What is Palo Alto Prep?

Palo Alto Prep is a truly unique high school environment. We are a closely-knit community of individuals who respect and like each other. We build fun and variety into our learning experiences, and we strive to understand and appreciate our differences. No two people at Palo Alto Prep look or think exactly alike; our attitudes range from conservative to cutting edge, and our fashion sense includes both the funky and the refined. We successfully combine structure and flexibility while we maintain an unrelenting focus on academic success. Ninety-five percent of Palo Alto Prep graduates go directly to college.

Palo Alto Prep operates on two key assumptions about teenagers and school:

While many schools focus on the need to control teenagers and rely on a system of reward and punishment to do so, Palo Alto Prep encourages the individual potential and unique talents of each student. Because we have a small student body and a student/teacher ratio of eight to one, we are able to fully understand and support each student's particular needs, preferences and style. We also understand the specific issues or problems a student may be facing, and we work directly with the student and parent to break the cycle of discouragement or failure and reinforce success.

We build a strong sense of self esteem and personal responsibility through the support of our tightly knit community of students, faculty and parents.

One of our greatest strengths is our ability to help students see and experience the best in themselves. How do we accomplish this? We:

• Acknowledge and reinforce small wins, which serve to establish a track record of success and ultimately result in bigger wins. Whether these wins are personal, social or academic, they contribute to self esteem and confidence.
• Recognize individual learning style preferences and encourage the student to play on these strengths. Over time, weaker learning areas can be addressed and developed.
• Create non-traditional learning and development opportunities that enable students to push their limits and learn more about their character, their preferences, their talents and their strengths.
• Establish close connections between students, faculty and parents, who work together in a team relationship.
• Encourage teachers to act as role models and mentors, students to fully express themselves and to explore their talents. Our staff likes teenagers!

Palo Alto Prep also gives students the safe boundaries required for self management. Every situation is handled individually, and consequences, when required, are subject to the judgment of the staff. However, there are a few absolute requirements:

• Respect for self and others.
• Regular attendance.
• No drugs, alcohol or smoking.