History

In March of 1994, a small, determined group of parents and educators set out to create a new kind of school. These founding families believed in Lisa Rosenstein as an educator–in her vision, in her work ethic, and in her upbeat approach to life. Their shared vision imagined a progressive, innovative educational approach with strong academic roots that instilled character and compassion, inspired intellectual fearlessness and flexibility, and appealed to a broad demographic throughout Los Angeles. Together they drafted The Willows’ founding principles and embarked upon a seemingly impossible mission: to open the doors of this school within a record amount of time. The founding families formed a temporary board of trustees and sought advice from a broad spectrum of experts. They agreed upon the name The Willows Community School, honoring a tree that grows quickly, whose branches bend but do not break. They incorporated their fledgling school as a not-for-profit organization, named Lisa Rosenstein as Head of School, and began applying for grants. 

Their vision began to materialize when the school leased an old warehouse located on a large lot in Culver City. Even before the lease was signed, Ms. Rosenstein, the teachers and founding parents galvanized support for the new school throughout the educational community. Working from a hotel room in the Westwood Marquis, their enthusiasm enticed 106 children and their families to enroll at the still-to-be-built Willows Community School, while construction teams raced to transform the empty warehouse into an air-conditioned, cheerful and welcoming schoolhouse. A mere seven months after the parents first met, The Willows Community School opened its doors to 90 students in grades Developmental Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. The school consisted of a single building in the Hayden Tract of Culver City.

The Willows has repeated this extraordinary feat four times since then, converting adjacent buildings to provide new classrooms, meeting rooms, a library, a rooftop athletic court, a gymnasium and much more.

In 1998, through the school’s first capital campaign, The Willows added a second kindergarten and opened its Middle School, by leasing Willows 2, a second building on campus that includes a bright, spacious art room, a comprehensive science lab, and a learning resource center containing more than 25 multi-media stations, as well as middle school classrooms. Willows 2 was purchased in 2009.

In 2000, the campus grew again with the expansion of the playground and the introduction of Willows 3, a long-term leased building containing a library and a state-of-the-art technology center.

In the fall of 2003, The Willows launched its second capital campaign and opened Willows 4, which dramatically enhanced the campus with the addition of a world-class gymnasium that accommodates the P.E. program, sports teams, and large all-school events; an intimate black-box theatre, choral and electronic music studios, and rehearsal space.

In 2006, The Willows became the first school citywide to institute a cutting-edge literacy program. The innovation continues as the school enters its ninth year of looping (keeping students and teachers together for two consecutive years), proving the many successes derived from this practice. The Willows is also one of the only local, independent, co-ed schools that separates students by gender for math, best meeting the needs of both boys and girls and allowing them to reach their optimum potential. Our challenging academic program is complemented by an exemplary performing and fine arts curriculum, a full range of athletic teams, a rich and thoughtful life skills and service learning curriculum, and extra-curricular activities–all taught by dedicated faculty who are professionals in their fields. Creativity and technology are integral parts of our curriculum, designed to develop out-of-the-box thinkers. Creativity is not restricted to the arts, but fostered in every discipline. Technology, including a 1:1 laptop program in grades two through eight, is integrated seamlessly in our curriculum as an essential tool for learning. Our S.T.E.A.M. Lab, makerLabs, designLab integrate the latest educational strategies for exploration, skill development, problem solving, and design thinking directly into our curriculum through one-on-one and small group teaching experiences.

In 2009, Willows 1 and Willows 5 were purchased, and the development and implementation of a Master Plan and the quiet phase of a Capital Campaign were launched. In 2012 and 2013, the first phases of The Willows Master Plan began. The building on Willows 5 was demolished in the fall of 2012, and construction ensued through summer 2013 to complete The Willows 5 Warner Drive entrance, three dedicated sports courts, and a flexible outdoor space.

In December 2012, Willows 6, the building at 8510 Warner Drive, was purchased creating one secure, contiguous campus of 2.86 acres and building square footage of 72,973.

Major construction of the first phase of The Willows Master Plan began during the summer of 2013 and continued through January 2014, with the Dedication of the New Campus held on January 26, 2014. The Willows campus now has new, flexible learning spaces, a warm and welcoming entrance, dedicated outdoor athletic courts, enhanced security, a S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, art and math) educational lab, and a total updating of The Lower Elementary Building. The Library/Media Center, which has been moved to the heart of our campus, has been redesigned as a fluid, dynamic space conducive to interdisciplinary learning, the sharing of knowledge, intellectual discourse, and individual growth. The transformation of our campus exterior areas continued in 2014 resulting in beautiful landscaped areas with the addition of shade trees, an expanded organic garden, a new, interactive playground with a slate wall and sand and water play areas, a Kindergarten Yard, play areas devoted to both active and imaginative, quiet play, and community gathering spaces, and a Middle School Alley. Completion of this phase of our Master Plan is a true reflection of The Willows’ spirit and culture.

