• About

About

Welcome to UCLA Lab School

Part of the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, we are an innovative school for children ages 4-12.

We encourage children’s natural love of learning while also helping them develop a disciplined approach to their work. At the same time, our classrooms and meeting spaces serve as a laboratory for exploring innovative ideas about teaching, learning, and child development. We share the results of our studies through collaborations with educators from other schools, through conferences, workshops and site visits, and in print publications and other media. Through this mix of strategies, UCLA Lab School teaching practices and research outcomes have been widely shared with schools across the globe.

children hugging and playing

Core Beliefs

We believe in:

Equity

  • Creating a teaching and learning environment that supports all student identities
  • Supporting children’s cognitive, emotional, social and physical development
  • Building a community of caring learners guided by safe school norms
  • Putting into practice an ethic of mutual respect and inclusiveness
  • Promoting interchange of ideas through conversations and dialogue
  • Developing a learning community based on appreciation of differences

Critical Thinking

  • Teaching to big ideas and concepts
  • Embedding and integrating skills across subject areas
  • Assessing and building on students’ prior knowledge
  • Designing inquiry-based learning experiences based on concepts and big ideas
  • Offering multiple entry points into each curriculum area to meet individual learning needs
  • Offering multi-sensory experiences to build meaning
  • Making student thinking explicit through multiple representations
  • Providing opportunities for teachers and children to articulate how they arrived at their understandings

Building Community

  • Participating with parents as collaborators in their children’s educational progress
  • Encouraging collaborative teacher-student relationships
  • Encouraging collaborative relationships among all members of our learning community
  • Supporting public engagement to exchange ideas and work with the broader community

Lifelong Learning

  • Developing a culture based on love of learning
  • Fostering students’ initiative to become self-directed learners

Innovation, Research and Public Engagement

  • Encouraging intellectual risk taking among teachers and staff
  • Assessing and reflecting on our programs and teaching practices
  • Supporting the research function of the university
  • Collaborating with a variety of educational organizations

Initiatives

UCLA Lab School is working on programs to strengthen and enhance teaching and learning in PreK-6 education. Our major areas of focus include:

  • Advancing partnerships with schools and districts in Los Angeles and California
  • Expanding professional development programs for teachers
  • Expanding educational opportunities for students and families in traditionally underserved communities in Los Angeles

A Commitment to Diversity

“If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.” — Margaret Mead (1901-1978, anthropologist)

Our diversity is an integral part of who we are as a school community. The diversity of our families, teachers, and staff enhances and enriches the learning environment, provides opportunities for children’s growth, and helps us conduct research and develop curricula that are relevant for a wide variety of schools.

The factors that contribute to our diversity encompass race, gender, ethnicity, geography, language, sexual orientation, learning style, socioeconomics, class and income, religion, physical ability, and family structure. We continuously seek ways to build connections among the members of our community so that we can advance what we know and experience regarding diversity and inclusiveness at our school and in the world around us.

Student Ethnicity

Figures are typical from year to year

Board of Advisors

The role of the UCLA Lab School Board of Advisors is to foster community support and further the mission and goals of the school. The board consists of parents of current and former students, community members, lab school faculty members, the dean of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, and the principal. It serves as a forum for discussion and consultation related to development, finance, and advocacy for the school.

2018–2019

  • Jeremy Barber – Chair
  • Mia Riverton Alpert – Vice Chair
  • Samantha Butler
  • Elsa Collins
  • Bobby Daly
  • Ryan Gates
  • Ben Goldhirsh
  • Rebecca Heneise
  • Erika Johnson-Brooks
  • Jordan Kaplan
  • Jennifer Lang
  • Amy Lassere
  • Georgia Lazo
  • Heidi Lindelof
  • Leo Marmol
  • Alyson Marmur
  • Ashley May
  • Mandore Oviedo
  • Akia Pacheco
  • Luz Padua
  • Nikki Parrish
  • Desa Philadelphia
  • Jody Priselac
  • Kal Raustiala
  • Chip Robertson
  • Mitch Smelkinson
  • Deanna Staake
  • Adam Stein
  • Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
  • Philip Tseng
  • Cash Warren
  • Andrew Weiss
  • Renata Gusmão-Garcia Williams