We are building this section to answer 14 questions asked from visitors. If you have a question that remains unanswered, please let us know by sending an email. 

Q: Is The Gooden School school accredited?
A: Yes. We are accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Western Association of Independent Schools (WASC), and certified by The Commission on Schools in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. We also have membership in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) and the Educational Records Bureau (ERB).

Q: Are there teacher assistants? 
A: Yes. Kindergarten has a full-time assistant and there is a reading resource teacher and math resource teacher within the lower school for the elementary grade students.

Q: What are the independent school’s hours? 
A: School hours are Monday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. –3:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Q: Is there before-and-after-school care for children? 
A: Yes. Morning care begins at 7:30 a.m. and after-school care is available until 6:00 p.m. Monday -Thursday (until 5:00 p.m. on Friday).

Q: Is foreign language instruction part of the curriculum? 
A: Yes. Spanish is taught to grades K-8 and Latin is added to the curriculum for middle school grades 6-8.

Q: What kind of co-curricular classes are offered? 
A: In addition to core subjects (math, language arts, science, social studies), students participate in art and physical education each week. All students participate in drama productions. 
Music is also taught each week. Instruments are introduced at the Kindergarten level and the recorder is part of the program for grades 1 and 2. String instrument instruction begins in grade 3 and wind instruments are added to the program in grade 5.

Q: Do students take field trips? 
A: Yes. All students attend plays and visit the Huntington Library. Grade 3 students participate in “Roots and Shoots,” an educational garden program held at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. 
Students in grades 4-8 participate in extended field trips, including overnight trips to: Sacramento, San Francisco, Gold Country, AstroCamp, Pali Mountain Institute, Catalina Island Marine Institute, Boston, New York, Washington D.C., and Williamsburg.

Q: My family is not Episcopal. Would my child fit in at The Gooden School? 
A: Yes. While students are required to attend chapel (twice per week), being a member of the Episcopal faith is not required. Students of all faith traditions are welcomed and respected within our private school community. 
Episcopal schools have been established, not solely as communities for Christians, but as ecumenical and diverse ministries of educational and human formation for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Our independent school, like other Episcopal schools, is populated by a rich variety of human beings, from increasingly diverse religious, cultural and economic backgrounds. Episcopal schools invite all who attend and work in them – Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians, Christians and non-Christians, people of no faith tradition – both to seek clarity about their own beliefs and religions and to honor those traditions more fully and faithfully in their own lives. Above all, Episcopal schools exist not merely to educate, but to demonstrate and proclaim the unique worth and beauty of all human beings.

Q: Where do the grade 8 graduates go to high school? 
A: Middle School graduates matriculate to a variety of high schools: Alverno High School, Don Bosco Tech, Flintridge Preparatory School, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, La Salle High School, Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, Loyola High School, Mayfield Senior School, Maranatha High School, Phillips Andover Academy, Polytechnic School, St. Francis High School, The Webb Schools, and Westridge School for Girls.