Our Community

At Brightworks, we believe that a strong community forms the bedrock of a transformative learning experience.

Here, you'll discover the unique individuals who contribute to the rich fabric of our school. Our dedicated staff consists of caring, creative, and innovative educators and professionals. Families from San Francisco, the East Bay, Marin, and the Peninsula form the core of our community. Our students, driven by a love for learning and a profound curiosity about the world, come together with us to nurture their excitement for learning and develop foundational skills for future success.

In this shared journey, we celebrate togetherness, learning through hands-on experiences (whether crafting a table or engaging in restorative justice), empathy, active listening, and inclusivity. These connections manifest in chance encounters in stairwells and in larger gatherings like our morning circle.

From students bubbling with curiosity to educators kindling lifelong passions, and parents embracing this collective educational voyage, our community thrives on the pillars of trust, respect, and collaboration.

We invite you to delve into the stories, voices, and collective accomplishments that define our close-knit community, making Brightworks an extraordinary place of growth and belonging. Join us in celebrating the strength of our connections as we co-author a narrative of learning, discovery, and compassion together.

Welcome!

Calendar

Brightworks in the Press

How We Learn

Our Staff

Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Brightworks

Follow along on our adventures

on social media and sign up for our newsletter

We are coming up on Gever's third Salon Talk this season! Come join us on Tuesday Nov 19, 7-8:30 pm, to learn more about his team's Boxbots! Developed by students at BWX/Tinkering School, these bots aim to be accessible and affordable while providing great opportunities for moments of self directed learning! Come join us to learn more and to play with them! Visit our website for more info and to sign up! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxsalontalks #bwxboxbots #gevertulley

Body Arc Exploration phase! We are very fortunate to always be able to draw on our parent group that immediately steps up and brings their expertise when called for! This group of Middle School students got to witness a dissection of a cow's eye and learn about similarities with the human eye! Consider these students' reaction to the moment; not immediately comfortable, but in the end, very engaged! During the exploration phase we strive to come at an arc topic from widely different angles and provide a multitude of moments for learning and motivation. Consider this specific moment as our students now set out to declare their own individual and small group projects! We cannot wait to see where this takes them! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxbodyarc #bwxamethystband #bwx.sam

A quick reminder that our admissions season is in full swing! We have two open houses coming up this Saturday, Nov 16th, 10-12 & 1-3pm! We have a few open spots available. Please visit our website (link in bio) or follow the QR code for more info and to sign up! If you have a curious & engaged learner we encourage you to come see us and explore what we have to offer! In programs that span K-12th grade we encourage our learners to co-author their own education, we strive to foster their engagement & creativity via hands on learning and curious inquiry and we teach them critical project management skills via collaboration, reflection & sharing! And most importantly, we strive to foster such forward looking skill building within a joyful, inclusive & antiracist learning environment! Intrigued? Come see us to learn more! In person open houses on our campus @ 682 Schofield Road, SF: Nov 16th, 10-12 & 1-3pm Dec 4th, 7-9pm BIPOC Family Night, Jan 16th, 5:30-7pm Virtual Lunch Overviews and Q&As: Dec 11th, 12-pm Jan 8th, 12-1pm #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxadmissions #bwxopenhouse

Educating the Next Generation at the Intersection of AI & Technology! Join us for this exciting virtual event with George Hofstetter, founder and CEO of GHTech and a current grad student @ Columbia University, as he explores the intersection of emerging technologies, AI and social justice! Originally from the Bay Area George brings a powerful perspective to this very important discussion on the future of our education! We hope to see you on Wed Nov 13 @ 5:30-6:30pm (please note the date change!) For more info & to register visit our website (link in bio) or follow this QR code! Whether you are a student, parent or educator please join us online this Wednesday! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxpowerandprivilege #ghtechinc

