student ambassadors will lead tours of the campus every 20 minutes. Prospective families will meet teachers, students, and current Grauer parents. Dr. Stuart Grauer, Founder and Head of School, will speak every half hour starting at 11:30a.m., engaging parents in a practical discussion about navigating today’s big issues in education. Visit www.grauerschool.com to RSVP for the Open House event and learn more about the school.

For more than a quarter century in Encinitas, The Grauer School has balanced humanitarian, relationship-based education with college preparatory rigor. The school is recognized as a global leader in the small schools movement. As a small school by design, with approximately 150 students in grades 7-12 and a 7:1 student to teacher ratio, The Grauer School emphasizes Socratic teaching, expeditionary learning, and meaningful mentoring relationships. The school promotes deep student engagement through small class sizes with greater writing and speaking opportunities, student reflection, and exciting educational philosophies. Dr. Grauer notes, “It’s all about access to leadership. Our clear goal is to provide a structure that promotes learning both inside and outside of the classroom, real respect in class and around campus, student voice, age mixing, self-reflection, and creativity among our students. These are what we refer to as our ‘non-negotiables’. Grauer’s teachers manifest these ideals daily, providing the inspiration for our students to create and grow, as well as a safe space for them to strive and share. Our students graduate with clear voices that they know will make a difference.”

The Grauer School’s Expeditionary Learning program offers life-changing experiences for students. Twice a year, Grauer students travel on week-long expeditions throughout the United States and abroad. Expeditions provide valuable opportunities for students to think on their feet, make lasting friendships, and offer humanitarian and ecological service, all over the world. Arts, culture, geography, physical and social challenges, community service, and student reflection are all integral components of these experiences. Dr. Grauer explains, “Grauer’s Expeditionary learning, or discovery-based learning programs, are emulated around the world, in accordance with our school’s motto, ‘Learn by Discovery’. Our expeditions are never just tours where students are led around and shown tourist sites. Grauer expeditions are full-engagement where we immerse into schools, clinics, tribes, performances, and service opportunities. We always find ways to serve.”

The Grauer School provides an inspiring range of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) options for students. Morgan Brown, STEM Center Coordinator and High School Robotics team coach, notes, “We maintain a very successful robotics program, led by our highly respected Shockwave Robotics team which has competed at the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) World Championships an impressive five times in the team’s 8-year history. Shockwave students also mentor our Middle School Robotics team for their FIRST Lego League (FLL) competitions. We also offer engineering design, computer science, and graphic design electives, along with an environmental science class supported by our Green Grauer initiative. Our STEM classes are geared towards project-based learning, with exciting hands-on opportunities that directly correlate to and expand upon what students have learned in the classroom.”

The Grauer School’s extensive extra-curricular programs include music and performing arts, visual arts and photography, film studies, leadership, and community service. Students also have a wide variety of no-cut sports to choose from, including archery, basketball, cross-country, flag football, golf, soccer, surfing, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Dana Abplanalp-Diggs, Grauer’s Principal, says “Our small size affords students greater opportunities for leadership and inclusion in a variety of activities they might not have access to at a larger, more impersonal school. Grauer also provides customized scheduling to support students with outside pursuits.”

Shelley Boniwell, Associate Director of Counseling, remarks, “We believe that our emphasis on relationship-driven education is the reason for the school’s superior college acceptance rates. Last year, 96% of our graduates were accepted to one of their two top choice schools.” This year, 100% of Grauer students surveyed school-wide indicated that they feel like the faculty really care about them. “The connection with mentors is vital to the development of self-advocacy and makes our students highly attractive to colleges and universities,” Boniwell notes.

Admissions applications for the 2018-19 academic year are available now on the school’s website. The Grauer School accepts applications throughout the year, but applications received by February 2, 2018 will be given priority. Financial aid is available. “We work hard to make the school affordable to a broad range of families,” notes Dr. Grauer. To learn more about the admissions process and RSVP for the Open House event, visit www.grauerschool.com or call 760/274-2116.

About The Grauer School

The Grauer School, founded in 1991, is a grades 7-12 independent, college preparatory school located in Encinitas, California. The school is a member of NAIS, accredited by WASC and serves as a successful educational model for hundreds of private schools around the world through the Small Schools Coalition (SSC), established by Dr. Stuart Grauer in 2011. To learn more about The Grauer School, visit www.grauerschool.com or call 760/944-6777.