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Celebrating over 60 years of learning and fun, Challenger School is an independent private school that focuses on academic excellence, individual achievement, strong logic and thinking skills, and self-reliance.
Quick Facts (2025-26)
Grades: Nursery/Preschool-8
Application Deadline: None / Rolling
Source: Verified school update
School News
- 07/16/2023
Sharanya Munjal Chudgar, an 8th grader from Challenger School Shawnee in San Jose, CA, built a solar-tracking trash-collecting robot to reduce trash pollution and improve solar panel efficiency.
- 02/10/2017
The winners include seventh-grader Danya Balagopal and fifth-grader Anika Tradhani from the Challenger School`s Shawnee campus in San Jose, and sixth-grader Dylan Nguyen from Challenger`s Almaden campus.
- 09/23/2016
The 30 finalists were chosen from among 300 seminfinalists. Each finalist won $500 and an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., in late October for the finals.
- 02/10/2016
Four students from Challenger School were also awarded at the ceremony. The group includes Alec Corliss, fifth grade; Danya Balagopal, sixth grade; Pauline Le, seventh grade; and Srinivas Balagopal, eighth ...moregrade. They each received $75 for their essays titled, "A Colonial Family`s Reaction to the Stamp Act." hide
Our curriculum focuses on the foundations of knowledge:
language arts, math, and logic. Early mastery of these basics
prepares students for advanced studies and learning at an
accelerated pace.
Breathtaking Results - Our uniquely structured classes yield
astonishing results in young students. Challenger students achieve
scores on average in the 90th percentile on the national Stanford
Achievement Test (SAT). This means that our average student
outperforms nine out of ten students who take that test. Challenger
School offers preschool through eighth grade programs that prepare
children to live happily and successfully for their whole
lives.
We love Challenger school. Challenger is the best private school around. I think it's worth every penny for your kid. The workload is a little bit too much for young kids but if parents spent some time helping them; they will be ok. If you want your kids to be challenged, then this is the right school. We are highly recommended.
- Posted by Parent - Kim V
510/8/2015
Challenger is an amazing school. Both of my children attend this school and wish they had been coming here since preschool. The academics are great, and the friendships they form are wonderful. Contrary to many stupid judgements, many children are (not surprisingly) incredibly social and polite and outgoing. Of course, a few are shy but this is based on their personality and parenting which is not affiliated with the school's practices in any way. In middle school, the children can attend dances. The dances are not only appropriate (in both duration and frequency) but also an awesome experience for the children who love it. In high school, the children flourish because of the standards they previously lived up to (and exceeded) so in high school, Challenger alumnae pursue a wide array of interests and take many Honors classes and attend prestigious high schools. The school fosters a healthy amount of competition, with contests in which the students rightfully earn their respective merits. Contrary to many other schools, Challenger offers no consolation prizes. Because of these many reasons, I believe all children must attend Challenger.
- Posted by Parent - samik
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Quick Facts (2025-26)
Grades: Nursery/Preschool-8
Application Deadline: None / Rolling
Source: Verified school update
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Did You Know?
The average private school tuition in San Jose, CA is $22,133 for elementary schools and $27,941 for high schools (read more about average private school tuition across the country).
