# Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School

Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School, commonly referred to as Kirby School, is a co-educational non-sectarian independent school located in Santa Cruz, California. The school educates students in grades 6–12.

## History and general information

Kirby School was founded in 1994 as an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian institution dedicated to providing a rigorous and personalized college-preparatory education. The school is named after Georgiana Bruce Kirby (1818–1887), a pioneering suffragist, educator, and public speaker who played a significant role in advancing women’s rights and education in California during the mid-1800s.
Originally established to offer a challenging and inclusive learning environment for students, Kirby quickly became known for its small class sizes, emphasis on student-led inquiry, and strong commitment to the arts and sciences.
In August 2006, the school relocated to the Tarantella building in the Harvey West area of Santa Cruz. The facility, formerly a high-technology complex, provided expanded classroom space, state-of-the-art science labs, and dedicated areas for the arts, music, and athletics. This move allowed Kirby to grow its academic and extracurricular programs while maintaining its intimate and supportive learning environment.

#### Mission and Educational Philosophy

Kirby School's mission is to empower students to shape their futures with confidence. The school fosters a culture of critical thinking, creativity, and intellectual curiosity, while emphasizing respect, diversity, and social responsibility.
Grounded in a student-centered approach, Kirby encourages inquiry-based learning, interdisciplinary studies, and hands-on experiences. The school values a well-rounded education, integrating STEM, humanities, the arts, and global studies to prepare students for college and beyond.

## Academic achievements and recognition

Kirby School has consistently demonstrated strong academic performance, particularly in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and standardized testing.
* In 2006, the College Board Advanced Placement Report to the Nation recognized Kirby students for achieving the "Best in the World" performance in AP Art History among schools with 300 or fewer students.
* In the spring of 2009, Kirby students took 99 AP exams, with 94% scoring a 3 or higher, qualifying for college credit. Nearly half (47%) of those students earned the maximum score of 5.
Kirby students also excel in national academic recognition programs:
* Between 1999 and 2009, 15% of graduates (36 out of 250) received National Merit recognition.
* In 2014, 25% of the graduating class earned National Merit recognition, further highlighting the school's academic rigor.

#### Student-to-Teacher Ratio and College Preparation

Kirby maintains small class sizes to foster individualized learning:
* Student-to-teacher ratio: 5:1
* Average class size: 12 students
College counseling begins in junior year, with a student-to-counselor ratio of 18:1, ensuring personalized guidance through the college application process.

#### World Language Program and International Immersion

Kirby offers a diverse language program, including American Sign Language (ASL), Latin, and Spanish.
* In 2024, students participated in a language immersion program in Spain and Italy, experiencing the cultures firsthand.
* In 2025, Spanish students expanded their global perspective by traveling to Argentina for an immersive study abroad experience.

## Extracurricular

Kirby School has 10 athletic teams. They offer a mix of club teams, as well as teams that compete in the Central Coast Section. Kirby has a no-cut policy. The ultimate frisbee team is nationally recognized for producing excellent players, including Anton Orme who represents the United States on the national team. Orme was second-runner up for the Division One Offensive Player of the Year. In 2018, the team competed in a state championship match.
Kirby School has a robust club scene, with over 25 student-led clubs. Music ensembles and theater productions are also popular. Each year, Kirby puts on three concerts with open-mic events in between. They have a beginner strings group, chamber choir, chorus, jazz band, orchestra, and jazz choir. Kirby puts on three theater productions every year: one play, one musical, and one middle-school musical.

## Notable Alumni

Aza Steel ‘09 is the founder of GoGuardian which he launched after graduating from UCLA. In 2016, he was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 Education.
Mia Deng ‘13 is the youngest partner at Dragonfly Capital, a crypto asset firm that handles $2 billion in assets. Deng was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 Finance and Venture Capital.
Dr. Clare Yue Lou ‘14 completed a fellowship at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) where she was part of the HS Chau Women in Enterprising Science Program (WIES). Lou was selected to receive $1 million in seed funding to support her work "mining human microbiome datasets to develop immune-modulating therapies for conditions ranging from cancer to autoimmunity.” With an AI-driven computational pipeline, she found peptides that showed robust anti-tumor properties in vitro. Lou co-founded Sift Biosciences which has received a NVIDIA startup grant. She was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare.
Shell Eisenberg ‘09 broke the U.S. Women’s National Record in May 2018, freediving to a depth of 85m.
Anthony Arya ‘20 was a contestant on season 15 of NBC’s “The Voice.” Arya was 15 at the time and competed on “Team Adam.” Arya attends Stanford University and is active on the Northern California music scene.

## Affiliations

Kirby is a member of and is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.