Westerly School of Long Beach

In Long Beach, there are two types of students....those who went to Westerly and those who wished they did. My wife and I stumbled on to Westerly for our son who is in kindergarten after touring our home public school which is considered one of the best in LBUSD. But given the budget cuts, we looked and found Westerly. Its approach to teaching the entire student academically, culturally, musically, artistically, physically, and linguistically, i.e. Spanish for kinders, blew us away. (You have to take a tour to truly appreciate what Westerly has to offer.) The small student to teach ratio allows for individual attention and development. Moreover, the faculty is fantastic. They care and invest their energy and time to each student. There is an open door policy from the Head of the School down to the administration and teachers. There is clear communication with regards to what is being taught, how it is being taught, and what is going on campus. Further, the campus is clean, safe, and modern. Parents' involvement is high. Heck, even before school started, the parents got together for a summer bbq to meet and know each other and have continued to do so with holiday parties.
--Submitted by a parent

This is truly a great school. I have two children that attend the school. My children have different interests but Westerly allows both of my children to be successfull in their own way. I could not ask more from a school.
--Submitted by a parent

We couldn't ask for a better school for our daughter. She's in first grade and thriving. We love both the inschool and after school programs. She loves to go to school in the morning and always asks if she can stay a little longer when we pick her up. There was a comment saying the tuition was high. Though is was more than our daughters previous school, that closed due to lack of funds and enrolement, it is lower than some of the other options we looked into when her last school closed.
--Submitted by a parent

westerly is a great school that emphisises on the arts: music, art, and even insturments
--Submitted by a parent

Westerly's strengths are: high academic standards, great faculty that works as a team to give individual attention to students, differentiated instruction allows children to advance and be challenged at all levels. Spanish, Art, and music and PE are taught daily from K to 8 by specialists in each subject. The Middle School is incredible and offers advanced curriculum in a small nurturing environment. Both of my children love attending Westerly!
--Submitted by a parent

The Boy's Basketball program is an exceptional image of character building through sport.
--Submitted by a parent

I feel Westerly School's no. 1 quality is its dedication to each individual student. It's hard for a child to slip below the radar emotionally, socially and academically with two teachers leading a class. As a parent, I like knowing that my child's teacher knows her extremely well. Parent-teacher communication is key, and my daughter's teacher has made it very clear to me that I am welcome to call, email or stop by anytime. Complete and total open door two-way communication. While overall I'm exceedingly impressed with the sense of community at Westerly, the after school program and with attention to the individual student, I'm am equally unimpressed with how some teachers sometimes reward with food, and at times can be very, very strict in terms of discipline. Mixed bag.
--Submitted by misteranonymous anonymous, a parent

I've had three children at Westerly and I've been impressed with the teachers' ability to appreciate each child as an individual, to instill a sense of community spirit, and to nurture the children's emotional development. The teachers work with the parents to find each child's unique gifts and design a differentiated curriculum. The graduating 8th graders go on to be successful at the most rigorous high school programs, and then go to colleges like Harvard, Yale, U-Chicago, USC, U-Michigan. What differentiates Westerly from the gifted classes in the public schools, however, is its 'whole child' approach. Not just intellectual development, but emotional, moral, and physical development. The school is one of Long Beach's best kept secrets.
--Submitted by a parent

My son can't wait to get to school and doesn't want to leave. A far cry from his past two schools, where he would cry and not want to go. He learns at school, therefore, his homework is minimal. Testing is to see what they need to be taught, not to get state funding for excellence. They do not test daily, the kids don't look all stressed out. They play! It feels like your walking back in time, the way school use to be, fun. The curriculum is challenging, but the kids love to learn, so it works.
--Submitted by a parent

What every parent wants for their child. Values, respect and guidance.
--Submitted by a parent