Curriculum Close-Ups

We know it's not always possible for every interested family to visit us in person, so we created this series of short videos to provide you with an introduction to our academic departments and some of our other key programs. While their primary focus is the Upper School, they are reflective of our educational philosophy and campus culture.

Choose a video below to gain insight into each of our departments and hear directly from our faculty and staff on what makes Westridge truly special!

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English Department

WITH JESSICA BREMMER, PH.D.

"I ask myself, what is the book, poem, or play that will change the way my students think about reading and literature?"

Math Department

WITH DAN CALMEYER

"We're going to make sure that every student sees a way into mathematics."

Science Department

WITH LAURA HATCHMAN

"Our students are insatiable in their yearning to understand how the world around them works."

Computer Science & Engineering Department

WITH AUTUMN ROGERS & DAN CALMEYER

"If you give them permission to create amazing things, they will create amazing things."

History Department

WITH WILLA GREENSTONE

"It's so important to us that our students recognize that history is part of our lives and the story of who we are and where we're going."

World Languages & Culture Department

WITH HILARY MALSPEIS, PH.D.

"We do everything we can to make our classes a lot of fun - we do skits, we have presentations, we play games to practice vocabulary."

Music Department

WITH KERRI EPPS

At Westridge, we emphasize making music over playing music. Through our program, students learn creativity, collaboration, and the importance of ensemble.

Visual Arts Department

WITH DAVID PRINCE

"What really excites me is process, and what I try to relate to the students is that there are no mistakes."

Theatre Department

WITH BRANDON KRUHM

"We think it's important to create space and time for people to look each other in the eye and practice listening and collaborating."

STEAMWork Design Studio

WITH MICK LORUSSO

S.T.E.A.M. stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. This is an interdisciplinary space designed for all students in 4th-12th grade.

Athletics

WITH GARY BALDWIN & MELANIE HORN

"A lot of schools will view athletics as an extracurricular activity; we view it as a co-curricular activity, which means that it's part of the educational process."

Physical Education

WITH ALLISON CLARK & KAREN HANSELMAN

At Westridge, no one has said "Girls don't do that".