Sierra Canyon School

Oh my goodness! This is a beautiful campus, but who in the heck can afford to actually send their children there? I believe the tuition is more than $15,000 a year starting in kindergarten. Sure, school is wonderful, great programs, but definitely not for those less than elite.

Sierra Canyon is a privately owned college preparatory day school located on 16 acres in the town of Chatsworth, northwest of the San Fernando Valley. The campus is peppered with large pine, oak, and eucalyptus trees, and surrounded by orchards and open fields. It feels like youre in the country instead of minutes away from a bustling valley community. Co-director Howard Wang took me on a tour of the school, proudly pointing out all the features that made Sierra Canyon a Unites States Blue Ribbon School in 1990. The school has a science lab, library, computer labs, several play areas with climbing equipment, football and soccer fields, two swimming pools, and an outdoor crafts area. There is an outside eating area surrounded by orange trees, a (covered) outdoor amphitheater, a log cabin (original to to the property) and a tepee for outdoor adventures. The school completed construction of a new middle school building in 1995. The new high school (grades 9-12) is scheduled to open in the fall of 2005.