Friends Western School, Pasadena | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

We just started at FWS, with a son in kindergarten and a daughter in the third grade. While we understood that it was a co-op, I don’t think my husband and I realized how much work would be involved. But all the hard work is so worth it, with the payoff being incredibly happy and engaged kids.

Our ultra academically-inclined daughter found herself bored in her previous LAUSD school, which serviced thousands of kids. Still, we were worried that the size of FWS (with about 50 students total, across four classrooms) would be a huge culture shock for her. As it turns out, she loves the new environment, where bullying is non-existent thanks to the school’s social-emotional curriculum that involves productive conflict resolution. And individualized, inquiry-based learning means she’s never bored. She explores, creates and has fun doing it.

Our son is different – not as precocious as his sister. And, typical of a baby of the family, he can experience separation anxiety. Yet he’s so happy at FWS, in a loving environment where he is encouraged and supported.

Both kids are more aware of the world around them, and are developing true compassion (which is hard to cultivate these days). I love the small class sizes, the creative focus (art, theater and music classes) and physical and outdoor learning (yoga, field trips, park days). And you know what? We as parents are finding that it’s pretty awesome to work hard with like-minded (and, dare I say it, cool) parents toward the common goal of creating this incredible learning environment for our kids.

In case you couldn’t tell, we couldn’t be happier so far.

We are new parents to FWS this year with a son in K and a daughter in 3rd grade. The school is a co-op and can be hard work but the payoff is incredibly happy kids. Our son had a few tough experiences in his short life and always complained about be separated from the family, he didn’t like pre-school he even complained about going to summer camps. He’s a happy little guy now. Loves going to school, loves his teacher and new friends. The variety in the weekly schedule keeps our son engaged: theater, music, yoga, clubs, trips to the local park, monthly hikes and field trips. The small class size (8) mean he gets lots of attention and he is developing a love of learning and is excited about the world around him. Our daughter is very bright and loves to learn but got bored at her well regarded public school last year as they “taught to the test” and extracurricular activities were limited. She is challenged and energized by FWS. We are very happy so far!