Pinewood School, Los Altos

Pinewood School is a private, independent, non-denominational school in Los Altos, California, with three campuses, two in Los Altos and one in Los Altos Hills, spanning grades K to 12. The lower campus serves grades K-2, middle campus serves grades 3-6, and upper campus serves grades 7-12.

History

Pinewood school was founded in 1959 in the then small town of Los Altos, California, at the home of Mr and Mrs L. Victor Riches. Before the school was founded, the Riches family had planted 1,000 Douglas Firs on the family property, which is now the location of the “middle (3rd-6th grade) campus”, located at 327 Fremont Road. These trees are the reason for the name Pinewood. The school was originally called the Creative Workshop of Los Altos because it focused on the arts such as drama, painting, singing, and dancing. Mrs Riches established a kindergarten using the Carden method and subsequently added a new grade each year using the same method that is still used in grades K-6 at Pinewood today.

The school continued to grow through 1975, and as a result it was expanded onto a new campus. Established on the former Fremont Hills Elementary School campus in Los Altos Hills, the junior high was formed. This is known as the 'Upper Campus', however, it was not until 1981 that Pinewood had a high school. Before the addition of high school, the class sizes were larger. In 1981, though, they added a 9th grade class of 15 students. Every year following, they added another grade until...
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