Athenian School

Private secondary school in Danville, California

This article is about the U.S. preparatory school. For other uses, see Athenian school (disambiguation).

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Athenian School" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article about school may require cleanup. Please review editing advice and help improve this article. (October 2021)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Athenian School

Location

2100 Mount Diablo Scenic Blvd.

Danville

California

United States

Information
Type| Private, college-preparatory, independent, day, and boarding
Established| 1965
Head of school| Eric Niles
Grades| 6-12
Enrollment| 528
Nickname| Owls
Website| www.athenian.org

The Athenian School is a co-educational, college preparatory boarding and day school located in Danville, California. Students in grades 6-12 attend classes on a 75 acre campus in Contra Costa County. The school was founded by Dyke Brown in 1965.

As of 2025, the school has an enrollment of 528 students in the middle and high school.[1] Approximately 60 students and 18 teachers live on campus full-time. The student to teacher ratio is 8:1[2] and the average class size is 15.[1] According to Niche, Athenian is ranked 147th on the 2020 list of Best Private High Schools in America and the number one school in Contra Costa County.[3] Athenian is also ranked as the 40th best boarding school in the United States.[4]

Athenian holds an average SAT score of 1385 (out of 1600)[5] and an average ACT score of 32.[6] According to Boarding School Review, this gives Athenian the 8th highest SAT score of any boarding school in the United States.[7]

In 2024, 137 students took AP Exams, 70% students scoring 4 or 5, 94% students scoring 3 and above. Top 20 universities Athenian graduates most often attended include:[8] Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, UPenn, USC, U.Chicago, NYU, Dartmouth and Stanford. Many students also attended liberal arts colleges including: Barnard, Bowdoin, Amherst and the Claremont colleges.

## History

[edit]

Dyke Brown conceived of the idea of a mission-driven boarding school during his tenure as Vice President of the Ford Foundation, influenced by his foundation work in youth development and the prevention of juvenile delinquency, and by his own children's educational experiences.[9]

Athenian is a founding member of Round Square, an international organization of schools whose philosophy is influenced[10] by the German educator Kurt Hahn.[11] As of 2021, there are approximately 200 Round Square member schools worldwide.

In 1962, Brown left the Ford Foundation to begin to raise money for the school he had in mind. Inspired by the Oxford system of individual colleges sharing common resources, his original plan was a series of four campuses sharing a library, science classrooms, athletic facilities, a performing-arts complex, and other facilities. He found 80+ acres of land in what was then rural Contra Costa county, a portion of what was then the Blackhawk Ranch, bordering on Mount Diablo State Park.

Construction began in 1963, and the founding head, W. Robert Usellis, began recruiting the pioneer classes in the fall of 1964. Brown's vision was startling at the time: he planned for both integration and coeducation. In the early 1960s, very few private schools were recruiting students of color. The value of integration for private schools was seen by a very few visionaries, including the founders of A Better Chance.[12] The norm for boarding schools at the time was single-sex; a coeducational boarding program was unusual. In September 1965, the school opened with approximately sixty students, in ninth and tenth grades. In 1968, the founding class graduated, with a full enrollment of about 120 students, of whom only about six were day students.[citation needed]

In the 1970s, Athenian weathered local, national, and international changes. The surrounding area was transformed from cattle ranches to upscale developments. Athenian's neighbor, Blackhawk Ranch, was sold to land developer Ken Behring, and by 1979 2,500 upscale homes were built. The population boom in the area meant that there was an increased demand for day student places at the school.

Nationally, at least two forces were at work. First, the stagflation of the 1970s meant that parents had less discretionary income, thus weakening the pool of prospective boarding students. Other demographic changes, such as the increase in divorce, affected the pool of prospective boarding students.

In 1979, there was sufficient interest in the surrounding community for Athenian to open a day-school-only middle school, serving students in grades 6–8. Most of them continued on to finish high school at Athenian.

## Athletics

[edit]

Athenian is one of ten schools in the Bay Counties League - East. The school colors are terra cotta and earth; the sports teams wear orange and black. The full list of sports offered includes wrestling, soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, tennis, dance, golf, swimming, track & field, cross country, club sailing, basketball, baseball, badminton, women's lacrosse and a variety of other non-team athletics, including hiking, fencing, yoga, outdoor adventure, and weight training.[13] In 2024, Athenian boys basketball team won its first CIF State championship.[14]

## Athenian Wilderness Experience (AWE)

[edit]

Athenian students in their junior year spend twenty six days backpacking in either the Sierra Nevada during the summer, or Death Valley during the spring semester. The course is designed to promote personal growth, develop a sense of community, and foster environmental stewardship amongst Athenian students.