In 2014, twenty years after the school first opened its doors, The Willows held a spectacular yearlong 20^th anniversary celebration with record-breaking attendance at a 20^th Anniversary Birthday Party, Dinners, and Gala. Giving exceeded all goals. Our speaker events, workshops, and panels set new records for attendance for our constituents and from peer schools and Los Angeles organizations. We enhanced our Maker program across curriculum and into classrooms and dedicated maker spaces. Our first Alumni Art Show, Alumni 20-Year Luncheon, and Alumni Mixer were resounding successes.

During the summer of 2015, an additional construction project was undertaken: the transformation of the loading dock area between Willows 4 (the gym building) and Willows 6 into a 3,500 square foot “green” (organic, artificial turf) space for outdoor educational programming, dining, and community gathering.

In 2015, The Willows implemented the RULER emotional intelligence curriculum, a nationally recognized program developed over a 20-year period by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER is an evidence-based approach to social emotional learning that helps schools to integrate emotional intelligence into their everyday practice by enabling each child to communicate and engage with others with empathy and respect.

The Willows introduced an innovative restructuring of the school’s administration designed to better serve our children and enhance our Developmental Kindergarten through 8^th Grade model. This structure with a Director of Teaching and Learning, Director of Student Life, and Dean of the Middle School, will build on both the long-term relationships developed between administrators, parents, and students and the continuity of our academic program. This fluid structure will allow an administrator to follow a child from DK through 8^th grade, knowing the whole child. 

The phenomenal growth of the school’s facilities and programming reflects the commitment of the parent body to the school’s goals and vision. Nowhere is this commitment more apparent than in The Willows fundraising efforts. The school’s Annual Giving Campaign revenues have more than doubled since 2010, and the school consistently receives 99-100% participation in its annual fundraising efforts from parents, trustees, faculty, and staff. The 2014-2015 20^th Anniversary Greening & Growing Campaign raised over $200,000 in increased gifts to Annual Giving to make the enhancement of the outdoor green space possible.

In an amazing 21 years, the school’s student body increased from 106 to 445 students, grades Developmental Kindergarten through Eighth. During this time The Willows achieved a reputation as one of the pre-eminent independent schools in Los Angeles, known for its highly regarded technology program and educational innovations. Several leading national educators, who have spent time at The Willows, are unanimous in their praise of the school’s creative and stimulating learning environment and its engaged, involved students. The Willows received the 2014 and 2015 Culver City Private School Award for Excellence.

A long-term vision of our school has always been to own our own properties and create one unified campus that secures the future of our school. To this end, in 2017, our Board voted to secure our footprint and buy the last remaining properties in our CUP. We purchased Willows 4, which houses our gym and theater, and Willows 7, the property adjacent to Willows 1 on the west side. We have embarked on a Capital Campaign, Big Ideas Build Dreams, with the plan of making Willows 7 a multi-purpose field and flexible, outdoor space for group activities and outdoor learning.  The next phase of our Master Plan will be the renovation of Willows 6 to create a cutting-edge innovation space and cross-disciplinary learning environment.

In 2017, the first Willows Middle School Service Community Learning Trip was held in Arizona to explore Sustainability in the Community during Spring Break. 

The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence in collaboration with The Willows launched the first West Coast RULER training (Anchors of Emotional Intelligence Institute) in May 2018 at The Willows with 100 teachers and administrators from 22 independent, public, charter, and public schools in Los Angeles, Southern and Northern California, Oregon and Washington State. The Willows RULER team of faculty and administration co-facilitated the training alongside Yale RULER trainers and leadership.

In 2018, the inaugural international Community Service Learning Trip ventured to Nicaragua.

The 2019-2020 school year marked the 25^th Anniversary of The Willows! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic during this landmark year we were unable to celebrate with the planned yearlong festivities due to COVID involving school closings, new COVID testing, vaccination, and school policies. We immediately responded with distance learning and sent laptops and devices home with students. From 2020 through 2022, The Willows persevered through the pandemic with resilience adapting the directives of the CDC, the Los Angeles Public Health Department, the California Public Health Department, and our advisory team of medical professionals. Our COVID response was outstanding and dedicated to keeping our community safe and well and keeping our school doors open. We completed the construction of our Field and brought 2 modular classrooms on campus which enabled the school to divide students into small cohorts to prevent the spread of COVID.

The 2020-2021 school year was an unprecedented and challenging time as we continued as a nation and world to fight the pandemic. As a community we approached each day and each new directive with the grit to keep going and with gratitude for our collaborative community. This year also brought a heated national election and a tumultuous aftermath as well as a laser-focus on demonstrations, violence, racism, brutality and injustices. We strategically are approaching these issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our community reviewing curriculum, conducting an organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion assessment and taking steps to engage our community in conversation and action to further establish a culture of equity and social justice across our campus. 

