Written by Kristina Szaszy Jones

With a 75-year legacy of academic excellence based on the core values of scholarship, character, balance, and community, Laguna Blanca is Santa Barbara’s premiere college preparatory K through 12 school.

Harold Chase donated land in Hope Ranch for the establishment of a college preparatory day school, and in 1933, Edward Selden Spaulding and three of his colleagues from the Deane School founded Laguna Blanca School. Four years later, 6 young men became its first graduating class. The school grew, adding new buildings each year as enrollment increased. In 1942, the school became coeducational; in 1957, the school added a kindergarten program. Originally a mere six acres, today’s Hope Ranch campus boasts 35 lush acres. In 2000, Laguna Blanca acquired its Lower School site in Montecito for kindergarten through fourth-grade students. The Middle and Upper Schools are both located on the Hope Ranch Campus.

Laguna Blanca is proud of its exceptional faculty and staff, dedicated to providing a respectful, enthusiastic learning environment. Small class sizes are a priority at Laguna Blanca in order to give students optimal attention and guidance. In kindergarten through sixth grade, classes are kept at approximately 20 students with a teacher and an instructional aide. In seventh through twelfth grades, core academic classes average 12-15 students.

THE LOWER SCHOOL

The Lower School’s storybook setting in Montecito provides an ideal environment for its students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Specialists in music, art, science, physical education, computer science, and Spanish enhance the traditional curriculum. Integrated enrichment opportunities are emphasized, especially in the performing arts—music, art, history, and culture come together in a colorful learning experience at each grade level’s annual production. Character education is reinforced with the Keys to Citizenship program, which emphasizes the development of kindness, responsibility, respect, honesty, and service through role-playing activities, guest speakers, community service, and ongoing discussions.

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Individual attention is the crux of the Middle School program which includes fifth through eighth grades. Opportunities for students to meet with their teachers one-on-one are built into the daily schedule. Core questions are consistently asked: Are students developing as whole persons? Are they becoming respectful, compassionate individuals? Are they developing a broad range of interests and sympathies?

Academics continue to be supplemented with an arts program that highlights visual and performing arts as well as fine arts, ceramics, drama, and music. Rising seventh-grade students have already been exposed to Spanish and French, and all seventh-grade students take a year of Latin. In eighth grade, students get a choice of four world languages. They are also required to complete at least sixteen hours of community service in order to foster a sense of accomplishment and personal responsibility.

THE UPPER SCHOOL

A customized educational program prevails at the high school level with just thirteen students making up the average classroom. Students’ core subjects span a full year and are balanced with an array of innovative elective courses. Laguna’s athletic program is competitive and highly successful for a school its size. Every high school senior is required to complete a senior project. It may be a community service project, an apprenticeship, or an in-depth academic study. Often through this experience, students discover new passions, solidify current interests, or decide that they are not in fact suited to their original goals.

Laguna Blanca offers extensive college counseling as well, ranging from mock interviews to career counseling to assistance with letters of intent, personal essays, and applications. Director of Admission Joyce Balak describes the school best: “Laguna Blanca is a jewel in the Santa Barbara community.” She says, “We offer a nurturing and stimulating educational environment where students ultimately gain admittance to and find success in the nation’s most selective colleges. Students leave Laguna confident and brave enough to be themselves as well as leaders in life.”