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Student Life

A student-centered community fostering engaged and informed citizens.

Students boldly say that Kirby School is fun. It is a community of individuals; a place where members display uninhibited joy in learning and demonstrate enthusiastic support of one another.

Our student-centered environment fosters adaptability and inspires creative thinking. Our small size and independent leadership fuels a culture of possibilities! Learning and working together is our most celebrated outcome. 

Graduation 2020

Students in drama loosen up with a silly exercise

"We like to say that Kirby is a place where it’s cool to be smart, and that’s true. But it is more than that. Kirby is a safe place where it’s cool to be who you are, to try new things without fear of failure or ridicule, to be supported by your teachers and your peers whatever your appetites, inclinations or interests. It is a place where students are challenged, and given the tools they need to succeed."

Gary Young, Kirby Book Arts Teacher, 2010 Santa Cruz Poet Laureate