The Harker School: A Fall 2027 Parent Guide

Boynton, Bucknall, Union, and Saratoga

Four campuses make division changes operationally real

TK operates at 888 Boynton Avenue. K–5 attends 4300 Bucknall Road, Grades 6–8 attend 4525 Union Avenue, and Grades 9–12 attend 500 Saratoga Avenue.

The four sites are all in San Jose, but they are not one walkable complex. Each divisional transition changes arrival, supervision, facilities, traffic, after-school patterns, and the child’s sense of scale.

Current construction — the Bucknall Lower School enhancement has a proposed June 2026–December 2027 schedule. Plans include 12 classrooms, music rooms, a 4,000-square-foot library complex, multipurpose space, underground parking, and revised drop-off zones.

The building uses parts of the existing field and Grade 1–3 playground.

The school says the existing library will be unavailable for a period, only part of the field and Grade 1–3 playground may be usable, Grades 4–5 sports will likely move off site, the whole field may briefly close, field parking is unavailable, and the back loading zone becomes construction staging.

Those are meaningful school-day conditions, not footnotes.

The capital campaign also describes Boynton courts, kitchens, and offices. Public pages do not provide a Fall 2027 phase map, daily noise or dust limits, temporary play allocations, revised route times, or a completion guarantee.

Parent move — visit the exact campus during the real arrival and dismissal window. For kindergarten, request the Fall 2027 site plan and ask what will be complete on the first day.

The academic spine by division

Structure stays visible while options multiply

Lower School starts core mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science in kindergarten. Spanish begins in Grade 1, when subject specialists become a larger part of the day.

Lower School also teaches computer science, arts, physical education, library, organization, study skills, time management, and character development. Teachers may move students between learning groups as needs change.

Middle School combines English, social studies, daily language, science, mathematics, computing, arts, communication studies, and physical education. The model emphasizes labs, discussion, problem solving, projects, and a one-to-one laptop program.

Upper School requires four years of English, three years each of mathematics, science, and history, and language through Level 3. Arts, computer science, and four semesters or seasons of physical education are also required.

The usual science sequence is physics, chemistry, then biology. The course menu also reaches journalism, debate, business, entrepreneurship, research, global programs, and substantial performing and visual arts.

Placement and the advanced ceiling

Acceleration is real, especially in mathematics and Upper School

Middle School mathematics placement follows demonstrated need, not grade. Courses run from pre-algebra through precalculus, with more advanced study available when required.

The 2025–26 Upper School profile lists 29 AP courses and post-AP work in computer science, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, discrete mathematics, economics, languages, and studio art.

Students entering AP Chemistry or AP Biology without prior high-school study must complete a summer course. That rule turns some advanced paths into year-round commitments with added summer cost and scheduling consequences.

Honors and AP courses receive a 0.5 GPA weight, and Harker does not rank students. The Class of 2026 profile reported a 4.19 mean GPA after six semesters.

Current conflict — the Upper School academic page says 28 AP courses in one block and 29 AP plus 23 post-AP courses in another. The facts page says 30 AP exams and 10 post-AP courses.

Courses and exams can be different units, but the two course counts on one page still conflict. Ask for the Fall 2027 catalog and actual enrollment rules.

Challenge without a published time budget

The course ceiling is clear; the weekly burden is not

Harker says its Challenge Success work prompted every grade to reconsider homework, adopt a more balanced schedule, run time-management surveys, and support a student wellness group. It publishes no recent outcome measures.

School-curated student profiles call some classes tough and praise office hours, time-management workshops, advisors, and counselors. Those voices show available supports, not the distribution of stress across the student body.

Parent read — pressure may come from optional abundance as much as assigned homework. A child can stack advanced classes, research, debate, arts, athletics, clubs, and travel until a rich program becomes an unsustainable one.

Visible staffing, unpublished boundaries

Support is substantial but not defined as an entitlement

Harker reports 11 licensed counseling professionals, including a learning specialist on each campus. Counselors provide academic, social, psychological, and emotional support through individual meetings, groups, family work, and collaboration with outside providers.

