"Imagine your child in the front row of every class."
—Grauer School Classroom Philosophy
The Grauer School is an independent private college preparatory school in Encinitas, CA. We serve Northern San Diego and all surrounding areas, including the communities of Carlsbad, La Costa, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, and Rancho Santa Fe. The Grauer School offers a strategically balanced curriculum of rigorous academics, enriching arts and team-building athletic participation. We provide our students with unparalleled leadership opportunities in a trusting, supportive and socially inclusive environment.
Decades of academic research demonstrates schools with fewer than 200 students significantly increase student success rates. One of the main reasons students thrive in such an intimate environment is because they are better able to connect with each other and their teachers. In fact, our dedication to the small schools movement has earned us a global reputation for educational leadership. We welcome educators from across the globe to come study the best practices in education in our state-of-the-art institution of learning and growth. There are many private schools in San Diego, but we are proud to be the only one of our kind worldwide!
In 1991, Dr. Stuart Grauer founded a truly innovative San Diego private school. Its mission was to provide students with an academic model promoting empowerment, emancipation and efficacy as learners and community participants alike. Today, The Grauer School has a student and faculty body of approximately 200 across grades 7-12. The school year runs from late August through mid-June, plus open enrollment summer sessions.
What does being an innovative San Diego private school mean? Innovation, which is the process of inventing new methods or ideas, requires a fertile breeding ground in the form of ongoing social, societal and technological evolution. San Diego is one of the most socially, societally and technologically diverse, not to mention just downright exciting cities in the world. This unique combination of human ingenuity and geographic circumstance has allowed The Grauer School to revolutionize secondary education for more than 27 years and counting.
We wholeheartedly believe secondary education is in no way merely a means to an end. Today’s globally connected, culturally pluralistic landscape facilitates the need for a new generation of critical thinkers, risk takers, visionaries and leaders. We believe that by trying and growing without fear of failure or judgement, our students achieve more enduring outcomes than are generally allowed in traditional schooling environments. Taking control of their own educational journeys also helps lay the foundation for graduates of The Grauer School to make intelligent decisions about the right college, as well as other meaningful career and life choices.
To ensure compliance with statewide institutions of higher learning, our regular curricular program fulfills the rigorous “a-g” admission requirements of the University of California. Our courses meet all criteria for NCAA eligibility. We are also fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
We welcome you to learn more what our students, parents, educators, and alumni have to say about The Grauer School.
"For the first time in his life my son jumps out of bed first thing in the morning without being told to get up, does his homework without being told, has completely eliminated video games from his life, and spends all his free time on creative projects. This school has transformed our lives."
—A New Grauer Parent, 2017
The Best Practices in Education
The Grauer School allows for deep engagement and personal attention largely absent in mainstream public middle and high schools nationwide. Our nation and world has changed drastically over the past few generations. To meet the challenges of our rapidly changing world, The Grauer School remains a living study in merging and implementing only the best practices in education. Combining the “best practices in education” means integrating various student-centered learning theories and methods, including:
Waldorf education (arts and nature across the curriculum)
Montessori ("choices and voices”)
Harkness method (Socratic method)
Dewey (democratic education)
Mastery Learning (Bloom)
Service Learning
Self-directed education
Technological and Hybrid Education
And our acclaimed Expeditionary Learning Program
The Grauer School's founding motto is Learn By Discovery®, so we are also proponents of Expeditionary Learning. Our students spend a minimum of one week each semester on a regional or global expedition. They are encouraged to immerse themselves in different cultures, customs, and ecosystems. Students consistently find these expeditions to be life-changing and deeply connecting experiences. Before graduation, each student is required to complete a total of five weeks worth of expeditions, as well as a minimum of 50 hours of community service. However, most of our students enthusiastically volunteer to fill more service hours than we require of them.
Various board committees, which consists of community leaders and parents, provide governance and advisory assistance to the school and board. The High School ASB Student Council supports various cultural, social and student issues. The Grauer Parent Association represents the school locally and creates cultural and social events year-round.
Join Us at our Open House & Discover Grauer Tours!
Joyful Learning. Imagine the Possibilities.
At The Grauer School, we prioritize our students’ curiosity, independence, and joy, and we value relationships above all else. Our teachers know their students. They make time to listen and to guide, face-to-face. As a result, Grauer students develop the courage and freedom to cultivate their curiosity, master academic requirements, and engage in their school community. In many ways, this is the root of our success. Our kids learn to think, to nurture their unique ideas, to find joy in the process of learning, and ultimately to create the world they want to live in. Imagine the possibilities.
Everyone is invited to our Open House on Saturday, November 2, 2024, between 11:00am and 2:00pm. We’ll be hosting tours of our beautiful campus and answering all your questions. This is an excellent way to get to know our school and to meet some of our amazing teachers, administrators, parents, and students. Click here to learn more and RSVP for our Open House event.
Discover Grauer tours are a great opportunity for families to visit our campus and classrooms while school is in session. Through small group tours, families can experience "a day in the life" of a Grauer student. Discover Grauer tours take place from 9:15am to 10:30am. The dates of the upcoming Discover Grauer tours will be on November 14, 2024; December 4, 2024; January 14, 2025; January 22, 2025; January 30, 2025; February 5, 2025; and March 6, 2025. Space is limited - click here to learn more and RSVP for one of our Discover Grauer events.
We hope you will also join us at our upcoming “Great Conversations” event on Wednesday, November 6, at 6:30pm, when The Grauer School will host a conversation with acclaimed author Cynthia Muchnick about her best-selling book: "The Parent Compass: Navigating Your Teen’s Wellness & Academic Journey in Today’s Competitive World." This event is free and open to the public, so please share the event information with your family and friends. A book signing and question & answer session will follow the presentation, and we encourage attendees to submit questions in advance through the RSVP form at www.grauerschool.com/campus-life/events.
