Viewpoint School enrolls 1,215 students across four Divisions that comprise Kindergarten through Twelfth Grades (Primary School, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School).

Please click on the button to the left entitled, "Affording Viewpoint," for a complete breakdown of current tuition and fees.

The School's designated entry points, where a large group of new students is selected for admission each year, are:

Kindergarten in Primary School;
Grade Six in Middle School;
Grade Seven in Middle School;
Grade Nine in Upper School.

We encourage you to contact the Office of Admission to discuss your interest in Viewpoint. Each year, it is not unusual for a few spots in grades other than Kindergarten, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Grades to become available through attrition, which means that a currently enrolled student is not planning to return.

As a general rule, Viewpoint's retention of current students from one year to the next is very high, usually above 96 percent, so it is not possible to predetermine in any given year what the availability of spaces will be in our non-entry point grades. Nevertheless, we welcome the applications of families interested in Viewpoint for their children for any grade, and look forward to advising them as to the most appropriate course of action for their children in any given year. Please don't hesitate to contact us about this.

In Kindergarten, we enroll 60-66 children each year. In our entry point grades of Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth, we enroll anywhere from 25-40 new students annually in each of those three grades. In our non-entry point grades, admission occurs by attrition only, which means anywhere from zero to four spaces may be available.

Admission to Viewpoint is competitive, with an overall application ratio of four to one.

Viewpoint is proud to be a family-oriented community enriched by many families with more than one child at the School. We are committed to working closely with our current parents to determine if Viewpoint School is the best match for each of their children. We recognize that no one school is the perfect match for every child. Thus, our goal in the admission process is to enroll children who will find personal and academic success at Viewpoint.

To this end, Viewpoint gives priority in the admission process to siblings of currently enrolled students under the following conditions:

1. Provided all other factors are equal and the sibling is academically qualified to enter Viewpoint.

2. Provided the family has maintained a positive relationship with the School, supporting its programs, policies, teachers, and administrators, including its fundraising programs.

3. Provided there is space available in the grade to which the child is applying. Keep in mind that Viewpoint's entry grades are Kindergarten, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Grades. A sibling who is qualified for admission but applying to a grade other than these may be placed in the Wait Pool if no spaces open. We cannot ever guarantee the availability of spots in a non-entry-point grade.

Please note that we encourage all our Viewpoint families to apply to several schools since we cannot ever guarantee admission for any applicant.

The application deadline for siblings of current students applying to any grade is December 1. The application date is earlier for siblings than for new families to Viewpoint, because it enables us to prioritize any available openings for the following school year for qualified siblings of current students.

Depending upon the grade of the child, we are looking for different things as we assess their admission applications. These are discussed in the FAQs related to "Primary and Lower Schools" and "Middle and Upper Schools." Generally speaking, admission is very selective, requiring an interview, testing, and strong academic and behavioral records, because we require students to complete course work of significant depth and breadth in preparation for the academic challenges of college.

We are looking for parents who will take the time to become as familiar as possible with our School's programs and philosophy during the process. To that end, we welcome families to attend as many tours and informational meetings as they need, and to discuss individual questions during the Family Meeting with a member of the Admission Committee.

Applicants to Viewpoint are never considered in a vacuum. We are a family-oriented community that seeks a partnership between School and home with parents who are desirous of maintaining a positive, supportive relationship with the School.  The interview with the parents is a crucial part of this determination process.

Viewpoint School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Association of Independent Schools, and is a member of the Cum Laude Society, National Association of Independent Schools, National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs, and A Better Chance.

Click on "Upper School Profile" to the left to view Viewpoint's A.P., National Merit, and SAT results.

Viewpoint School attracts students from such diverse areas as the San Fernando Valley, the Conejo Valley, Malibu, Topanga, and the Palisades. Because our students come from a wide range of geographic areas, we are committed to assisting our families as much as possible to arrive at solutions to transportation difficulties.

We offer flexible and convenient bus transportation contracted through Tumbleweed Transportation. In addition, we assist our families by providing zip code lists of other Viewpoint families in their neighborhoods with whom they might partner to create carpools.

The current bus routes include Calabasas, Hidden Hills/Bell Canyon, Woodland Hills, Agoura/North Ranch, Encino/Sherman Oaks, Point Dume/Malibu, Northridge/Chatsworth, Thousand Oaks, and Pacific Palisades/Topanga.

Families who choose to enroll their children at a school of Viewpoint's caliber make a significant financial commitment through tuition to join our community, and we appreciate that tremendously. However, a common element of independent schools, who receive no funding from the state for our educational programs, is the expectation that parents will become an active part of the community. This means supporting the School with their time and their resources to the best of their ability above and beyond paying tuition, since the price of our tuition does not cover the full cost of educating our students.

Independent schools such as Viewpoint typically seek additional gifts to provide support to the annual operating budget through an Annual Fund, which provides an opportunity for a family to make a voluntary, tax-deductible charitable contribution to the school their children attend. Our parent community enthusiastically recognizes this because they understand that Viewpoint is rich in values and offers an unparalleled commitment to excellence in a curriculum that is comprehensive in its depth and breadth, along with diverse extracurricular activities, and outstanding faculty and staff.