Middle School assigns each Grade 6 student to a 10–12-person advisory that stays with one faculty advisor through Middle School. Upper School adds an academic dean, advisors, teachers, and college counselors.

Lower School advertises dedicated after-school teacher help. Upper School students in school-selected profiles describe office hours and time-management workshops.

Those examples confirm access points, not response times, dosage, or effectiveness for a student with recurring needs.

Public pages do not define psychoeducational evaluation, remediation, specialized instruction, accommodation eligibility, executive-function coaching, therapy duration, crisis coverage, or when a family must secure outside care.

A learning specialist is not automatically an intensive learning-support program. Families should request a written child-specific support map, including provider, frequency, duration, cost, progress measures, and conditions that trigger reconsideration of placement.

Nurses are visible; operating policies are not

Health staffing is clearer than phones, medication, and crisis procedure

Harker says every campus has a full-time registered nurse during the academic day. Its athletic staff includes two full-time athletic trainers and a part-time strength-and-conditioning coordinator; the Upper School has trainer coverage after the academic day.

The school also offers optional, free sudden-cardiac-arrest screening each spring to students ages 11–18.

The public health page does not define medication administration, allergy and diabetes planning, concussion return-to-learn, communicable-disease rules, emergency transport, mental-health crisis response, or nurse coverage before school, during aftercare, on buses, and on trips. Families with a health plan should map each handoff in writing.

Current phone and smartwatch rules are not public. That matters in a four-campus, bus-dependent day: ask whether devices may be carried or used by division, where they are stored, what happens after confiscation, and how students reach family during route changes or late activities.

A workable rule also needs documented exceptions for glucose monitoring, accessibility, and other health needs, plus an emergency-contact route that does not depend on a child’s personal phone. Request the Fall 2027 policy rather than assuming a device-rich school permits open phone use.

Belonging inside an achievement-rich environment

Curiosity, activity, and comparison can coexist

Harker says it centers kindness, respect, integrity, accountability, intellectual curiosity, and love of learning. LIFE, Character Strong, advisory, houses, service, and Kidpower give those values formal structures.

Upper School advertises more than 90 student groups. Middle School has clubs, advisory houses, spirit events, arts, athletics, speech, debate, and research, giving students multiple social identities beyond a transcript.

Harker lists identity-based affinity groups and broader alliance groups. The public pages show structure, but not participation, subgroup belonging, incident patterns, or how students experience wealth and academic comparison.

Parent read — a warm community and a competitive atmosphere are not opposites. Ask students when classmates collaborate, when they compare, what earns status, and who feels free to choose a less accelerated path.

More than STEM branding

Arts and athletics are large programs with practical access questions

Current facts page — every Lower School student participates in performing arts, while 48% of Upper School students do. It reports 26 Upper School performing-arts electives and 25 annual performances.

Current athletics conflict — the dedicated page instead says 52% participation, 12 sports, and 36 teams; the broader programs page says 13 sports but names 14. Public pages do not establish no-cut access, playing-time rules, or the capacity of popular teams and productions.

The whole weekday

Transportation is included, but route fit remains child-specific

Harker provides home-to-school and school-to-home buses on defined schedules. Middle School has the broadest coverage because students must arrive by bus or carpool under campus access restrictions.

For Middle School, the published coverage list includes the Peninsula, Palo Alto, Milpitas, Mountain View, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Silver Creek, and Willow Glen or Cambrian. Morning service to all three K–12 campuses is narrower: the Peninsula, Silver Creek, and Cupertino.

Exact stops and times require direct confirmation.

A free morning and afternoon shuttle connects Bucknall, Union, and Saratoga for K–12 siblings. The transportation page does not include Boynton TK in that shuttle promise.

Some Peninsula and Cupertino routes offer regular and later returns when resources allow. SmartTag RFID records boarding and exit, but public pages do not publish route times, ride lengths, capacity, or missed-bus procedures.

Harker says students come from more than 45 cities and 120 ZIP codes, with the largest groups from San Jose, Saratoga, Los Altos or Los Altos Hills, and Los Gatos. That describes geographic reach, not a child’s ride.

