A Shared Community

When my wife and I moved to Mar Vista in 1989, I knew I had found a special community to call home. Over the decades, I have seen the Mar Vista community grow and thrive, yet retain all of the closeness that still makes it feel like a small town in a large city.

Windward has followed a similar trajectory. Since locating at the corner of Palms and Sawtelle in 1982, our school has flourished. We have established innovative programs and strategic university partnerships to support our talented faculty and staff. We have dramatically increased our commitment to Financial Aid, which we recognize is the cornerstone of a diverse community. We have expanded and enhanced our physical facilities to ensure that our students are receiving the education they need to prepare them for life in the 21st century.

 
While we have transformed Windward into one of the premier independent schools in California, we have remained steadfastly committed to the School’s founding values: "a dynamic education and a nurturing community."
 
Since 1982, we have also sought to be good neighbors. We meet quarterly with a steering committee of neighbors and local community leaders to strategize ways to minimize the impact of our school activities on our neighborhood. In these meetings, we also explore ways in which we can partner with community leaders to support Mar Vista. In addition, our students and faculty spend over 10,000 hours a year in community service activities devoted to the residents of our local community.

We could not have accomplished what we have over these years without the support of our neighboring community. We’re proud to participate with so many long-term residents to make the area a welcoming place for our students and fellow neighbors.
 
We look forward to partnering with you in this next phase of our development to make our shared community even better. 
 
-Tom Gilder, Head of School