About Us
Our Mission
Educating a Community of Change Makers
Our Vision
To be an aspirational and inspirational model of a learning community.
Our Purpose
To be a leader in the teaching of leading edge academics, innovation and social & emotional learning.
To be a joyful, grateful, and humble community, “walking the talk.”
Synapse History
Like many Silicon Valley start-ups, Synapse School began as a great idea in a Palo Alto garage. In 2009, with just eight students, Bay Area educational pioneers, Karen McCown, founder of The Nueva School, and Anabel Jensen, president of Six Seconds, set out to create a school that would truly blend academic and social emotional development.
They created a lab school that would showcase the impact of a program that fully integrates an emotional intelligence program and a robust constructivist curriculum. Karen and Anabel redefined education by combining the latest neuroscience research with social emotional learning and the practice of innovation. Twelve years later, and after much iteration and perspiration, Synapse has 300 students spanning five buildings on its campus in Menlo Park. And in many ways, it still feels like we are just getting started.
