Crestmont School is a unique cooperative K-5 elementary school located in the scenic hills of Richmond, California. It was founded in 1969 with the goal of creating an environment that would encourage curiosity, critical thinking, community spirit and academic excellence for children of all backgrounds.

“I have never seen a more intelligent, caring, involved group of parents. Or a smarter or stronger group of teachers, who really know how to teach the important, life-affirming things. And there are no administrators to add to the budget, or make unnecessary procedures for these folks to go through, in pursuing the goal of a superb, hands-on, creative and experiential education for the kids.”
— 2005-2006 kindergarten parent

Read more comments about Crestmont from families and parents, or visit our Image Gallery.

Where Teachers Get to Teach!

Crestmont School is a small and intimate K-5, parent-owned cooperative elementary school. It is located in the beautiful hills of the East Bay above Richmond. We are seeking a Kindergarten teacher for the upcoming school year.

Crestmont values the richness of its surrounding Bay Area community. We seek students and teachers across the spectrum of ethnicity, racial identity, economic status, physical ability, sexual orientation and gender. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Bilingual a plus.

Crestmont was founded 39 years ago with the goal of creating an environment that would encourage curiosity, creative thinking, and community spirit for children of all backgrounds. Our educators integrate lessons in interpersonal relationship building, self-awareness, social action, and the creative use of community resources with art, drama, and more traditional academic topics.

We offer:

• An educational philosophy that balances strong academics with the development of social skills, social compassion, and environmental awareness
• Small classes
• In class support (one aide and one parent every day)
• A highly supportive and involved parent community
• Freedom over curriculum design/implementation
• A teaching program free from standardized testing
• A program that emphasizes problem solving, creativity and critical thinking
• Frequent field trips and generous educational supply budget
• A highly supportive and experienced team of fellow teachers

If you love teaching and enjoy professional freedom, teaching at Crestmont could be your dream job!

Crestmont seeks to fill positions with an experienced, dynamic individual who:

• Has 2+ years of previous, full-time experience teaching K-6th grade, prefer experience with Kindergarten grade
• Has a teaching credential
• Is committed to fostering the emotional and social growth of every child
• Demonstrates the ability to implement curriculum for all types of learners
• Is committed to creating a welcoming classroom among children and their families
• Enjoys collaboration with teachers, staff and parents
• Enjoys integrating art and drama into the curriculum
• Is comfortable with outreach and evaluating prospective kindergarten students
• Is committed to conflict resolution

Interested? Please contact our Crestmont Admissions.

The 4/5 class will present The Aristocats KIDS musical Monday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m.  The musical is based on the 1970 film The Aristocats and is performed through special permission by Music Theatre International who handles the Broadway Junior Series for children to experience a variety of Broadway musicals. The performance is open to the public – join us!

The 2nd/3rd grade performed their own adaptation of the great musical The Wiz on Friday, May 22 at 6:30. The play was open to the public. Great to see so many of you there!

Download flyer in PDF format

Excellent collection of photos from the play by pfrogzilla.

Really. What an amazing night. You can check out some of the photos here. It was a truly a fantastic night – hands down!

DJ Rock Daddy – you so ROCK!

The FOOD! Todd and Natalie – the food was so good I thought we’d need to withold a course in order to get folks bidding. That has NEVER happened. Our compliments – and our thanks. Bistro Liaison is delicious!

The decor! Wow! Heather and Craig transformed the space so completely that it was easy to get lost in the experience.

Everyone who helped us bring in all those terrific donations – thank you! We made our goal and then came close to doubling it.  Our Annual Fund got a much needed boost – thanks to you. And thanks to Maria Ramirez and the students of Crestmont who created those magnificent expressions of your classes and all your wonderful, intermingled spirits.

And thanks to everyone who came out on the night to celebrate and support Crestmont. This is a truly magnificent group of people, a wonderful community of families who care for one another. Let’s do it again! Seriously.

Helping kids - it's part of Crestmont

In Spring 2008 Crestmont students raised over $2700 for Shivalaya School, our sister school in Nepal, in a read-a-thon.  Marc Gold, our liaison with the Shivalaya School, recently returned from his first trip to Shivalaya since our fundraiser.  Here is what the money our students raised is accomplishing at Shivalaya:

1. Purchasing some land right next to the classrooms so there is a playground for the kids (none exists at this time)

2. Part of the library is to be subdivided with a movable wall so that a few days a month it can double as a health center for the children and perhaps the community as well.

3. Various supplies have been purchased for the children: books, notebooks, pencils, pens, raincoats, shoes, backpacks, etc.

4. Small stipends for older students to tutor younger students

5. Directed aid to help the poorest families in the village (400 families and approximately 1,000 people living in the village)

6. A competition for academic excellence resulting in small grants to help the students who have the highest achievements in their school work

Marc Gold and his project, “100 Friends Project,” can be found online at http://100friends.org/.  Check out some of the wonderful work Marc is doing in the world!

View photos of Shivalaya teachers, kids and the site.