On the homecoming day, AWE participants take part in a tradition known as "Run In", during which students run from a location that is 8 miles away from the school back to the campus.[15]

## March Term

[edit]

March Term courses[16] are two-week mini-classes where students will dive deeply into a variety of immersive experiences. These courses may include international and local travel, hands-on student-driven projects, service work, and independent inquiry. The Term culminates with a fair where students come together and share learnings and reflections. Sample list of domestic and international trips (2024):

* Greece: Democracy & Migration, France: Language and Cultural Immersion
* Roatan: Coral Reef Conservation and Scuba Diving,
* South Korea: Itadakimasu on the Road,
* New Orleans: Rhythm & Resistance: Teachings on Social Justice,
* Santa Fe and the American Story: A View from the West,
* The Great American Pastime: MLB Stats, History, and Preseason.

## Robotics & Carter Innovation Studio

[edit]

The 5,200 square foot Carter Innovation Studio is an open shop area that houses metal and woodworking tools, an industrial arts area and a computer/CADD/3-D printer space.

The Athenian School's Acropolis Robotics competes regularly in the FIRST Robotics Competition as team 852. In 2019, Athenian hosted their first FIRST LEGO League (FLL) tournament with the help of the Acropolis Robotics high school students. The Athenian Middle School had three FLL teams of their own in 2019, all three of which competed in the FLL tournament.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Athenian School - California Association of Independent Schools". www.caisca.org. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
2. ^ "The Athenian School in California". www.usnews.com.
3. ^ "2019 The Athenian School Rankings". Niche.
4. ^ "2019 The Athenian School Rankings". Niche.
5. ^ "At A Glance - The Athenian School". www.athenian.org.
6. ^ "The Athenian School Test Scores and Academics". Niche.
7. ^ "Boarding Schools with the Highest Average SAT Scores (2018-19)". www.boardingschoolreview.com.
8. ^ "Athenian College Counseling". www.athenian.org.
9. ^ The history section is adapted from Athenian: An Oral History.
10. ^ "Beginnings". Archived from the original on January 2, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2018. The beginnings of the Round Square Conference
11. ^ "The Athenian School - San Francisco Bay Area Private School - The Athenian School". www.athenian.org.
12. ^ "A Better Chance: Mission and History". Archived from the original on August 21, 2004. Retrieved July 25, 2018. Mission and History of A Better Chance
13. ^ "Athenian (Danville, CA) High School Sports - Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, and more | MaxPreps". www.maxpreps.com. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
14. ^ "Athenian boys basketball tops Verdugo Hills for first CIF State crown". highschcool.si.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
15. ^ "Twenty-six Day Wilderness Experience Challenges Athenian Students to the Max". Danville, CA Patch. March 27, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
16. ^ "March Term". www.athenian.org. March 6, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Athenian Community Service Blog
* Athenian International Exchange Blog

* Schools portal

* v
* t
* e

Bay Area Conference

Bay Counties League|

* Contra Costa Christian
* Crosspoint
* CSD-Fremont
* Fremont Christian
* Holy Names High
* Livermore Prep
* Making Waves
* Oakland Military

Bay Counties League East|

* Athenian
* College Prep
* Head-Royce
* Redwood Christian
* Valley Christian

Bay Counties League Central|

* Drew School
* Gateway High
* Pescadero High
* Jewish Community High School
* San Francisco Waldorf
* The Bay School

Bay Counties League West|

* Convent of the Sacred Heart
* Lick-Wilmerding High
* Marin Academy
* Stuart Hall High
* International High
* San Francisco University High
* Urban School

* v
* t
* e

Round Square Member Schools

Africa|

| Kenya|

* Starehe Boys Centre and School
* Brookhouse International School

|

South Africa|

* Bridge House School
* Penryn College
* St Cyprian's School
* St. George's Grammar School
* St Stithians College
* Stanford Lake College
* Tiger Kloof Educational Institute

Asia|

| Bangladesh|

* Chittagong Grammar School

|

Mainland China & Hong Kong|

* Keystone Academy
* High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China
* Affiliated High School of Peking University
* St. Paul's Co-educational College