The participation of our families, through their time and their resources, provides the margin of excellence which distinguishes Viewpoint as an exceptional school. There is an enormous range in the size of gifts that Viewpoint receives each year, and we appreciate every gift regardless of the dollar amount given. What is most important is participation, because a high percentage of parent participation in the Annual Fund is a tangible demonstration of our community’s support for Viewpoint. Many of our families enthusiastically participate in the Annual Fund as a way of saying thank you for the education that their children are receiving – the joy they hear in their voices at the end of the school day and the enthusiasm for learning that their children experience in the classroom every day.

LEARNING EXPECTATIONS OF VIEWPOINT SCHOOL
The faculty believes:

that Viewpoint’s graduates should be literate in the humanities, mathematics, science, technology, the arts, and a second language;

that Viewpoint’s graduates should demonstrate useful physical skills, cooperative and competitive team skills, sportsmanship, and a life-long interest in fitness and health;

that Viewpoint’s graduates should demonstrate creative, critical, and generative thinking;

that Viewpoint’s graduates should embody integrity, compassion, tolerance, responsibility, discernment, and optimism;

that excellent intellectual and oral communication skills will enable Viewpoint’s graduates to be life-long learners and productive, active citizens.

At Viewpoint, we believe that learning occurs best in an environment of honesty, mutual respect, concern, consideration, and courtesy between faculty and students. These values are the basis upon which trust and positive communication can grow. Viewpoint's rules do not define mature human behavior; they merely set limits. The School takes pride in its student body and expects its students to bring credit to themselves and to the community. Parent and student support of our conduct policies will maintain the quality of education and community life that we seek to provide.

We have high standards of performance in all areas, including personal conduct. We expect our students to be on their best behavior in classes, assemblies, on the athletic field, on school trips, and even after school. At all times, students are ambassadors of Viewpoint as well as of themselves and their families. Proper manners, good dress and grooming, appropriate language, and courtesy toward others are essential parts of a healthy academic environment. In addition, we expect each student to have the highest level of integrity and to respect the rights and property of others at all times. The faculty as role models reinforce these values.

However, at the same time, we also recognize that all of us make mistakes, and therefore need to forgive and to be forgiven by others, so that we can give students a chance to "do it better the next time." This understanding and tolerant atmosphere helps to build the confidence that one needs in order to try new things.

We are able to issue I-20s for international students. However, it is important to keep in mind that Viewpoint is a day school with no boarding facilities. We do not undertake to place foreign students with host families. Students wishing to study at Viewpoint from abroad must already have their own built-in local support network ---relatives or friends in the area with whom they can live during the school year; who will provide transportation and living expenses; and be responsible for the students for the duration of their stay at Viewpoint.

While many Viewpoint students are involved in exciting activities outside of school, they do not miss class to do so. We are a school firmly committed to the concept that daily attendance in the classroom is critical to a student's success. Students not in attendance miss that which is most special about Viewpoint.

Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that Viewpoint may not be the right school for prospective students with outside involvements that require significant commitments of time on their part to pursue. It would not be fair to such a student to burden them with the consequences of regularly missing all or part of the school day. We ask that every family offered admission to Viewpoint consider this point very carefully before they decide to accept our offer of admission.

Before the start of each school year, we ask that all our families carefully check the School calendar so that family vacations can be scheduled to coincide with school holidays and that appointments be scheduled after school hours whenever possible. Of course, illness, medical appointments, religious holidays, and emergencies are normal occurrences, and the Divisional Head and teachers will assist the student in taking responsibility to make up the missing work.

No. Admission to Viewpoint is a competitive process. We typically receive far more applications from prospective students than we have spaces available. Therefore, we maintain a selective admission process in order to take great care in matching applicants and their qualifications to the School.

Please contact the Office of Admission directly. We will be happy to advise you as to space availability at that point and whether or not we would encourage further applications, based on the entering grade of the child.

Families typically begin the admission process for a competitive independent school like Viewpoint in the fall prior to the year the child would enter the School. Tours and information sessions are available during the fall and applications must be postmarked no later than the annual January application date in order to be considered on time. After that, applications are considered on a case by case basis for the Wait Pool.

Due to a high rate of retention of our current students and a large pool of qualified applicants every year, Viewpoint is typically unable to accept all of the applicants who qualify for admission. In this situation, we may offer qualified applicants positions in the Wait Pool. Because we do not rank the Wait Pool, since all of the children in this category are qualified for admission to our School, we refer to it as a "Pool," rather than a "List," which implies a certain rank order.

The Admission Committee will refer to this pool of qualified applicants to fill any openings that may occur between March and September. If a space suddenly becomes available, the Committee will select a candidate from the Wait Pool for admission.

Whom the Committee selects depends upon many variables, including the ratio of girls to boys, and priority for qualified Wait Pooled siblings of currently enrolled students. We cannot guarantee that spaces will become available for students in the Wait Pool, so we encourage all families to apply to multiple schools.

Viewpoint School is committed to the socioeconomic diversity of its student body. Each year, more than 12% of the student body receives some form of financial assistance. The Financial Aid Committee grants awards to families who have demonstrated economic need based upon a review of the documentaton submitted through the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) on the Parents' Financial Statement.

The button to the left entitled, "Affording Viewpoint," provides detailed information on our financial aid programs.

Need-blind admission means that the School makes its determinations of financial aid separately from the decision to admit a child. Applying for financial aid does not have an impact upon the admission decision. Although the budget for financial aid is limited, all families who need assistance are encouraged to apply.