Head of School Welcome
I am pleased to welcome you to Granada Preparatory School (GPS), which officially opened its doors in August of 2020.
GPS is the result of the union of two outstanding schools that have been operating in the San Fernando Valley for over 40 years. Chatsworth Hills Academy (CHA) has been educating students from PreK to 8th Grade since 1977 and is a designated World School, authorized by the International Baccalaureate Office (IBO) for both the Primary Years Program (PYP) and Middle Years Program (MYP). The IB is considered to be the gold standard in the world of education today and ensures that students are prepared for success in the top High School and Post Secondary programs in the USA and beyond. First Presbyterian Preparatory School has an outstanding Preschool program and is known for teaching strong personal values and creating a warm and caring community.
GPS combines the strengths of both schools with a common vision that our students will be kind, creative, compassionate, life-long learners inspired to take shared guardianship of the planet and create a better world. GPS will be an International Baccalaureate world school within a Christian environment that seeks to encourage students’ personal development and academic achievement with the goal of becoming thoughtful leaders in society and the world.
Set on a beautiful, centrally located and modern campus, adjacent to Granada Hills Charter High School, GPS provides students with daily opportunities to engage in a rigorous academic curriculum. The IB program is known throughout the world as the leader in global and 21st century learning and recognized by the premier institutions of higher learning as best preparing students for future academic and personal success.
Our next generation of leaders will need a constantly changing set of skills and intellectual creativity to confront the many challenges that they will face. In order to prepare our students for a rapidly changing world, our goal is to develop the skills and acquire the knowledge that will enable them to confront issues from many perspectives and solve problems creatively.
The well-designed and inquiry-based International Baccalaureate program will enable GPS students to fulfill, if not exceed, their academic and intellectual potential. A wide range of activities in and outside our classrooms ensures that each learner can grow and develop wherever their interests and talents may lie. Through the Tribes Learning Community program, we help our students develop positive social attitudes that ensure that each individual is respected and accepted as an important member of our community.
At GPS, we believe in fostering ambition, enthusiasm, kindness, humility and hard work in an environment that values well-being, joy, and happiness. In other words, at GPS our mission is to teach our students to think creatively, act responsibly, and build community.
I invite you to come visit us. Meet our happy kids and see for yourselves how GPS’s parents, faculty and students join together to create an exceptional educational experience that will be the greatest gift that you can give your child.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Carol Shibel
Head of School
