Across the street from Archer’s campus, Brentwood School is 53 years old, established in 1972. Westlake School for Girls and Harvard School for Boys, now merged as Harvard-Westlake, were established in 1904 and 1900, respectively. Across the country on the East Coast, some high schools were founded as long ago as 1635. Ever a pioneer, this year the Archer School for Girls is celebrating its 30th anniversary — a very young age for a school, according to Head of School Elizabeth English.
Students received complimentary sweatshirts in the courtyard Thursday, Oct. 16, in celebration of Archer’s 30th anniversary. To honor the theme of the school year— purpose — students, faculty and staff were welcomed to write examples of how they live with purpose. At the same time, juniors held a bake sale to raise funds for prom.
“What I think Archer as a collective should be proud of … is how far the school came and how the school became a leader in its short life,” English said. “We’ve really ascended to the ranks of leadership in independent schools, and I think part of that is due to our young age. We are not burdened by heritage… I’m proud of the way in which Archer has been nimble and willing to continually improve itself and strive to be better.”
Junior Ava Binder helped run the bake sale and received a 30th anniversary sweatshirt, which she appreciated, as she said they help ease the transition between uniforms. All students were able to indicate their sizing preferences in a Google Form.
“I love [the hoodie]. I think it’s very cozy, very soft — it’s a cute style,” Binder said. “I got a medium, so it was a very nice fit [and] nice style. I’m happy we get to wear it every day because I know that club sweatshirts [were] on Fridays, and now we can’t wear them anymore, so I feel like it’s nice that we have a … hoodie that we can wear every day.”
Sixth graders Sonoma Klungness and Virginia Ashford-Davis said they think bake sales promote school spirit and let students show their appreciation by supporting each other. Binder said she was very happy to be celebrating Archer and working at the sale.
“[It’s] awesome — we’re celebrating our school’s 30th!” Binder said. “It’s come a long way. And I love Archer … I think it’s an awesome community, and I’m just happy to celebrate it.”
Though the school is in the midst of changing its uniform and recently rebranded, English said she does not think the school is radically changing as it passes the 30 year benchmark. Culture, English said, is one of the hardest things to change about a place — and she knows from the way people greet each other in the halls to how teachers lead class that Archer is secure in that regard.
“I don’t think it’s marking a new chapter as much as it’s celebrating a moment of longevity,” English said. “It just gives us a moment to pat ourselves on the back a little bit and say, ‘Wow, we did it’… to take stock of what we’ve accomplished collectively over the last 30 years. [It’s] directly attributable to the mission that our founders wrote.”
Additional reporting conducted by Julia Ong (’26).
