Head of School Welcome

Imagine a school that, from its founding, understood the qualities and characteristics that prepare young people to grow into their best selves, ready to succeed in a future of unknown challenges and opportunities.

Stay curious and go anywhere beats at the heart of Brentwood School. Stay curious and go anywhere is the perspective, strength, and courage necessary to succeed in our dynamic and fast-changing world. 

Welcome to Brentwood School, a learning community where the student experience is guided by teachers committed to educating the head and the heart. Professionals dedicated to leading a journey that enables young people to discover purposeful interests and become thoughtful, caring, and confident adults. Adults who are prepared to lead in a world of ever-expanding diversity with a commitment to dignity for all.  

It is with great excitement that my wife, Hiroko, and I extend our aloha to you. Our lives have been defined by decades of living and leading within independent school communities. Like you, the education of our children is our greatest aspiration, and we are thrilled with this opportunity to serve Brentwood School. With you, in partnership, we share in loving the magic that happens every day as our kids discover their potential. 

Great schools are complex communities in which dedicated teachers challenge young people to learn, unlearn, and relearn, becoming comfortable with vulnerability and ultimately discovering their intellectual selves. The daily experience of community and connections — the lived culture — instills the values that guide us throughout our lives. 

At Brentwood, students find this in the arts, through independent study projects in the Belldegrun Center for Innovation and Leadership, in service to the greater community, and within a rigorous academic approach. All of which embraces the student autonomy that ultimately fuels purpose and mastery. 

At Brentwood, students find this in a community where caring for one another is a Core Value. At Brentwood, this is the connection between all that supports each student through challenges, ups and downs, and the many bumps and bruises that we need to grow into resilient adults. This is the sacred trust that we share with our students’ parents and guardians. 

Please explore our website, follow our story on social media, and accept this invitation to visit us. In closing, I want to share that the decision to take on this next great leadership opportunity in my life at Brentwood was most influenced by the warmth of this place. It is genuine, authentic, and what I know to be precious in the partnership we share in raising our kids. 

All the best in health and happiness,

Dr. Timothy Cottrell
Head of School