Sierra Canyon School

Sierra Canyon School
Address
Map
11052 Independence Avenue (lower campus)
20801 Rinaldi Street (upper campus)

Chatsworth, Los Angeles
,
California

United States
Information
TypePrivate, day, college preparatory
MottoLatin: Excellentia propter se
(Excellence is its own reward)
Religious affiliation(s)Nonsectarian
Established1978
FounderMick Horwitz & Howard Wang
Head of SchoolJames P. Skrumbis
Faculty170
GradesPK-12
Genderco-educational
Enrollment1,100
Average class size17
Student to teacher ratio10:1
CampusSuburban, 37 acres
Color(s)Navy, Gray & White
     
Athletics76 Athletic teams
Athletics conferenceCIF Southern Section
Mission League
NicknameTrailblazers
AccreditationCalifornia Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Independent Schools
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
NewspaperThe Standard
Tuition$25,000–$44,100[1]
Websitesierracanyonschool.org

Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a private, 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.[citation needed]

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 at the White House.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Each summer, over 600 campers still come to Sierra Canyon for its Sierra Canyon Day Camp program.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

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, baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, wrestling, cross country, track, 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, son of NBA player LeBron James, later joined by five-star basketball recruit Ziaire Williams and Zaire Wade, son of NBA player Dwyane Wade.[2][3][4]

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.[5] Since 2021 the basketball program has been the subject of the docuseries Uninterrupted's Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers, of which the first season on Amazon Freevee was nominated for Best Sports Show at the 4th Critics' Choice Real TV Awards.[6][7][8]

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.[citation needed]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "Affording Sierra Canyon". sierracanyonschool.org. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union went berserk courtside after big plays from son Zaire Wade and Bronny James in their first high-school game". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  3. ^ "Report: LeBron James', Dwyane Wade's Sons Enrolling at Sierra Canyon High School". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "Sierra Canyon, Bronny James' stacked high school basketball team, explained". SB Nation. November 23, 2019. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Sierra Canyon High holds a media day for its big-name basketball roster". Los Angeles Times. October 10, 2019. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  6. ^ "Top Class: Sierra Canyon Trailblazers". Amazon Studios. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  7. ^ "Amazon Freevee Orders 'Bosch: Legacy' Season 2, Inks Disney Movie Licensing Deal". finance.yahoo.com. May 2, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  8. ^ Holroyd, Caitlyn (January 16, 2021). "LeBron-produced docuseries on Sierra Canyon to premiere in February". theScore.com. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  9. ^ "Upper School Welcomes Alumna Corinne Foxx '12 | News | Sierra Canyon School". www.sierracanyonschool.org.
  10. ^ a b Orenstein, Hannah (October 7, 2015). "Kylie Jenner Writes Touching Blog Post About Why Caitlyn Jenner Wasn't at Her Graduation Party". Seventeen. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2019. Kendall Jenner and Ireland Baldwin also went to Sierra Canyon, and Willow Smith is still a student there.
  11. ^ "Parker Jackson-Cartwright College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  12. ^ "our-story". drink818. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  13. ^ "Kennedy Burke Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and More | WNBA". www.wnba.com.
  14. ^ "Inside Sierra Canyon – or what Kanye West calls 'a fake school for celebs'". South China Morning Post. March 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Derryck Thornton - Men's Basketball". USC Athletics.
  16. ^ "Pistons flip Bagley to Wiz for Gallinari, Muscala". ESPN.com. January 14, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  17. ^ "The Prudential Spirit Of Community Awards". spirit.prudential.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Raga, Pippa (February 22, 2021). "We Finally Figured Out Where the Kardashians Send Their Kids to School". Distractify. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021. But the Jenner girls aren't Sierra Canyon School's only notable celebrity alums. ... Fashion designers Michael Kuluva and Cecilia Cassini also graduated from this Chatsworth, CA day school
  19. ^ "Congrats Class of 2017: G. Hannelius Graduates High School". Archived from the original on May 28, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  20. ^ Genevieve Hannelius [@ghannelius] (May 20, 2017). "Graduation with my girls 💘". Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2022 – via Instagram.
  21. ^ "Remy Martin College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  22. ^ "Cody Riley College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  23. ^ "Duane Washington, Jr. – Sierra Canyon Athletics".
  24. ^ https://www.sierracanyonschool.org/athletics/sc-pro-athletes
  25. ^ Kasabian, Paul. "Scotty Pippen Jr. Agrees to 2-Way Grizzlies Contract After Lakers Stint". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  26. ^ "מנהלת ליגת העל בכדורסל | קסיוס סטנלי משלים את הסגל של עפולה". basket.co.il. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  27. ^ Wilson, Steven (April 5, 2019). "Marcus Bagley » SportStars '18-'19 Boys Basketball Player Of The Year". SportStars Magazine.
  28. ^ "LA Clippers Acquire Draft Rights To Brandon Boston Jr". NBA.com. August 7, 2021. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Vanessa de Jesus - 2024-25 - Women's Basketball". Duke University.
  30. ^ "Sources: Clippers land Harden in deal with 76ers". ESPN.com. October 31, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  31. ^ "Son Of Miami Heat Legend To Enter G League Draft". Inside The Heat. October 17, 2024.
  32. ^ "Ziaire Williams - Memphis Grizzlies Forward". ESPN. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  33. ^ "UCLA Guard Amari Bailey Goes to Charlotte Hornets in NBA Draft". June 23, 2023.
  34. ^ Warren, Peter (December 14, 2021). "Local 4-star safety Kamari Ramsey commits to UCLA". On3.com. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  35. ^ "Trentyn Flowers | Forward | LA Clippers | NBA.com". www.nba.com.
  36. ^ Evans, Lucas (March 28, 2023). "Overhyped and underrated? An Inside look at Bronny James' senior season". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  37. ^ "JuJu Watkins - Women's Basketball". USC Athletics. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  38. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (November 22, 2023). "Bryce James leaves Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, returns to Sierra Canyon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 6, 2024.

34°16′13″N 118°35′10″W / 34.2703°N 118.5861°W / 34.2703; -118.5861