Empower children to lead with courage, compassion, and purpose.
Vision | Why We Do It
Inspire the next generation to change the world.
Values | Ideas We Live By
DISCOVERY
Curiosity, creativity, and joyful inquiry drive learning. We explore diverse paths to ask and answer questions, generate solutions, and better understand ourselves and our world.
AUTHENTICITY
Individuality, expression, and self-acceptance are essential to personal growth and development. True to ourselves, we develop our unique identities and capacity to navigate a complex world.
COMMUNITY
We are a diverse, inclusive community where everyone belongs. We are leaders – prepared, connected, and responsible to each other and to our local and global communities.
IT’S
THE
EXPERIENCE OF ALWAYS BECOMING, ALWAYS BROADENING
YOUR VISION, ALWAYS DEEPENING YOUR THINKING.
IT’S THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING INSPIRED BY THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU — THEIR WIT, THEIR GENEROSITY, THEIR INGENUITY.
IT’S THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING FULLY PRESENT, TRULY SEEN, ENERGIZED AND READY FOR YOUR NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE.
IT’S AN EXPERIENCE THAT SUSTAINS OUR STUDENTS, NOURISHES THEM FOR A
LIFETIME.
“SINCE OUR FOUNDING IN 1916, WE HAVE ADAPTED AND EXPANDED OUR PROGRAM TO ENSURE THAT FOOTE STUDENTS ARE WELL-PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE. WE EMBRACE INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS AND NEW TECHNOLOGY, WHILE ENSURING THAT OUR EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY IS PRESERVED AND OUR SHARED VALUES ARE PROTECTED.”
ALÉWA COOPER, HEAD OF SCHOOL
“THE
BEST THING ABOUT
BEING A FOOTE SCHOOL STUDENT IS HAVING A GREAT SUPPORT SYSTEM FROM THE TIME YOU GET ON CAMPUS. STUDENTS AND FACULTY ARE WELCOMING, RESPECTFUL,
AND WILLING TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE THROUGH ANY HARDSHIPS.”
WILL, 8TH GRADE
“WE CHALLENGE ALL OUR STUDENTS TO BE THEIR BEST SELVES, EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING; TRY NEW THINGS, BE CREATIVE, COLLABORATE, THINK CRITICALLY, AND COMMUNICATE WITH RESPECT. THE EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES AND CRITICAL CHALLENGES
OFFERED ALLOW OUR STUDENTS TO REACH THESE GOALS AND CREATE A WELL-ROUNDED EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.” ELLIOT DICKSON, MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THE FOOTE SCHOOL
Our academic program is designed for adventurous students.
Our approach to education transcends labels. Informed by research, inspired by experience, we do what works best for our students. With intention, with ingenuity, and with deep respect for child development, we invite students to ask hard questions, dig deeper, take smart risks, and think in new directions.
“BY BEING IN A COMPLETELY NEW PLACE WE CAN SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY. I FELT LIKE I’M SEEING MORE OF MYSELF, JUST BY BEING IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT.” LYDIA, 9TH GRADE
Our students learn to lead in their own way.
In every grade, we offer opportunities for students to gain confidence, test their limits, and define leadership on their own terms. In established programs and spontaneous moments, students learn to advocate for themselves and others.
“GOOD LEADERS DON’T LEAD FOR THEMSELVES BUT FOR OTHERS WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE A VOICE. THEY LEAD TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE THEY CAN IMPROVE
AND WHERE OTHERS CAN FLOURISH AS WELL.”
GOPIKA, 8TH GRADE
“AS FACULTY, WE PUSH EACH OTHER TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION AND HOW OUR PROGRAM HERE AT FOOTE PREPARES OUR STUDENTS FOR AN EVER-CHANGING AND INCREASINGLY DIVERSE WORLD.”
BARRINGTON FULTON,
JR.,
HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL
We dedicate every resource to the grades that matter most.
As a K–9 school, we give lower and middle school students the attention they deserve—and the resources they need to thrive. We’re also able to create a community where childhood has integrity, where joy and wonder are prized, where students have the space and the support to grow into their most authentic selves.
We learn by doing.
We plan and build and experiment and explore. We collaborate and debate and reflect and revise. We welcome the struggles, the missteps, the wrong turns—because those are opportunities for growth.
“I LOVE THE WAY OUR STUDENTS USE THE NATURAL ELEMENTS AND SPACES AROUND CAMPUS. THERE IS A CERTAIN MAGIC IN THESE
UNSTRUCTURED MOMENTS
WHEN STUDENTS CAN LET THEIR IMAGINATION
AND CURIOSITY
DRIVE LEARNING.”
CARA HAMES, HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL
“IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR US TO THINK DEEPLY ABOUT HELPING OUR STUDENTS SEE THEMSELVES
AS PART OF A FAMILY, A SCHOOL COMMUNITY, AND IN EVER-
GROWING CIRCLES
TO ENCOMPASS
THE LARGER WORLD — AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE COMPLETELY HONOR WHO THEY ARE AS INDIVIDUALS.”
