Directory

Independent · Presidio · AKA: Studio Brightworks

Brightworks

“When Students Lead, Learning Follows”

Students
~10
Tuition
$44k

What makes this school special

  • School rebuilt around projects: the year runs on the Brightworks Arc (Exploration, Expression, Exposition) twice through, with students pitching and executing work they design using real tools and outside experts
  • The high school, Studio Brightworks, is deliberately tiny: personalized pathways mixing studio work, internships, and concurrent City College enrollment, for students preparing for university, internship, or work futures
  • No grades and no tests, by design; students build competency-based portfolio transcripts through the Mastery Transcript Consortium, and graduates have landed at Reed, Oberlin, Olin College of Engineering, and the art schools
  • A Presidio campus that's "part workshop, part community, part laboratory," founded in a warehouse in 2011 by Tinkering School founder Gever Tulley

Academics

Curriculum

Project-based studio model on the Brightworks Arc (Exploration, Expression, Exposition); no grades or tests — a portfolio Mastery Transcript instead

Do APs matter?

Signature programs

  • The Brightworks Arc — a three-phase project cycle run twice a year
  • Studio model for high schoolers, with internships and concurrent City College enrollment
  • Mastery Transcript Consortium portfolio transcripts in place of grades
  • Mixed-age groups of up to 15 students

College matriculation

Reed College, Oberlin College, Williams College, Carleton College, Olin College of Engineering, Whitman College, Skidmore College, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Michigan, University of Washington, Rochester Institute of Technology, California College of the Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Parsons School of Design, Culinary Institute of America

See the full list

UC admissions

UC doesn’t publish admissions data for this school.

Life there

Tuition includes

  • School and project supplies
  • Field trips
  • Community meals
  • Technology

Often on the same list

Proof School

Independent

San Francisco Waldorf High School

Independent

San Francisco High School of the Arts

Independent

Sources

  1. High School — Studio Brightworks — the Arc model and phases, the studio structure, ages 13-18, mixed-age groups of up to 15, Mastery Transcript Consortium, graduate outcomes list
  2. Tuition & Aid — 2025-26 tuition ($43,853; supplies, field trips, expert visits, technology, yearbooks, and community meals included), 47% of families assisted with 10-100% grants, payment plan, address
  3. Enroll — Ravenna application, no date preference, sibling priority, monthly rolling decisions after March 15, fee hardship waiver, tours
  4. Our Story — founded 2011 by Gever Tulley, the warehouse opening with 19 students
  5. CDE Private School Affidavit, 2025-26 — enrollment (70 whole-school K-12; 5 in grades 9-12)
  6. Brightworks homepage — motto ("When Students Lead, Learning Follows", the hero line)

Details checked August 2026