Rehearse the route on a school morning and again after the activity return; add the walk or drive from the stop, sibling handoffs, and backup pickup.

Upper School parking is space-available: seniors receive first priority and remaining spaces use a semester lottery. A teen driver therefore needs a bus, carpool, or family backup even if driving is the preferred plan.

Lower BEST and Middle BASE offer supervision, study, drop-ins, workshops, arts, and specialty classes. Many choices are included; outside specialty instruction can cost extra.

The most detailed schedule we found is dated: a 2025–26 family notice described enrichment and supervision from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Confirm Fall 2027 hours, holiday coverage, TK eligibility, upper-school supervision, registration priority, and late-bus connections.

The included bundle and the real extras

Tuition is high, broad, and still not the full family cost

Current 2026–27 tuition is $46,350 for TK, $51,550 for K–5, $61,450 for Grades 6–8, and $66,950 for Grades 9–12. Fall 2027 tuition is not yet published.

Tuition includes lunch, before- and after-school care, home-to-school buses, three-campus shuttles, yearbooks, local field trips, athletic uniforms, and most school expenses. That bundled model is unusually parent-friendly.

Families still pay for required Middle and Upper laptops, textbooks, some specialty after-school choices, and elective extracurricular travel. The public page does not price those items or the enrollment deposit, or say whether the deposit is credited toward tuition.

Using only school-published mandatory amounts, the current full-pay application-to-tuition floor is $51,650 for kindergarten, $61,550 for Grade 6, and $67,050 for Grade 9: tuition plus the $100 application fee. It excludes the required outside cognitive test for kindergarten and ISEE or SSAT for Grades 6 and 9 because Harker does not quote those providers’ prices.

Grade 6 and Grade 9 also require unpriced laptops and textbooks; an aid application adds Clarity’s $65 fee unless waived. These are incomplete 2026–27 baselines, not Fall 2027 invoices.

Harker awards approximately $10 million in need-based aid each year. Admission is need-blind, aid is separate, and the school offers no merit, athletic, artistic, or talent awards.

Aid is available in K–12 but not TK. Both legal parents normally file; families reapply annually, and later requests may be unavailable without a significant financial change.

Current Fall 2027 aid file — submit Clarity materials by January 5 and any delayed 2026 federal return by February 16. Clarity charges $65, with automatic waivers for eligible families.

Harker publishes six illustrative awards, not a calculator or eligibility promise. It does not publish the number or percentage of students receiving school aid, average or median grant, aid by division, percentage of demonstrated need met, or whether aid covers required laptops, books, and travel.

The approximately $10 million budget therefore has no current recipient denominator on the school page.

Actual openings, with a live conflict

Kindergarten, Grade 6, and Grade 9 are real expansion points

Current cycle page — Harker says 24 TK and 57 kindergarten spots typically open. Grade 1 depends entirely on attrition, while Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 typically offer 7, 22, 15, and 6 spots.

Current cycle page — Grade 6 is the Middle School’s main entry, with 45–50 spaces. Grades 7 and 8 have limited, attrition-dependent openings.

Current cycle page — Grade 9 offers 50–55 spaces. Grades 10 and 11 accept inquiries, then invite applications only if rare spring openings emerge; Grade 12 does not admit.

Current conflict — the live FAQ says about 60 kindergarten, 40–45 Grade 6, and 50–55 Grade 9 spaces. The cycle page is more specific, but families should confirm which figures govern Fall 2027.

The FAQ reports 97% retention from kindergarten through Grade 12, which helps explain why non-expansion grades can be tight. It does not identify the school year, denominator, grade-by-grade retention, or reasons students left, so it cannot predict a particular Fall 2027 opening.

The live application calendar

January 5 completes the file; March 12 brings decisions

Ravenna opens September 1, 2026. Grade-specific checklists set the core application deadline at January 5, 2027, 5 p.m. Pacific; decisions arrive March 12 at 4 p.m.

Contracts and deposits are due March 19 at noon. Kindergarten cognitive results have a separate January 22, 5 p.m. deadline; Grade 6 and Grade 9 transcripts are due February 1.

