Crestmont School

At Crestmont School, we cultivate a creative learning environment where students become critical thinkers, skillful collaborators, and courageous change-making citizens.

Get to Know this Liberatory School

Since the 1970s, the Crestmont community has spoken up and advocated for their beliefs. This deliberately diverse community uses a social justice curriculum and a commitment to the whole child to position students to become courageous, change-making citizens.

Location: Richmond, CA

Size: <300

Demographics:

  • 50% White

  • 21% Asian or Pacific Islander

  • 14% Black

  • 13% Latinx

  • 1% American Indian

Grade Band: Elementary, Middle

Governance Structure: Alternative

Website: https://crestmontschool.org/

Graduate Aims

Design Principles

Crestmont graduates are committed to a lifetime of learning, growth, and engaged citizenship. They have secure relationships with those around them. They know their own unique contributions and see themselves as valuable agents of change. They see the connection between diversity and a strong community. They are able to collaborate and work individually. They become both creative and critical thinkers. They are academically prepared for high school as critical and fluent readers and writers, savvy users of technology, and agile mathematicians. They are caring stewards of the earth. They have the academic skills, confidence, and the self-knowledge to navigate the world around them. Crestmont graduates have the capabilities and awareness to get where they want to go, and with which to make the world a better place.

Individual Attention

Every child’s voice, identity, and expression matters. Our teachers create a curriculum that respects and responds to the dignity and individuality of each child. Our low student-to-adult ratio makes it possible to offer differentiated and flexible teaching styles to meet each child’s needs. This educational approach supports children to find and express their unique voice, and to learn how to contribute to positive change in the world.

Social-Emotional Development

We understand that children need both academic and social-emotional competencies to accomplish their goals. We teach and nurture the skills of self-awareness, self-management, awareness of others, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These skills foster community and civic involvement throughout a child’s life.

Challenging Academics

Crestmont redefines rigor. Our definition of rigor is the result of work that challenges students in new and interesting ways. We design a curriculum that is engaging for students, stretching their thinking and cultivating a love of deep knowledge. Our philosophy focuses on being responsive to children’s interests to create meaningful learning experiences, with a balance between well planned strategic lessons and those that are adaptable and driven by curiosity. Given this environment, children ask questions, think critically and creatively, and develop excellent problem-solving skills.

Social Justice Curriculum

We are committed to teaching in a way that empowers students to grapple with real-world problems, co-create solutions, and engage in practical actions. Our social justice curriculum starts with issues of fairness and moves up into environmental, racial, and economic justice issues. Students learn about social movements and change. Through these investigations, students develop tools to take action in their community.

Diversity and Inclusion

We recruit, welcome, and affirm children, families, and faculty who reflect the diversity of the Bay Area. The co-op structure and affordable tuition support this commitment. Inclusion and diversity figure into all aspects of our curriculum including mentoring and social-emotional development. We celebrate and honor the diverse cultures and multiple perspectives of our classroom communities through our carefully designed, evidence-based curriculum.

Featured Student Experiences

Multi-Age Classes


Crestmont intentionally groups students into multi-age classes and across multiple grades for a variety of activities to enhance individual learning. This multi-age environment enables:

  • Students to work, play and build community across grades;

  • Students to learn to help, mentor, role model, share, cooperate, and lead, building their self-esteem and competence;

  • Teachers to develop a deeper understanding of each child;

  • Teachers to focus on teaching to “learning levels” rather than a “grade level,” which better addresses student needs and the diversity of abilities and ages.

Field Studies


Crestmont embraces the application of learning, research, exploration, and experiential learning through a wide variety of field trips, including overnight trips. Field studies enable students to:

  • Apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world context

  • Develop greater understanding of self, place and subject


Community Study and Social Justice Curriculum


Crestmont values community and social justice. We build student awareness, aptitude and leadership through lessons, activities and experiences focused on community understanding and skills. Community studies enables students to:

  • Develop social, emotional, and cultural awareness and literacy

  • Learn how to build and sustain positive and meaningful relationships

  • Understand how to be a contributing member of their community


Key School-Wide Practices

Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

Crestmont’s curriculum is guided by two guiding principles: 1) Crestmont will prepare children to participate and thrive in a diverse and democratic society, and contribute positive change to their communities and beyond, and 2) Crestmont will provide a holistic approach that supports children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. Their project-based curriculum stretches students’ thinking and cultivates critical thinking, problem-solving, and a deep love of learning. Their social justice curriculum starts with issues of fairness and moves to environmental, racial, and economic justice. Students learn about movements and change, and develop the tools to take action in their community.

Crestmont commits to best practices for teaching and learning, including:

  • Small classes with a low student-to-teacher ratio;

  • Project-based and hands-on learning;

  • A commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive student body and community;

  • An integrated social justice curriculum;

  • Relevant and meaningful assignments;

  • A challenging curriculum that is tailored to students’ individual needs and interests, including supporting different learning styles;

  • A non-competitive environment and ongoing, qualitative assessments;

  • Utilizing an emergent curriculum;

  • Comprehensive support of emotional-social development;

  • Facilitating parent-teacher-student collaboration.

Community & Culture

The learning environment at Crestmont School is creative, engaging and student-centered. Crestmont’s intimate size and inclusive community offers students a uniquely supportive and effective education. Students feel seen and heard by both their peers and the adults around them. Teachers respond to students’ individual needs by utilizing a multi-faceted, multi-modal approach that promotes successful learning for all students. Crestmont nurtures self-awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making that foster community and civic involvement throughout a child’s life.

Family & Community Partnerships

Crestmont has a parent-cooperative structure, allowing parents to have meaningful participation and input into their child’s learning environment. This engagement allows parents greater connection to their child’s education and gives parents the opportunity to both experience and model community engagement, advocacy and belonging.

Budget & Operations

Crestmont's parent-cooperative structure keeps tuition low which in turn enables Crestmont to meet its mission of creating an accessible and diverse community. 65% of students are on financial aid.

See It. Hear It. Feel It.