Our solid COVID-19 Response Plan and nimble transition to hybrid learning allowed our students to continue to grow as we facilitated a safe re-entry to on-campus learning. During this past year, we proved that all is possible with flexibility and resilience and that when we joined together to face each new challenge to our educational system, families, and community, we persevered and lived up to our core values and mission.

In 2021-2022, we continued to facilitate a safe environment as we met the requirements of our ever-changing COVID-19 protocols and reopened our campus to families. In the spring, we held our first community-wide outdoor events and felt a renewed energy as we returned to a normal Willows school day.
 

During the 2022-2023 school year, our doors remained open with all our students on campus, in-person and our community opening to our parents, visitors, and events, following any COVID restrictions that arose. We entered 2022-2023 with rejuvenated support for the spirit, the vision, and the dreams of our founding families, and gratitude for our cohesive community and our students who are filled with the joy of learning and passionate about giving back. This year, The Willows was appointed a RULER member school, we again hosted in-person events including our speaker series, and our debate team, athletics, and the arts flourished.

We entered 2023-2024, with 470 students from 58+ zip codes, a $19.8 million budget, a 4.0-acre campus, an acclaimed educational program, a thriving professional development program, a lauded speaker series, and inclusion and outreach across Los Angeles, California, and the U.S., the dynamic, vibrant “can-do” spirit of The Willows is flourishing with a unique combination of innovation and tradition. The vision of the founding families is a reality with a community of students filled with the joy of learning and passionate about giving back. We are planning for and eagerly anticipating our 30^thanniversary starting in September 2024. Preparing the student for a rapidly changing modern world, The Willows strives to provide an environment “where great minds grow.”

In 2024, we celebrated our 30^th anniversary. In September 1994, The Willows founders opened our school doors to 93 students in a single building. Today, our campus extends across 4 acres with 5 buildings, a multi-purpose field, and basketball courts educating 479 students. The dynamic, vibrant “can-do” Willows spirit of our founders is flourishing today with a unique combination of innovation and tradition. The vision of the founding families is a firm reality with a community of students filled with the joy of learning and passionate about giving back. We continue to nimbly evolve to best prepare our students to navigate our digitally connected world. Last year we celebrated 30 years of innovation, inclusivity, and inspiration that has led to our dynamic, balanced progressive educational program. We are 30 and going strong!

In 2024-2025, we celebrated our 30^th anniversary throughout the year with a major focus on the accomplishments of our alumni, who are perhaps the best representatives of the effectiveness of our educational program. More than 20 of our alumni returned to The Willows to engage with our current students in the classroom, visual arts, performing arts, and athletic programs and shared knowledge, innovations, and share their knowledge and accomplishments in a variety of fields. They are proof that the dynamic, vibrant “can-do” spirit of The Willows is flourishing with a unique combination of innovation and tradition. Our Middle School Students in 6^th and 7^th grades completed a yearlong documentary on the history of our 30 years. Amid the devastation of the wildfires in Los Angeles and the aftereffects, our community, modeling our core values of caring, strength, and compassion, reached out in numerous ways to those in need. Willows faculty, staff, students, and families opened their arms in service to others who lost their homes or were displaced and to support our incredible first responders, firefighters, police, and volunteers. We set up a data base to gather items for those in need and opened our campus to schools that lost their buildings and campuses. We opened our campus, to help the Village School that lost their campus in Pacific Palisades and hosted Korean students in an exchange program with Brentwood School. We initiated webinars with Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence leadership to support faculty, staff, and parents. We embraced every opportunity to serve our Los Angeles community. Starting this year, Media Literacy was taught in Grades K through 8 as we continue to prepare our students to navigate our digitally connected world. A Literacy Committee comprised of seasoned faculty members and the Dean of Curriculum and Integrated Programming was established to reflect on and strategically revitalizing our curricular and instructional practices to ensure that our practices evolve to meet the student, faculty, and classroom needs. The Committee offers mentoring and support to teachers through in-house training and professional development. We completed the renovation and construction of a cutting-edge black box theater and multipurpose space. We updated our outdoor campus sound system to enhance our performance and event spaces. We celebrated 30 years of innovation, inclusivity, and inspiration that has led to our ever-evolving, dynamic, balanced progressive educational program.

We start our 2025-2026 school year knowing that the vision of the founding families is a firm reality with a community of students filled with the joy of learning who are passionate about giving back. We continue to nimbly evolve to best prepare our students to navigate our digitally connected world. This year we celebrate 10 years of our association with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence RULER approach with an October event featuring a talk and book signing with Marc Brackett, Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and his new book, Dealing with Feeling. The RULER event will also feature a round table with all of Los Angeles RULER schools and a reception for our community.