Turning Point School

At the heart of Turning Point School is a simple belief: every student deserves access to an exceptional education, a supportive community, and opportunities that help them thrive. Since 1970, our independent, fully accredited Preschool through Grade 8 school in Culver City has paired a strong academic foundation with a deep commitment to every part of a child's growth. Our mission guides that work each day: We open our doors to create a dynamic learning community in which each child grows into their best self.

We call our approach dynamic learning. It is interactive and responsive, shaped by each child's questions, discoveries, and interests, and it builds on what came before while reaching toward new possibilities. In our classrooms, students question, build, create, and experiment, connecting ideas across disciplines in ways that lead to real understanding. Rigor comes through deep engagement, not rote drills, long worksheets, or heavy homework loads. With an 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio and a faculty averaging 17 years of teaching experience, our teachers know each student well enough to offer the right level of challenge. They treat hard moments as opportunities for growth, using practices like strength-spotting and growth mindset work so students build resilience instead of burnout.

We give social, ethical, physical, and emotional growth the same care we give academics. From their first days with us, students practice empathy, collaboration, and ethical thinking, and they learn to lead with integrity and to listen to perspectives different from their own. We believe diversity of experience and thought is foundational to academic growth, because students who encounter a range of worldviews think harder, ask better questions, and come to understand both the world and themselves more fully.

That belief shapes our community. Families come to us from more than 50 zip codes, 65% of our students are students of color, and 43% of families receive tuition assistance, with awards ranging from 10% to 80% of tuition. Seventeen student and parent affinity groups and twelve Parent Association committees give every family a way to connect, and our all-inclusive tuition lets families take part fully without a long list of added fees.

Growth unfolds across three divisions.

• In our Early Childhood Division, children from 2 years, 9 months through Pre-K learn in classrooms rooted in Montessori practice, where independence, choice, and play build early academic foundations and confidence.
• In Elementary (Kindergarten through Grade 4), students take on a rigorous, developmentally appropriate curriculum, from Singapore Math to Writer's Workshop, while learning to take risks and pursue bold ideas.
• In Middle School (Grades 5 through 8), an interdisciplinary program designed with adolescents in mind pairs academic rigor with our signature Advisory program, a wide range of electives, and spring trips to the Grand Canyon, the Dominican Republic, and Italy.

At every level, our SmartLab and MakerLab provide students with room to design, build, and invent with real tools. After school, our Out-of-School Experience offers enrichment classes, private music and language lessons, and Tornadoes athletics teams beginning in Grade 4, with Morning Care from 7:45 am and After Care until 6:00 pm.

Because our program spans Preschool through Grade 8, older and younger students grow up alongside one another. Every student joins a multi-age Circle Group of classmates and adults that stays together through graduation. Middle schoolers mentor elementary students, and eighth graders visit their preschool Big Buddies to read and play together. Service learning and a global citizenship program certified by the Council of International Schools take learning beyond campus, and families are true partners, walking alongside their children as they grow.

Our graduates go on to Los Angeles schools such as Harvard-Westlake, Brentwood, Crossroads, and Windward, to boarding schools such as Phillips Academy Andover, Cate, and Thacher, and to public, magnet, and charter programs. They carry more than strong transcripts with them. They leave as confident, self-aware learners who know their strengths, know how to lead, and know how to contribute, ready to become exactly who they are meant to be.