Maybeck High School

I went to Maybeck back in the '90s. What a wonderful experience it was! The big difference here is that the teachers interact with the students as mentors and peers not as superiors. Maybeck opened up the world for me both physically, on trips, and intellectually where ever we were. The school ethos is very liberal, so if you are not comfortable with full on freedom of speech and lots of non-conformity then this awesome and empowering school isn't for you.

Energetic & creative in programming, respect toward students and faculty alike, collaborative, small enough to be flexible, encouraging creativity and individual responsibility for learning, not elitist...not MY school, just a school I admire...

The best high school in the bay area! Great teachers, amazing curriculum and a wonderful community of students, teachers, staff and parents.
—Submitted by a parent

Maybeck is an outstanding learning environment. The new head teacher (as of 2007) has brought considerable energy and excitement to the school. They have a fantastic group of teachers who joined over the last 8 years and are working alongside stellar veterans with 20-30 years at the school. The school is academically very challenging, but the support students receive from their teachers and peers is outstanding.

I have two sons that go to Maybeck High School in Berkeley, which is currently on Bancroft Ave across the street from the CAL campus. This summer Maybeck is moving to a new site on College Ave (St. John's Church). The school is one of the smallest high schools I know of (approx 100-110 students), which creates the environment of intimacy for both student relationships and student/teacher relationships. My sons have flourished there emotionally, socially and academically. There are many talented and interesting students. There are interesting opportunities to travel during a ''special programs'' session in the spring. Right now some of the students are bicycling in Japan; others are in the Copper Canyon, Mexico. Mine are in Hawaii hiking and surfing. There is an emphasis on academics, the environment and bicycling. There are no competitive sports teams, however, if that is an interest.
—Submitted by a parent

Maybeck is a great high school. It has one of the best english departments in the bay area, and I would recomend this school to anyone. Great location and great community!
—Submitted by a student

very good school. Great mix of acedemics and social/liberal life.
—Submitted by a former student

My family were all terribly disappointed by Maybeck and none of us would recommend it to anyone. My daughter, an artist with ADD (who later succeeded in getting into one of the best art colleges in the US and doing very well there), went to Maybeck between 1996 and '99. Despite the avowal of the principal and staff that the school was strong on arts and on individual attention, neither was the case. According to her, the Maybeck students vied with the young teachers in a kind of popularity contest, each one trying to be 'cooler' than the other. There was a great deal of immature behavior on the part of the teachers. The principal did not care to enforce any of the rules we were told the school proclaimed to be living by. Out of her 5 teachers, 2 were professionals. Many of the kids were doing drugs when off campus.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school not only for academics but for the social life of a teenager.
—Submitted by Elena Scott, a parent

Great academics, wonderful teachers, liberal yet srtict discipline. Many field trips and two school wide camping trips a year, plus one Intersession with student's choice of trip, this year one is scheduled to do a full tour of Spain. Extensive tours and classroom sit ins, highly recocmended.
—Submitted by FaY ScOtt, a student