The Urban School of San Francisco

Urban School is the premiere independent high school in San Francisco with a national reputation as an educational leader, having designed, pioneered and implemented educational innovations for more than half a century. With innovations such as UrbanX Labs, our unique integrated approach to technology, design and engineering; our nationally recognized community service program; and our pioneering technology integration program, our students experience a meaningful, in-depth and well-rounded approach to learning. Urban’s extraordinary teachers ensure that each student has a strong sense of themselves as learners, and that they graduate uniquely equipped to solve the challenges their generation will face.

Urban School of San Francisco seeks to ignite a passion for learning, inspiring its students to become self-motivated, enthusiastic participants in their education – both in high school and beyond. Learning is an active, joyful process of discovery where students are challenged to ask essential questions, solve problems in disciplined and creative ways, and construct substantive understandings under the guidance of passionate and inspiring teachers. Academic excellence is demonstrated by depth of conceptual understanding and achieved through rigorous engagement, comprehensive assessment and thoughtful self-evaluation.

We honor the uniqueness of each individual and embrace diverse backgrounds, values and points of view to build a strong, inclusive community and to prepare students for lives in a multicultural society. Students best grow in personal responsibility and self-worth in a school characterized by trust, honesty and mutual respect among students and teachers.

We are committed to reflection, evaluation, evolution and innovation as means to improve teaching and learning. Learning extends beyond the classroom to instill in students a sense of mission and purpose as citizens of the larger community and world. As we prepare students for college, we celebrate the vitality of adolescence and the abundant possibilities for intellectual growth and personal achievement during these four years.

Since our founding in 1966, diversity, inclusion, equity and access have been critical elements of Urban School’s mission and core values as we seek to create a community that reflects our city, state and our future world. We believe the best education occurs in a school made up of students, faculty/staff and families drawn from many different socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, races, religions and sexual orientations. The school has a larger public purpose to educate students who have been historically under-represented in independent schools.

While the work of diversity and equity in our community has always been a part of the mission of Urban, we aim to build on this commitment, and by so doing, create a truly inclusive school – one where students and adults are welcomed and supported, and where their faces, voices and experiences are reflected and valued. We believe that the work of inclusion is a responsibility held by all and done for all, person to person.

The Urban School curriculum provides an exceptionally strong foundation in college preparatory subjects. Many of our classes have distinctive features that set them apart as particularly challenging and comparable to college level work. These classes, designated as UAS (Urban Advanced Studies), are developed by the Urban faculty and comprise the school's most rigorous coursework. UAS classes are offered in every subject area and most are recognized by colleges (including the University of California) as honors level courses. Many Urban students choose to take Advanced Placement subject exams after taking these courses.

Urban’s academic program seeks to involve students in their broader community — the school, the city, the world — and develop in them a sense of social responsibility. Beyond a core curriculum that builds a firm framework of general knowledge and conceptual understanding in each of the disciplines, the Urban program gives students the opportunity to develop deep knowledge and fluency with skills and ways of thinking across disciplines. Rather than just learning a particular set of facts, students learn how to be independent, critical thinkers. At each stage of their learning, the Urban curriculum anchors students in habits of mind that support successful achievement in high school and beyond and create a context for lifelong intellectual enrichment.