The tuition balance is due June 15, 2027. The public page does not disclose the enrollment deposit, refund terms, or whether a family can obtain additional decision time for unresolved aid or support questions.

The preliminary application costs $100 and is nonrefundable. Harker offers a fee-waiver route for financial-aid applicants, but the public page does not state the waiver test.

Attending admission events does not affect evaluation. Lower School has no in-person fall 2026 open house because of construction, though campus tours and a virtual overview remain available.

What each family and child contributes

The application changes meaningfully by division

Kindergarten families submit activities, student and family photos, a current teacher recommendation, and cognitive testing. The child attends a classroom visit; only afterward does Harker send the parent or guardian video-interview link.

For Grade 6, registration for the student activity session opens November 30; applicants attend January 9 or January 23. The parent or guardian video is due one week afterward, while records and recommendations from the current English teacher, mathematics teacher, and principal or counselor complete the file.

Grade 9 adds an essay and a student interview, alongside a January 9 or January 23 activity session. The parent video follows within one week; records, three recommendations, and entrance testing complete the file.

Admitted Grade 6 students have an April 7 proficiency evaluation and April 15 welcome event. Admitted Grade 9 students have an April 12 welcome event and April 17 proficiency evaluation.

Other Lower School entry differs. Grade 2 requires both a Wechsler cognitive assessment and ISEE scores; Grades 3–5 require ISEE scores and make cognitive testing optional.

Grades 1–5 submit current and prior-year records, while the school accepts only the current classroom teacher’s recommendation.

Grades 7 and 8 remain attrition-dependent but use the Middle School file. Their parent video link releases January 15 only to applicants whose required components other than transcripts are complete; the response is due January 22.

Public checklists omit visit length, activity-session tasks, the timing and format of the Grade 9 student interview, video prompts, scoring rubrics, and accommodations. Ravenna supplies further instructions after registration.

Parent read — prepare for a real conversation, not a polished child-script. It is more useful to help a child name genuine interests, a challenge, collaboration habits, and what they want from the next school day.

International applicants use the same process and must be fluent in written and spoken English. Harker does not offer boarding, homestays, or an academic-year ESL program and does not accept TOEFL; homeschooled applicants are directed to contact admission for requirements.

Cognitive and achievement testing

Kindergarten uses Wechsler testing; Grades 6 and 9 use ISEE or SSAT

All TK through Grade 2 applicants submit a WPPSI-IV or WISC-V report, depending on age. For kindergarten, that report is due January 22 at 5 p.m. Pacific.

Harker calls cognitive testing a snapshot of potential, not an achievement test. Its guidelines, suggested psychologists, and what it calls score qualifications sit behind Ravenna.

Children born July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, apply only to kindergarten, unless they will complete kindergarten by June 2027 and apply to Grade 1. Children born July 1 through November 30, 2022, may choose TK or kindergarten, but not both.

Grades 6 and 9 may submit ISEE or SSAT scores from an exam taken after August 1, 2026. Harker considers only the first score set submitted by January 5 at 5 p.m. Pacific.

Harker says readers first review the application without test scores, although they do see the writing sample. It welcomes a range of scores and says very high results do not guarantee admission.

The school discourages intensive test preparation and recommends only publisher familiarization. Families should still ask how testing interacts with school context, anxiety, disability, English development, and a profile with large index differences.

Holistic does not mean preference-free

Character and family partnership sit beside academic readiness

Harker says selection combines academic and nonacademic evidence. It seeks character, integrity, community engagement, and families willing to partner around each student’s growth.

Children of current families, alumni, faculty, and staff receive consideration. Admission is not automatic, but the school does not explain the weight, timing, or number of offers connected to these relationships.

Wait pools are unranked and may move through late summer. Harker reconsiders the full qualified pool for grade composition, and the pool does not carry forward to another cycle.

Parent read — “fit” is not an auditable rubric. Ask which evidence distinguishes an admissible child from an offered child, and how institutional priorities affect the remaining general-pool seats.