Community Potluck & BWX 2024 Annual Fund! A big thank you to everyone who came out yesterday for our fall community potluck! Having students, staff, families & friends gather around the sharing of some yummy foods, some interesting conversations, some playful fun and an exhibit of our upper school studio work highlighted the most important values we place in our community! We are always excited to celebrate our unique school and forever grateful for all the wonderful people that calls this place home! For anyone interested in supporting us, please visit our website to learn more about our no-frills 2024 annual fundraising campaign! This year we also have a very exciting 3 to 1 match which will ensure that your support will go a long way! Follow the QR code or use the link in our bio! #sfbrightworks #everythingisintersting #bwxcommunity #bwxfallpotluck #bwxbodyarc #bwxannualcampaign

On this very specific day we choose to highlight & celebrate community! Take a look at this extraordinary Body Arc exploration project in which our younger students went out into their community, reached out to strangers, photographed & interviewed them to learn more about our neighbors! Since arriving back at school they have organized their notes and continued to represent their interview subjects in art works spanning several iterations! They have learned to represent stories & personalities in artwork, collaborate, provide and interpret feedback and finally they even managed to work bits of math into their project by comparing sizes of their various iterations! Let this amazing project be a reminder and an inspiration for us all to seek perspective, meaning & direction while we continue to engage with each other in safe, caring & affectionate manners! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxbodyarc #bodyarcexploration #bwx_quartzband

Diwali @ BWX! On the day after Halloween we got treated to this beautiful celebration by one of our own families! Learning about and celebrating holidays & traditions that are meaningful to any of our students gives us an opportunity to build our understanding, strengthen our community and value our diversity! Enjoy! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxdiwali #bwxpowerandprivilege

Happy Halloween everyone! We hope you had a fun and spooky night! We do our very best every year to put on a proper celebration and this year was no exception! Enjoy all the crazy & fun ideas, all the thought that went into their creations and the silliness and camaraderie that was on full display! What a day! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxhalloween

Upper School Studios, Fine Arts! During exploration our middle & high school students meet in studio time to take a deep dive into an expression of their choice! Mixing with students from outside their own bands they get to experiment with a new form of expression, hone their skills, work with high quality tools and produce more professionalized work! In addition to learning to love their chosen form of expression they also gain skills that in turn will become fundamental in expressing their learning as they get deeper into their personal project work! This group of students working in the Fine Arts are in the process of producing some stellar work! We are looking forward to seeing their development and can only imagine the possibilities! Stay tuned! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxfinearts #bwxstudios #bwxbodyarc #bwxamethyst #bwxonyx #bwxobsidian

Our annual Fall BiPOC dinner & social! Last week our BiPOC families gathered around some yummy food, some meaningful conversation & some deeper reflection! We are grateful for this opportunity to engage in a space of comfort & support as we continue to encourage a culture of understanding & belonging! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxbipocfamilies #bwxdiversity

We continue our Evening Salons with Gever! Meet us on Tuesday, Oct 22, 7-8:30pm in the BWX library for a discussion on Experiential Learning! As we build a contraption together we explore the opportunities and connections it creates for understanding concepts in math and physics! For more info and to sign up, please follow the QR code or visit our website (link in bio) We are looking forward to seeing you there! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxeveningsalons #gevertulley

'Where in the world is Gever..??' ...is a question we often ask ourselves! We are very fortunate to continue to benefit from the creativity, energy and hands on participation of our wonderful founder @gevertulley He is in high demand the world over for his dedicated expertise & support of inquiry based learning in education, and we continue to benefit from these valuable connections! This time we hosted a wonderful group visiting from Japan! Educators from the newly founded progressive elementary & middle school @seto_solan came to see our school in full action! We are proud to serve as an inspiration & humbled to participate in this ongoing exchange of ideas, experience & inspiring connections! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #seto_solan #gevertulley #inquirybasedlearning #bwxeducatorvisits #bwxcuriouseducators

