L.A.’s elite elementary schools
Here’s a quick tour of the Los Angeles area’s most competitive kinder campuses. Junior can start practicing his firm handshake now.
-- Audrey Davidow
K-12th grade with three kindergarten classes, about 15 students each
Tuition: $22,500
Star pupils:
Class notes: Mediterranean architecture and a hillside location makes this 3.5-acre campus feel like a resort somewhere in the South of France. Except for the plaid uniforms.
Extra credit: Unless you royally mess up at the elementary school, you’re guaranteed a spot all the way through senior year.
Address: 12001 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 471-1041. www.bwscampus.com (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Center for Early Education
K-6 with two kindergarten classes of 30 students each, three teachers per class
Tuition: $19,560
Star pupils: Adam Levine of Maroon 5, before he matriculated; Jake Gyllenhaal
Class notes: The most coveted elementary school of the Hollywood power-parent set, the center maintains a strict veil of secrecy over its celebrity connections.
Extra credit: Like a swanky downtown hotel, the center, on the corner of
Address: 563 N. Alfred St.,
Crossroads School
K-12 with two kindergarten classes of 26 children, two teachers per class
Tuition: $22,030
Star pupils:
Class notes: Students address teachers by their first names. Rather than numbers, classrooms have names that include Einstein, Mead, Frost and Neruda.
Extra credit: The arts education center has a private screening room.
Address: 1714 21st St., Santa Monica. (310) 829-7391. www.xrds.org (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
John Thomas Dye School
K-6 with three kindergarten classes, 14 students each, two teachers per classroom
Tuition: $20,850
Star pupils: Monica S. Lewinsky,
Class notes: Traditional education the way our parents wanted it. Kids sit in rows, wear uniforms and call teachers by their last names.
Extra credit: Pint-size concertgoers have their own version of the Hollywood Bowl -- an outdoor amphitheater where music classes are held.
Address: 11414 Chalon Road, Bel-Air. (310) 476-2811. www.jtdschool.com (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
Oakwood School
K-12 with two kindergarten classes, about 20 kids per class, two teachers per class.
Tuition: $22,580
Star pupils:
Class notes: Summer camp meets “Romper Room” on this unpretentious campus next to the woodsy
Extra credit: Joining the green bandwagon, Oakwood School recently opened the Play Space, featuring carpets from recycled tires and tiles from reused glass.
Address: 11230 Moorpark St.,
