Where children permanently
fall in love with learning.
We are an independent, progressive school whose mission
is to help children discover and develop their full potential.
is to help children discover and develop their full potential.
Discover the Presidio Hill School difference
100 Years of Progressive Education
PHS has fulfilled its progressive mission for 100 years. The longest continually operating independent progressive school in California and the site of the Center for Progressive Education, we are pioneers in child-centered, personalized learning.
Happy Kids, Engaged Families
Small class sizes, one class per grade in the lower school and two sections per grade in the middle school, and an intimate, collaborative environment ensure that every child in our community is known and nurtured, that all families are appreciated and involved.
The Presidio Is Our Front Yard
Our campus is located just steps away from this national landmark, whose wooded trails, scenic hills and bountiful open spaces provide a rich natural backdrop for unique educational opportunities.
“I love how my child is appreciated, celebrated, and challenged at PHS”.
- Current Presidio Hill School Parent
Latest News View All
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On our overnight to Point Reyes last week, the 8th grade class rekindled connections and re-established class norms. With naturalists Sam and Brandon, students worked in collaborative teams to collect and measure Pacific mole crabs from the swash... Read more -
After learning about the history of immigration trends over the years, fifth graders journeyed to Angel Island to learn about the harsh treatments that took place at the Immigration Station and detention center from 1910 through the 1940s. Students... Read more -
Challenge Days is a unique opportunity for PHS Middle School classes. The 6th-8th grade students participate in a multi-day elective with mixed-grade groups. Students receive a menu of Challenge Days options and choose their preferences for the... Read more -
Last Saturday 12 of our 6th and 7th grade girls woke up early and attended the GAIM (Girls' Adventures In Math) competition in San Mateo! GAIM is a wonderful event for our students and their website details the program:"Girls' Adventures in Math is ... Read more -
The Presidio Hill School athletic program offers sports for middle school students; our goal is to provide students with many opportunities to explore new sports, increase their athletic knowledge, and develop important skills while enjoying being... Read more -
8th Grade students recently visited the Berkeley Art Museum (BAMPFA) and explored an installation of sculpture made by the artist Masako Miki. This visit directly correlated with a sculpture unit they were exploring in art class. Students were... Read more -
In honor of the 100th day of school, our lower school grades had an open hour for students to range between classrooms and activity stations. Some of our activities included making crowns, writing 100 rhyming words, making pattern block creations... Read more -
During our all-school assembly today, PHS fourth grade students shared their creative "found poems", inspired by Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington on August 28th, 1963. The fourth grade students, in groups of... Read more -
Recently, our eighth grade students have been learning about access to education and how racial demographics and household income divides San Francisco and can determine where children go to school. The students decided to build a model "one room... Read more -
Mrs. Rynerson, a former long term fourth grade teacher, came to visit our PHS fourth grade class twice this past month. Mrs. Rynerson has studied many customs, traditions, and lifestyles of different native tribes of California, and she came to... Read more -
This year's Follies (our 44th!) was a celebration of the music program at PHS. Students had the opportunity to share what they have been working on in their music curriculum with their families, friends, and the entire PHS community at the Palace of... Read more -
In the 2017-2018 school year, PHS fifth graders experienced an amazing art collaborative experience working with the San Francisco based street artist known as fnnch. Students were inspired by his message that art can and should be accessible by all... Read more -
In connection with the Global Climate Action Summit happening in San Francisco, Salesforce and the Benioff Ocean Initiative partnered with the California Academy of Sciences to bring ocean and climate science learning to the museum. Our 4th grade... Read more -
Yesterday, Presidio Hill School welcomed students to our one-hundred-and-first year! We sang welcome songs in Kindergarten, introduced ourselves in advisory, toured our new spaces in sixth-grade, and all gathered together for a special assembly!... Read more -
To apply what they learned about density, buoyancy, and Newton's Laws of Motion, some 8th graders opted to construct a cardboard boat that can float one paddler. The students tested prototypes at the Presidio YMCA pool on Thursday, with some... Read more -
Although PHS will be using the whole of 2018 to toast to our Centennial Year, we marked this incredible achievement with a weekend of celebrations over March 2-3, 2018. From special guest San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell, to a moving ceremony with... Read more -
The sixth-grade students learned about Ohlone Tribes in the Bay Area and based on their research created a proposal for an Ohlone Cultural Center in San Francisco. Desiree Munoz (https://www.presidio.gov/blog/placemaker-national-park-service-ranger-... Read more -
Presidio Hill School's very own first-grade teacher Natalie and her Forest Friday program have been featured in the winter 2018 edition of Independent School magazine. Below is a link to the online article: https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent... Read more -
Buddy class partnerships are a longstanding tradition at Presidio Hill School. For decades, PHS students have developed cross grade level friendships and engaged in cooperative learning with their buddies. The program has taken a variety of shapes... Read more -
Each week a different first grader completes their Cultural Share, which is an opportunity for students to bring an item from home that represents their family's culture. This week, first-grade student Cualli brought his father's tribal shield and... Read more -
Each year at PHS the fourth-grade class partners with the Institute on Aging for a regular visit between the students and the aging adults from the Institute. This tradition began with Erainya Neirro, long-time fourth-grade teacher at PHS, who... Read more -
PHS is back in session for our 100th year! Last week students arrived back to campus for the beginning of our 2017-18 school year- our most momentous year to date. Faculty and staff have been hard at work this summer setting up the school and there... Read more -
In mid-June, just after the end of the school year, the Center for Progressive Education at Presidio Hill School held its first-ever Summer Institute organized around the theme of Inquiry to Action in the Classroom. More than 50 educators from... Read more -
Last week Presidio Hill School's first-grade class learned more about diversity through the lens of National Parks. In 2015, 78% of the people who visited National Parks were white. Since then, the National Parks Service has tried to increase... Read more -
This spring, PHS middle school students had the chance to serve at the Glide Memorial Church on three trips. Glide serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner to San Francisco community members who need a meal 364 days a year and 60 percent of their work is... Read more
3839 Washington Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
tel: 415.751.9318
fax: 415.751.9334
A Transitional Kindergarten through Grade 8 progressive independent school
Select photography by Alyse Panitz Photography
Site by Schoolyard