India|

* Miles Bronson Residential School
* The Assam Valley School
* Bangalore International School
* Birla Balika Vidyapeeth
* The British School, New Delhi
* Dhirubhai Ambani International School
* The Doon School
* The Daly College
* Him Academy Public School
* Lawrence School, Lovedale
* The Lawrence School, Sanawar
* Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls' Public School
* Mayo College
* The Punjab Public School, Nabha
* Rajkumar College, Rajkot
* The Sanskaar Valley School
* Scindia School
* Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya
* Vidya Devi Jindal School
* Vivek High School
* Welham Boys' School

Indonesia|

* The Green School (Bali)
* British School Jakarta

Japan|

* Tamagawa Gakuen

Jordan|

* King's Academy

Korea|

* Chadwick International
* Cheongshim International Academy

Malaysia|

* Epsom College in Malaysia

Oman|

* Indian School (Al-Ghubra)

Singapore|

* United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA)

Thailand|

* The Regent's International School Bangkok

United Arab Emirates|

* The Millennium School, Dubai

Americas|

| Bermuda|

* Bermuda High School

|

Canada|

* Appleby College
* Ashbury College
* Bayview Glen School
* Bishop's College School
* Collingwood School
* Glenlyon Norfolk School
* Lakefield College School
* Lower Canada College
* Rothesay Netherwood School
* St. Clement's School
* Stanstead College
* Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School

Colombia|

Anglo Colombian School

Peru|

* Markham College

USA|

* Alto International School
* The Athenian School
* Deerfield Academy
* The Hotchkiss School
* Chadwick School
* Cate School
* Fountain Valley School of Colorado
* Holy Innocents' Episcopal School
* Westtown School
* Saint Andrew's School
* The Marvelwood School
* Wyoming Seminary

Australasia|

| Australia|

* The Armidale School
* Ballarat Grammar School
* Billanook College
* Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School
* Ivanhoe Grammar School
* MLC School
* Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney
* Radford College
* Scotch College, Perth
* Scotch Oakburn College
* The Southport School
* St Philip's College
* Trinity Anglican School
* Westminster School
* New England Girls School, Armidale

|

Europe|

| Denmark|

* Herlufsholm School

|

England|

* Abbotsholme School
* Box Hill School
* Cobham Hall School
* Felsted School
* Wellington College
* Westfield School, Newcastle upon Tyne
* Windermere School

France|

* International School of France

Germany|

* Landheim Schondorf
* Schule Birklehof
* Schule Schloss Salem
* Stiftung Louisenlund

Northern Ireland|

Rockport School

Scotland|

* Gordonstoun

Switzerland|

* Aiglon College
* Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil

* v
* t
* e

Contra Costa County, California schools

Public high schools

Acalanes UHSD|

* Acalanes
* Campolindo
* Las Lomas
* Miramonte

Antioch USD|

* Antioch
* Deer Valley
* Dozier-Libbey Medical

Liberty UHSD|

* Freedom
* Heritage
* Independence
* La Paloma
* Liberty

Martinez USD|

* Alhambra

Mt. Diablo USD|

* College Park
* Concord
* Mt. Diablo
* Northgate
* Ygnacio Valley

Pittsburg USD|

* Black Diamond
* Pittsburg

San Ramon Valley USD|

* California
* Dougherty Valley
* Monte Vista
* San Ramon Valley

John Swett USD|

* John Swett

West Contra Costa USD|

* De Anza
* El Cerrito
* Hercules Middle/High
* John F. Kennedy
* Middle College
* Pinole Valley
* Richmond

Charter schools|

* Clayton Valley Charter
* ClaytonArts Academy
* Contra Costa School of Performing Arts

K-8 school districts

* Brentwood
* Byron
* Canyon
* Knightsen
* Lafayette
* Moraga
* Oakley
* Orinda
* Walnut Creek

Private schools

Secular high schools|

* The Athenian School
* Holden
* Orinda Academy
* Orion Academy

Religious high schools|

* Berean Christian
* Carondelet
* Contra Costa Christian
* De La Salle
* El Sobrante Christian
* Salesian

37°50′07″N 121°56′59″W﻿ / ﻿37.8354°N 121.9498°W﻿ / 37.8354; -121.9498

Authority control databases |

* ISNI

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template