School Profile
2009-2010
OUR NAME HISTORY
From September 2006 to January 2009, Tilden Preparatory School was named “School For Independent Learners East Bay” and was a fully accredited branch of “School For Independent Learners Los Altos.” In January of 2009, Tilden Prep received its own, full accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and subsequently initiated a name change to “Tilden Preparatory School.”
MISSION OF THE SCHOOL
At Tilden Preparatory School, we believe that all students have an inherent right to a quality education, delivered with the highest respect for all concerned. The school emphasizes individual achievement, and promises a learning environment in which students have an opportunity to master course material in all subject areas.
OUR STUDENTS
Tilden Preparatory School’s approximately 140 students come from numerous communities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, and represent a broad range of racial, ethnic and academic/intellectual backgrounds. Students choose to come to Tilden Prep for many reasons. Some students are attracted to the unusually broad range of courses offered (including languages and AP courses), some want to take advantage of the individualized pace and learning approach in small class sizes, and some students choose to individualize their academic program schedule in order to pursue time-consuming extracurricular activities.
THE CURRICULUM
The goal of the curriculum is to offer a wide range of courses -- from those that fulfill basic high school graduation requirements to those that supplement and enrich a high school curriculum, like Advanced Placement classes or Honors level courses. All our courses are taught on a tutorial basis. Some are taught one-to-one with a teacher, while others are taught in small groups. The tutorial style utilized in our classes allows students numerous opportunities to develop their own ideas and interests, and constant practice articulating their thoughts and opinions, both verbally and in their written work. In all classes, intellectual inquiry is encouraged, learning is interactive, and disciplines are interrelated. Analysis and creativity thrive simultaneously. Students can attend Tilden Prep full-time, or part-time by taking one or two courses while remaining in their current schools.
OUR GRADING SCALE
We teach for mastery, insuring that students reach a minimum of 80% mastery (based upon closed-book tests proctored at school, essays, and lab reports for science classes) before moving on to the next level. If a student is unable to reach this level of mastery, a mastery level of 70% is approved by agreement with the student, parents, and the School (and subsequently reflected in a grade of C). In all our classes grades are given on a 4.0 scale with 4.0 equaling an A, 3.0 equaling a B, 2.0 equaling a C, 1.0 equaling a D, and no credit given for an F. We calculate a student’s GPA according to this same scale, giving one extra point for an AP or Honors level course with a grade of C or higher.
STANDARDIZED TESTING SCORES
Our SAT score range is 1430 – 2340, the average being 1890. Students who have taken an AP exam following an AP course have averaged 3.75 (out of 5).
COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES
86% of Tilden Preparatory School students plan to attend a 4- year college or university. 14% plan to attend a community college. In the 2008 – 2009 school year, Tilden Prep’s graduates currently attending college maintained at least a 3.0 GPA. Colleges to which our students have been accepted are listed below.
Full-time students at Tilden Preparatory School have been accepted to the following colleges:
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
California Institute of the Arts
California Lutheran University
Dominican University of California
Eckerd College
Expression College for Digital Arts
George Washington University
Goucher College
Humboldt State University
Indiana University—Kelley Business School
Linfield College
Lynn University
Mills College
New York University
Notre Dame de Namur University
Purdue University
Roger Williams University
Saint Mary's College of California
San Diego State University
San Diego State University for Business
San Francisco State University
Simon's Rock College of Bard
Sonoma State University
St John's College
University of Arizona
University of California
Davis
Los Angeles
Merced
Riverside
Santa Cruz
University of Oregon
University of the Pacific
University of Redlands
University of San Francisco
University of Vermont
Western Washington University
Whittier College
Part-time Tilden students have been accepted at the above colleges, and also at the following colleges:
Loyola Marymount University
Morehouse College
Northeastern University
Occidental College
Ohio Wesleyan University
Pepperdine University
Northeastern University
Northern Arizona University
Southwestern University
University of California
Berkeley
Irvine
Santa Barbara
San Diego
University of Santa Clara