Frequently Asked Questions

What is your age requirement for kindergarten?
A child must be five years old by December 1st of the kindergarten year to enter kindergarten at Berkwood Hedge School.

How large is your school?
We offer one class at each grade level, kindergarten through fifth grade, and up to two sections for sixth through eighth grade. There are generally 12-20 students per class.

Does Berkwood Hedge School offer tuition assistance?
Yes, over 50% of our families receive some tuition assistance. Tuition awards are need-based, however every family pays a minimum of 25% of the annual tuition.

How does Berkwood Hedge School make admissions decisions?
We use a variety of criteria to make our admissions decisions, first and foremost is the child's developmental readiness. We seek students and families who help us fulfill the school's mission and whom we believe would thrive in our community. To create a diverse environment in each classroom, we consider gender, ethnicity, socio-economic situation, cultural background, learning style and family structure. Decisions are also guided by the teacher recommendation forms (provided by your child's preschool or current elementary school teacher), and by observation of your child by a classroom teacher during their visit to the school.

Kindergarten applicants visit the school in small groups on a Saturday morning in late January or early February. The visit lasts approximately one hour and is structured as a mini kindergarten day.

What kind of learning environment do you provide?
Our curriculum reflects the developmental levels, talents and challenges of our students. We treat each child as an individual learner, meeting them where they are academically, and challenging them appropriately. Our curriculum is integrated across disciplines, and students interact as they learn. Social justice values thread through the curriculum. We want our students to be aware of the larger community in which they live and for them to develop "wide-awake" lives as ethical and articulate people with strong critical thinking skills.

What types of enrichment classes do you offer your students?
Beginning in kindergarten all children participate in Latin, studio art, woodworking, music, dance, and physical education classes. Fifth graders also have drama classes and put on a musical at the end of the school. In the afterschool program, classes such as dance, yoga, cooking, and sports are offered throughout the year.

Are students given standardized tests at Berkwood Hedge School?
Berkwood Hedge School does not give students in grades K-5 grade standardized tests, but assesses students mastery of academic concepts throughout the year. Starting in the sixth grade, students learn how to take standardized tests and are given standardized practice tests.

Do you provide extended care?
Yes, Before School care begins at 8:00am and After School care is available until 6:00pm. Many of our students attend After School care and we provide a warm and friendly afternoon environment. Supervised Homework Club is available everyday.

Where do your students attend high school?
Our students successfully move on to a variety of independent and public high schools, including St. Mary's College High School, Lick-Wilmerding, Maybeck High School, College Preparatory School, Athenian, Bentley High School, Berkeley and Albany High School, Bishop O'Dowd, and Salesian College Preparatory.

Where do your students attend college?
In short, everywhere! With a solid academic and social emotional foundation, our graduates move through the world with confidence and self-awareness and are prepared to attend a wide array of colleges from large, traditional, universities to smaller liberal arts colleges to HBCUs and overseas universities.  In the last five years our graduates have attended: Smith College, NYU, Vassar, Yale, MIT, Occidental, Brown, Bates College, Morehouse, Stanford, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, Cal Maritime, Howard University, U of Michigan, U of Wisconsin, Wellesley, U of Puget Sound, UCLA, Cal State SF, Georgetown, Whitman, Laney College, Swarthmore, DVC, St. Andrews University (Scotland), Mt Holyoke, Pamona, Carnegie Mellon, and many others.

Is it true that Vice President Kamala Harris attended Berkwood Hedge School?
Yes (we get this one a lot). Vice President Harris is one of our treasured alumni and social justice warriors whose humble beginnings were at our school. In 2024, the DNC aired a clip of Vice President Harris’s close friend, writer, and alum, Stacey Johnson-Batiste reminiscing about their time together at Berkwood Hedge School in 1969. We had the honor of choosing a student to open the final day of the DNC with the Pledge of Allegiance. Click here to watch one of the original airings.