Windward School

History

In 1971, two former Paul Revere Middle School teachers, Carl Parsons and Shirley Windward (for whom the school is named), founded the school in order to open up their classes to young people on the west side of Los Angeles.

Shirley's husband, Erv Windward, renovated the studios where they lived into classrooms. Many new students volunteered to help renovate the studios. The school originally had fourteen full-time and part-time teachers who taught 65 students in a small building on Wilshire Boulevard.

In 1973, Windward School received its first full five-year WASC accreditation as a college-preparatory institution. As the school outgrew its first facilities the campus moved to 1414 21st Street, Santa Monica in September 1974.

In 2012, Windward's co-founder and namesake, Shirley Windward, died at the age of 93. Windward hosts an event, Founders Day, each year to celebrate Shirley Windward.

Currently, the head of school is Tom Gilder, who will be retiring in the year of 2024-2025 with Sarah Beck taking on the new position.

Athletics

The school has 44 teams, six full-time coaches, 2 full-time athletic trainers, and 30–35 part-time coaches. Sports facilities at the school include the Lewis Jackson Memorial Sports Center and Foley Field.

The school's athletic teams have won California State Championships in several sports. In 2008, the boys varsity teams won the CIF Division VI championships in both soccer and volleyball. In 2011, both the boys' and girls' varsity basketball teams won the CIF Division IV State Championship. In 2009, the boys' varsity basketball team won the CIF Division V State Championship. In 2012, the boys' varsity volleyball team won the CIF Division III SoCal Regional Championship (the highest level of state competition for boys' volleyball). The boys' varsity 8-man football team won back-to-back CIF Southern Sectional Championships (also the highest level of state competition) in 2010 and 2011.

Notable alumni

• Max Bemis musician, lead singer of Say Anything
• Jules Bernard NBA player
• Jordin Canada, WNBA basketball player
• Jakob Dylan musician, lead singer of The Wallflowers
• Tyler Heineman Toronto Blue Jays baseball player
• Jenny Johnson Jordan professional volleyball player and Olympian
• Mason Gooding actor in Ballers and Booksmart, son of Cuba Gooding Jr
• Zoe Kazan actress (matriculated to and graduated from the Marlborough School)
• Ethan Kleinberg professor of history and letters at Wesleyan University, editor-in-chief of history and theory and director of Wesleyan University's Center for the Humanities
• Andrew Luster heir to Max Factor cosmetics fortune, convicted serial rapist
• Imani McGee-Stafford 10th pick in the WNBA Draft, has played for multiple WNBA teams
• Darius Morris basketball player, drafted out of University of Michigan, has played for several NBA teams
• Charisma Osborne - WNBA player for the Phoenix Mercury.
• Shareef O'Neal UCLA and LSU basketball player, son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal
• Anna Paquin actress, Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winner for The Piano, star of True Blood
• Wesley Saunders basketball player, former Harvard standout and Vanoli Cremona player
• Jason Schwartzman actor, star of Rushmore
• Samantha Shapiro gymnast, six-year member of U.S. National Team, and three-time U.S. elite national champion
• Anthony Stover former UCLA basketball player{{cite web|title=2011-2012 UCLA Men's Basketball Roster| url=https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/anthony-stover/2525}}
• JuJu Watkins USC Women's Basketball, transferred to Sierra Canyon High School after her sophomore year{{cite web|title=JuJu Watkins leaves Windward for Sierra Canyon.| website=Los Angeles Times| date=July 24, 2021| url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2021-07-24/juju-watkins-leaves-windward-for-sierra-canyon}}
• Malcolm Washington, filmmaker, a son of actor Denzel Washington.

Demographics

According to U.S. News & World Report, 67.8 of the student population is white, and 32.2 percent are minorities, including 7.1 percent Black or African American, 3.3 percent Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 3.1 percent Hispanic/Latino. Students identifying as belonging to two or more races make up 18.5 percent of the student population.

References

References

1. "Windward School Mission Statement".
2. "Shirley Windward".
3. "Head of School Tom Gilder - Windward School".
4. "Head of School Search - Windward School".
5. "Visit Windward".
6. "CIFState.org – Past Championship Brackets, Results and Records".
7. "CIFState.org – 2012 Boys Volleyball SoCal Regional Championships".
8. "CIFState.org – 2011–12 CIF State Champions".
9. (3 December 2011). "FoxSportsWest.com – Windward takes back-to-back CIF championships".
10. "Say Anything Biography".
11. (January 21, 2021). "With 'no quit in him,' UCLA's Jules Bernard thrives off relentlessness".
12. (August 11, 1995). "Jordin Canada".
13. "People – Highway 61 Revisited".
14. Yoon, Peter. (June 8, 2012). "Catcher Heineman a tower of strength". ESPN.
15. "Above the Net: Jenny Johnson Jordan '91".
16. "10 Questions: Beach volleyball player Jennifer Johnson Jordan".
17. "Mason Gooding".
18. Turan, Kenneth. (28 March 2010). "Film Critic's Notebook: When an actor is also a friend". Los Angeles Times.
19. "Ethan Kleinberg Faculty Page".
20. Langley, William. (4 August 2001). "While you were sleeping". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
21. "Imani McGee Stafford".
22. "2010–11 University of Michigan Men's Basketball Roster".
23. "ESPN".
24. "Charisma Osborne College Stats".
25. (December 12, 2014). "See Shaquille O'Neal's son Shareef in action for Windward".
26. "Snakkle".
27. Hobson, Louis B.. (2 September 1996). "Real-Life Acting Difficult for Paquin". Calgary Sun.
28. "Wesley Saunders".
29. "Yahoo Movies – Biography of Jason Schwartzman".
30. "Stanford University Bio".
31. Hunt, Donald. (February 2, 2010). "Denzel Washington's son 'Got Game' too".
32. "Winward School".