Odyssey School
Odyssey School is a private middle school in San Mateo, California, a town about south of San Francisco. Founded in 1998, Odyssey caters to students in grades 6 through 8. Its five academic core subjects consist of mathematics, science, history/ social studies, language arts, and Japanese. Other courses include creative arts, karate, yoga, social and emotional learning, and various faculty-chosen electives. Students may elect to pursue advanced mathematics and/ or Japanese studies following the completion of sixth grade. Odyssey is an expeditionary learning school, with up to seven yearly expeditions designed to enhance students' academic and personal growth. These include expeditions to the Channel Islands, Mount Whitney, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, and a final three-week to trip to Japan at the end of eighth grade. Many Odyssey graduates attend college-preparatory schools such as Woodside Priory School, Crystal Springs Uplands School, Junípero Serra High School, and Menlo School, as well as local public high schools. Odyssey graduates later continue their studies at four-year colleges and universities such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, Duke, and NYU. Odyssey's founding Head of School, Stephen K. Smuin, has been a teacher and school administrator for many years. He had been head of middle