In the fall of 1976, ten students met in two storefront rooms in San Francisco's Sunset District. The children, ranging in age from 7 to 13, were the first students of Sterne School, an independent, coeducational day school for students with specific learning disabilities. These children, with average or above average intelligence, were not finding success in their regular classrooms.

Sterne School founder, noted educator Valerie Anthony, developed a curriculum of individualized remediation targeted toward teaching children to capitalize on their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. The goal was to help students return successfully to traditional school settings.

In 1980, recognizing the need to serve students through high school age, Mrs. Anthony expanded the faculty and started a high school program. In 1982, the school relocated to its present site, a beautifully renovated home on the corner of Jackson and Scott Streets in Pacific Heights. The grass field and tennis and basketball courts across the street at Alta Plaza Park provide an ideal setting for physical education and the school is easily accessed by city bus lines.

More than 30 years since its founding, Sterne School continues to offer a unique program to Bay Area families. The school has grown, but our mission remains the same.