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Maybeck High School
Location
Map
2727 College Ave

Berkeley
,
California 94705

United States
Information
TypePrivate
Motto"Open doors, open minds"
Established1972
School Director
Beth Pillsbury
Grades9–12
Enrollment114 (2023-24)[1]
Student to teacher ratio
8:1
Campusurban
MascotPineapple
Websitewww.maybeckhs.org
Baja Special Program, 2006
Maybeck High School is located at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Berkeley.

Maybeck High School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory high school located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1972 and is housed at St. John's Presybyterian Church.

History

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Maybeck High School was established in 1972 by four teachers who had been let go from St. Elizabeth High School in Oakland for opposing streaming and advocating for a looser dress code, Paul August, Sam Cardinet, Jim Kelly, and Jack Radisch. Cardinet, the history teacher, was its founding director.[2] It was named after the regional architect Bernard Maybeck.[2] The school began with 17 students; classes were initially taught in empty classrooms on Dwinelle Hall at the University of California, in the open air at state parks, and in a schoolbus, then in rented spaces at churches,[2] until the school found a long-term home at Trinity United Methodist Church in Southside.[3] The 1973 first graduating class of three all won scholarships to either the University of California or Stanford University.[2] By 2022, Maybeck had moved to St. John's Presbyterian Church.[2]

Curriculum

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Maybeck was founded as a college preparatory school; a proposed merger with Discovery House, a closing high school in Richmond, failed because its students regarded Maybeck as too academic.[2] The school aims to challenge students academically within a flexible curriculum,[4] encourages risk-taking, and attracts "bright, quirky kids".[5] Volunteer work is required for graduation, as of 2006, 60 hours.[6] In honor of Bernard Maybeck, exploration and appreciation of nature are encouraged and each graduating student receives a sapling to plant.[2]

For two weeks before spring break, the school suspends regular classes and conducts Special Programs, in which students divide into small groups led by staff members, each pursuing its own activity. Programs vary from year to year and can be local, regional, or international;[7] in 2004, a group of 16 Maybeck students arrived in Spain two weeks after the Madrid train bombings.[8]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ↑ "Maybeck High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Whiting, Sam (September 5, 2024). "Stan Cardinet, founding director of progressive Maybeck High School in Berkeley, dies at 86". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  3. ↑ Chan, Kim L. (2003). Final Report: Southside Access Alliance Parking Resources and Needs Study. Southside Access Alliance. p. 3-35. Maybeck has about 45 students and 13 staff and has been at TUMC since 1972.
  4. ↑ "Academics: Overview". Maybeck High School. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  5. ↑ Slater, Dashka (January 29, 2015). "The Fire on the 57 Bus in Oakland". The New York Times magazine.
  6. ↑ Greenya, John (2006). "National Service: Should community service be required?". CQ Researcher Bound Volume. SAGE Publications. p. 580. ISBN 9780872895447.
  7. ↑ "Special Programs". Maybeck High School. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  8. ↑ Hoge, Patrick (March 26, 2004). "Berkeley: Traveling students see grief up close: Teens in Spain find mourning unabated for bombing victims". San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. ↑ Goroch, Antonette (February 25, 2024). "Meet Ala Ebtekar, 2024 Alumni Spotlight Award Winner". EB Blog. École Bilingue de Berkeley. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
  10. ↑ Kay, Ernest (1990). "Alta". The World Who's Who of Women (10th ed.). Cambridge: Melrose Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780948875106.
  11. ↑ Kasher, Moshe (2012). Kasher in the Rye. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9781455504954. I managed to straighten up enough to scramble and fill out a fevered application to a school called Maybeck High. It was known as a hippie school and a place that 'creative thinkers' attended. ... I was kicked out the next day. I was baffled. I'd genuinely wanted to be at Maybeck.
  12. ↑ McMahon, Regan (March 8, 2018). "Voice of youth: Author Nina LaCour honored for her YA fiction". San Francisco Chronicle.
  13. ↑ Janiak, Lily (September 4, 2025). "Finally, one of the Bay Area's most promising young actors is playing the ultimate role". San Francisco Chronicle.
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37°51′39.18″N 122°15′9.82″W / 37.8608833°N 122.2527278°W / 37.8608833; -122.2527278

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