 Our History
Thirty years ago, Daniel K. Ludwig envisioned a neighborhood community with an elementary school as its focal point. Located forty miles north of Los Angeles, Westlake Village emerged nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains with White Oak School at its heart.
Our neighborhood school shares open space with the central park of the First Neighborhood. Many students walk to and from school on the winding greenbelt paths that link the homes to our campus. Our courtyard joins modular classroom buildings and play yards where students, staff, and parents gather on weekends as well as throughout the day. In addition, White Oak is home to the YMCA's extended day care program, a kindercare program, and the campus is in constant use by community and civic organizations and sports teams.
 Our Neighborhood
White Oak is regarded as a school in an affluent community, but our students come from varied socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Many live in traditional two-parent families, while others live in single or blended parent homes. Their home life experiences are diverse.
Many of White Oak's families have extended day care needs (especially when both parents work as far as 100 miles away), and others have faced the upheaval of unemployment. Most parents work in white collar jobs, some in high technology and defense related industries, some in jobs requiring frequent out-of-town travel, and others in jobs characterized by boom and bust cycles and are plagued by unexpected transitions. Some students attend White Oak from kindergarten through fifth grade; others remain for only a short time due to parent job transfers. Nevertheless, White Oak's families share the same common value for their children - education is paramount and their commitment to White Oak School is resolute.
 Our Philosophy
Consequently, White Oak's educational philosophy is child-centered and its staff is nurturing and compassionate, highly trained, committed to excellence, and of impeccable character. These qualities inspire children to give their best effort to succeed, and their parents to be intimately involved in all aspects of school life.
At White Oak School, teachers, parents, principal, and support staff see ourselves as a single entity, bonded by a common purpose - to provide each of White Oak's students with an education that gives them a chance to succeed. Our togetherness is what makes White Oak School unique; what makes it worthy of our national recognition is that the children's chance to succeed becomes reality.
Students - Teachers - Staff - Parents
 WHAT A TEAM!
Their successes are evident every day in many ways - a first grader who is so proud that he no longer reverses letters, or a third grader who is thrilled she can explain how she came up with the answer to a story problem. All this is possible because White Oaks' teachers and principal have taken the risk to develop and implement a child-centered learning environment based on the best time-proven and newly emerging instructional strategies and curricula. These strategies encompass learning as a process, not a product, and allow for incremental successes in an in an environment where it is safe to take risks. Our students say, "It's OK to make mistakes because I learn from each of them, and I'm willing to try again."
Parents are completely supportive of the staffs' efforts because the end result is that White Oak children become adults who recognize the beauty of lifelong learning rather than those who perform only for grades, promotions, or other accolades. The staff and parents realize that to perpetuate this outlook requires an equal, productive partnership.
The partnership begins in the classroom where parents volunteer their time to enable teachers to create the opportunity for each child to succeed. Parents assist teachers in virtually all classroom activities so that instruction can be customized to meet the needs of every child. This requires flexible schedules, multisensory experiences, and varied grouping that can only be accomplished through the daily assistance of dependable, dedicated parents.
Formally, the partnership is realized through a well-organized committee system - the most important of which is the School Site Council (SSC). The SSC develops and implements White Oak's Improvement Plan as a means of creating and evaluating White Oak's Mission Statement. For example, this year (1998-99), the SSC commissioned a Technology Committee to prepare a new three year plan to integrate modern technology into the classroom. Though in place for only a few months, it has already facilitated the acquisition of twenty iMac Computers, numerous color printers, digital cameras, scanners, and software. The partnership is solidified through the Parent Faculty Club (PFC), which has rallied the parent community to respond to cuts in state fund by raising $100,000 annually. Without these funds, essential programs such as music, art, computer education, and use of the library would be eliminated.
White Oak's parents contribute to an estimated 25,000 hours of direct support to the school. This kind of parent commitment, largely inspired by the staff's dedication, is one of the most important reasons for White Oak's being held in high regard for its unique character and exceptional achievements. Together, through this common bond, we have established extraordinary relationships akin to an extended family. At White Oak, we are fond of saying, We're here so that kids can succeed, and we mean it. This philosophy exemplifies the spirit of togetherness that makes White Oak an extraordinary school. In recognition of this extraordinary school community's efforts, in 1985 and 1992, White Oak received the California Distinguished School Award and in 1986 and 1993, the National Blue Ribbon Award. WHAT A TEAM!
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