At the Crowden School, every day begins with music! We believe in the incredible potential of collaborative music to shape your developing child.

Starting the day playing music primes students’ minds for learning. Research shows that children who play an instrument develop stronger cognitive abilities and outperform their peers in subjects like math and language arts.
This daily immersion in music also teaches students invaluable skills—how to collaborate, listen, and support one another in ways that extend far beyond the classroom.

Working collaboratively in their academic classes, Crowden students use the process of inquiry and discussion to explore essential questions, design experiments, analyze literature, and discover a love of learning across disciplines.

In chamber music, each player has a different part to play, and each part is necessary to create the beautiful whole. At the Crowden School, we believe this should be true across all academic disciplines, and so we apply this model to learning in all of our academic subjects. Crowden students feel not only seen and heard, but needed–by design. Every day, the joy Crowden students find in playing music together fuels their passion to question, explore, create, and grow.

No! The Crowden School prepares its students to excel in all areas after they graduate. 

Crowden School alumni are well-rounded individuals and confident leaders, ready to meet the artistic and intellectual challenges of the high school years and beyond. They are highly valued by all major private and public college preparatory high schools. Crowden graduates describe their experience as transformative, and go on to excel in their chosen fields.

That’s OK! We welcome beginners on string instruments into all grade levels. We value aptitude and enthusiasm for music as much as experience. These traits can be demonstrated by playing any musical instrument or by singing.

For all students, the school day begins at 8:00am on Monday through Wednesday and Friday. Thursdays are late start days and begin at 9am. All students are dismissed at 3:30pm Monday through Friday.

The school building opens at 7:40am, and Aftercare is available for all students until 6pm.

Grades K to 5: $35,000

Grades 6 to 8: $38,000

The Crowden School offers a robust need-based tuition assistance program. Qualified students should apply to the Crowden School regardless of ability to pay full tuition, and all families are welcome to submit a tuition assistance application to see if they qualify for assistance.

Crowden prepares its students to succeed in a variety of school environments. Most Crowden students are accepted into their first choice high school. Throughout the eighth-grade year, we help students get ready for high school through our High School Prep Course.

Recent high school choices include: Albany High School, Athenian School, Bentley School, Berkeley High School, Branson, College Preparatory School, El Cerrito High School, Head Royce School, Lick-Wilmerding, Marin Academy, Maybeck High School, Oakland School of the Arts, San Domenico School.

The Crowden community is vibrant and dynamic, and parents have many opportunities to get involved and build connections. Families tell us that this is one of the unexpected highlights of Crowden!

Volunteer opportunities are communicated in the school's weekly TCS News email, and parents sign up online.

At the Crowden School, the upper elementary and middle school music curriculum focuses on the bowed string instruments of the orchestra: violin, viola, cello, and bass. All younger elementary students will eventually select one of these as their primary Crowden instrument. While The Crowden School will introduce basic keyboard training to its K-2 students, we accept a very limited number of highly advanced pianists each year for upper elementary and middle school only.

Please reach out to Admissions Director Kirsten Shallenberg for more specific information about expectations for pianists, or if you have any questions.