A TIMELINE of THE WAVERLY SCHOOL

Founding & Formation

  • Gayle Thompson founds the Waverly Preschool to “provide a stable and caring environment in which young children have the opportunity to learn and grow at their own stage of development.”

  • Gayle founds the Waverly Elementary and Middle School serving students and their families from preschool through eighth grades. The school’s inaugural group of 47 students and five faculty occupy the bottom floor of 67 W. Bellevue Dr.

  • Just under an acre of land on Pasadena Avenue is leased from Caltrans to become the Waverly Farm.

  • Waverly High School opens, combining “the Waverly tradition of developmentally appropriate and experiential education with a college-preparatory curriculum. Its newness is its strength. Waverly has been structured to foster hands-on, individualized, and intellectually rigorous work from the onset.”

    With the launch of the High School, Waverly opens a second campus for seventh through 12th grades nearby on Pasadena Avenue.

  • Tim Ford retires, and Heidi Johnson, formerly assistant head of school, is named head of school.

    Middle and High School students select the raven as a mascot and orange/red and green as school colors.

Exploration & Growth

  • The first senior class of seven students graduates.

    The Middle and High School have outgrown their shared space. The Middle School moves temporarily to a building across the street from the Elementary School (now a children’s day care center) and then back to the elementary campus.

  • In July, the school is incorporated as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization and legally changes its name to The Waverly School.

  • The new High School campus opens at 108 Waverly Dr., the product of significant and generous gifts ‒ of dollars, professional resources, connections, and expertise ‒ drawn from the Waverly community. Led by Board Chair and parent Charles Loveman and parent and architect Jingbo Lou, the $4.3-million project incorporates the purchase of the 30,000-square-foot site adjacent to the Elementary School and placement and refurbishment of three Victorian-era homes and four 1920s bungalows. Working with preservationists, city officials, and commercial/residential development firms, a homey, community-oriented learning environment is created, offering intimately sized classrooms with natural light and a variety of outdoor gathering spaces for large and small groups while preserving one of the last remnants of the neighborhood’s residential past. It is named in honor of community members and donors Dean A. and Janice E. Scarborough.

  • The Middle School moves to its current location at 120 Waverly Dr., next door to the High School campus. The leased 8,500-square-foot site is renovated to include six classrooms, a library, and large multi-purpose room.

  • Chickens come to roost at the farm, thanks to the senior project of Dory Bennett ’12.

Stability & Momentum

  • The Board of Trustees develops and ratifies a comprehensive new school mission, available here.

    67 W. Bellevue Drive, home to the Elementary School, is purchased, paving the way for long-term sustainability, allowing a significant increase in the revenues available each year for enrichment of programs and facility improvements, and providing valuable property equity.

  • Heidi Johnson retires as head of school.

  • Clarke Weatherspoon joins Waverly as head of school.

  • 124 Waverly Dr., a property next to the Middle School at 120 Waverly Drive, is purchased, funded almost entirely through a generous gift from a Waverly parent.

  • Phase 1 of Middle School landscaping project completed, initiated and funded by gifts from several Waverly families.

REFLECTIONS…


Marina Dahlen was the first teacher hired when the preschool opened in the fall of 1984. (The preschool was renamed Waverly when it moved to Waverly Drive the following year. It opened as a new entity including Elementary and Middle school in 1993.)

“As you might guess, I have many fond memories of Waverly. But my first thoughts are of the All-School Meetings (now called Elementary School Meetings), the winter performances, the comradery of the teachers, parents, and administration, working with my best friend, Cheenu, for 13 years, our Pre-K/Kindergarten talent shows that we held every spring, and all the cool field trips we went on. I also loved being able to have my son attend Waverly from 1991 until he graduated from high school in 2008—diapers to diploma! I am in my 40th year with Waverly, and that is why these memories resound so strongly with me. I was 24 years old when I started working (at the preschool) and I am now 63. I have experienced being a young new teacher, a parent, and now, maybe the teacher with the longest time here. Hundreds, if not thousands, of core memories have been formed since then.”