Kirby School

Kirby is an intentionally small, courageously different 6–12 school in Santa Cruz for intellectually curious students who don’t fit easily into boxes—and who wouldn’t want to. Here, students are challenged without being hardened, supported without being coddled, and known not just by name, but by heart. We believe academic rigor and emotional belonging are not in conflict—they are the twin pillars of a truly transformative education. Learning at Kirby is personal, purposeful, and profoundly human. Students grow not by performing, but by becoming—more thoughtful, more capable, and more wholly themselves.