LARP (Live Action Role Play) has always been an important part of our Park Activities! This year we have seen a renewed interest and a commitment to playing by the original rules! And we love the fact that our BWX alumni are coming back to aid us in this effort! A big shout out to our very own @heterographer Described as a game half way between sport & drama we aim to stay with & play out an evolving story line of fantasy & fairytale, we emphasize playing with kindness & care and we play with foam weapons we have created ourselves! As such we arrive at a game that is engaging & inclusive, with layers of creativity & learning at multiple levels! What's not to love about this! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxlarp #bwxpark #bwxalumni #heterographer #bwxcommunityarc

We are so blessed to be located within the Presidio with beautiful natural surroundings right at our door step! Our kids get to enjoy it all on a daily basis! During Community Arc this band took advantage and went deeper into the park to explore! Enjoy their excitement and imagine the inspiration it sparked! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxcommunityarc #bwxinthepresidio #bwxsapphireband

A Math Odessey with our Middle & High School students! The math programs for our upper school students are specifically tailored to develop their confidence in math, their understanding of what kind of learners they are, their collaborative skills and their ability to challenge themselves. All of this within a framework of problem solving that is related to their everyday lives! When we realized their first assignment of the year asked them to build the tallest structure out of thin spaghetti that would stand up and hold a piece of marshmallow on top, we found that to be right on point! By now we are looking forward to follow them on their journey and to learn more about how they will continue to challenge their mathematical problem solving skills! Stay tuned for the ride! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxmathodessey #bwxamethystband #bwxonyxband #bwxobsidianband

Community Friday - one of our most beloved community building traditions! We spend every Friday afternoon encouraging our students & staff to co-mingle in activities and play! Last Friday was our first on-site Community Friday this year, which saw our students bringing out our board games while others engaged in carving club and LARP weapon making sessions! Finally we celebrated Latino Heritage Month with some yummy treats and a big dance party! We are so proud to witness our community building bonds across the age groups! Enjoy! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxcommunityfriday #bwxlatinoheritage

We were so excited to host Aida Salazar, @aida_writes for an author visit @ BWX! Showcasing her story making process, she presented her recent work, read for our younger students and held poetry workshops for our older learners! Thank you so much for engaging our learners and inspiring them in so many ways! They had a blast! Enjoy these images and marvel @ the joy & engagement! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #aida_writes #bwxauthorsvisit

Admissions season is starting! We are calling on all curious & engaged learners to come see us and explore what we have to offer! In programs that span K-12th grade we encourage our learners to co-author their own education, we strive to foster their engagement & creativity via hands on inquiry & learning and we teach them critical project management skills via reflection, collaboration & sharing! And most importantly, we strive to foster such forward looking skill building within a joyful, inclusive & antiracist learning environment! We are truly on a path to reimagine what school can be! Intrigued? Come see us to learn more! In person, open houses Oct 5th, 10-12 noon Nov 16th, 10-12 noon Dec 4th, 7-9 pm Virtual events will be announced soon! For more info and to sign up, please visit our website (link in bio or via QR code) www.sfbrightworks.org #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxadmissions #bwxopenhouses #learningforthefuture

The 'build your own chair' challenge has become somewhat of a tradition for BWX's Community Arc! It is a powerful provocation in that everyone knows what a chair is and everyone thinks they know how to make one. It easily serves as a wonderful motivation to learn your way around the workshop and get your hands on some powerful tools. Finally, it invites our kids to participate in co-creating their physical learning spaces, reminding them of the power they have in co-creating their own learning journey! While this band took this challenge literally and build beautiful chairs for their band space, other bands are exercising various plans for making their learning spaces functional, homey and fun! We will continue to report back! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxcommunityarc #bwxchairchallenge #bwxshoptraining #bwx_quartzband

Looking back at Community Friday last week! In classic BWX tradition our Middle & High School students teamed up with the younger ones to walk them down to the beach! Marvel at these scenes that showcase such effortless bond making across the age groups!! #sfbrightworks #everythingisinteresting #bwxcommunityarc #bwxcommunityfriday