Search Results - Polytechnic School

The school was founded in 1907 as the first private non-profit elementary school in California. It descends from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by Amos G. Throop, the same institution which grew into the present California Institute of Technology. The school added a ninth grade in 1918 and expanded to high school in 1959. Polytechnic ended its pre-Kindergarten program in 2005.

In the spring of 1907, the Institute decided to focus on the college level and closed the grammar school. Philanthropic citrus tycoon Ezra S. Gosney donated $12,500, a sum matched by eighteen other donors. This money allowed them to purchase the property at the present site, originally an orange grove. The school opened in October of 1907 with 106 students. At the time, the school was named Polytechnic Elementary School. After instituting a ninth grade, the name changed to Polytechnic Elementary and Junior High School.

Poly offers Advanced Placement and honors classes as well as arts and athletic programs. According to a College Board report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on Advanced Placement exams. Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school in the world for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus AB examination in both 2004 and 2005.^[1]In 2007, Polytechnic School was ranked 4th in the Nation by The Wall Street Journal in success rate in sending students to Harvard University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Williams College, Pomona College, Swarthmore College, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, higher than many older, more well known east coast prep schools such as Phillips Exeter and Phillips Andover.^[2] In the 2006-07 class, 42% of class were National Merit Finalists & Commended students and 84% of students were accepted to 'highly-selective' top tier universities.