JENNIFER FRIEDMAN, LIBRARIAN
We flourish within our community
The power of our school is the presence of our people: how we care for one another, how we trust one another, how we find joy and wonder in the process of engaging with one another, how we honor their differences and celebrate their shared values.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Lower School Grades K–5
Our priority is establishing a lifelong love of learning as early as possible. We encourage our students to ask questions and tap into their natural curiosity through imaginative exploration, play, and creation. Collaboration is paramount, and our students quickly realize that positive learning experiences are built on caring relationships between their teachers and each other. The result? A strong academic foundation and limitless intellectual growth.
Middle School Grades 6–8
Building on the academic strength and curiosity fostered in Lower School, the Middle School experience is an opportunity for students to try new things, take more risks, navigate failures, and develop independence. The result? Students have the skills to approach complex physical, social, and emotional situations with confidence in themselves and respect for those around them as they take on new challenges and emerge as the most authentic version of themselves.
Ninth Grade
In ninth grade, rigorous high school courses are complemented by travel experiences and deeper community connections through service work. As a result, our student-leaders expand their sense of what’s possible, strengthen their intellectual curiosity, and are well-prepared for the experiences that lie ahead of them.
The Ninth Grade Spotlight: EXPERIENCE THE WORLD
“WE TRAVEL TO DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCES AND THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN OUR OWN CULTURES AND THE CULTURE OF OTHERS. WE TRAVEL TO MAKE MEMORIES THAT CAN LAST A LIFETIME.”
GRAHAM, 9TH GRADE
The Mind-Body Connection
The Foote K–9 curriculum integrates the mind, body, and heart and complements the academics with courses in P.E., visual arts, and performing arts in every grade.
“WHEN I THINK OF MY ART JOURNEY, THE FACULTY ARE THE INITIAL INSPIRATION. THEIR BELIEF
IN MY ABILITY HAS HELPED ME
FIND
MY PASSION
AND
PROPELLED ME
FORWARD. THEY EVALUATE MY WORK AND PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK, WHICH HAS HELPED INCREASE MY CONFIDENCE AND BELIEF IN MY ABILITY.”
LOLA,
8TH GRADE
“IN MY PREVIOUS SCHOOL, THERE WASN’T REALLY A THEATER PROGRAM.
SO WHEN I CAME HERE AND I SAW EVERYONE WHO LOVED TO DO IT JUST AS MUCH AS I DID, IT MADE ME SO HAPPY.” SAMIA, 7TH GRADE
PHYSICAL EDUCATION & ATHLETICS
Fall
Cross Country
Field Hockey
Soccer
Winter
Basketball
Swimming
Squash
Spring
Baseball
Softball
Lacrosse
Tennis
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball
Ropes Challenge Course
The challenge course offers a variety of problem-solving opportunities: from ice-breakers and puzzles on ground-based elements, to more physical challenges on the high ropes course.
“STUDENTS DISCOVER MORE ABOUT EACH OTHER AND ABOUT THEMSELVES AS THEY CONQUER NEW CHALLENGES — SOMETIMES IN TEAMS AND SOMETIMES AS INDIVIDUALS. THE PROBLEM-SOLVING, LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, AND ACCOUNTABILITY SKILLS THAT OUR STUDENTS DEVELOP BECOME TRANSFORMATIVE.”
CARRIE
BOYCE, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
450 students 12 varsity sports
11 classroom buildings
25% students receive financial aid
48K print volumes in library 39% students of color
1 high ropes challenge course
33 towns and cities where our families live
1 black box theater
7:1 student/teacher ratio
19 languages spoken by our families
2 playgrounds
5 music and art classrooms
120 faculty and staff
1 community garden
18 -acre campus
49 solar-powered cars designed (Fourth Grade Science)
4 invasive species detected on campus (Fifth Grade Ecology)
46 countries presented (Sixth Grade Research Capstone)
104 K–9 Theater Program units
150 corn stalks planted in the Community Garden (First Grade Sustainability)
1 Foote School Jazz Band (Middle School Clubs)
5 student-designed stations along the Middle School Math Walk
40 rockets launched (Seventh Grade Physics)
3 years of Witness Stones documentation (Seventh Grade Humanities Capstone)
20 species of aquatic organisms identified (Ninth Grade Environmental Science)
6 hens produced 300+ chicken eggs — raising $500 for their continued care
9 Persona Dolls (Kindergarten Social Emotional Learning)
3 domestic and international travel programs (Middle School)
After Foote: OUR GRADUATES BLAZE NEW TRAILS
“Foote is miraculous. Through their abundance of patience, the faculty here proved they believed in me, they encouraged me to try again and again, until the outcome improved. ... Find your jam and rock it.”
—
Spencer Luckey ’85
Secondary schools with the most graduates attending (five years):
Choate Rosemary Hall
Hopkins School
Wilbur Cross High School
Guilford High School
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Cheshire Academy
Amity Regional High School
Matriculation (five years)
Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall
American Heritage School
Amity Regional High School
Amity Regional High School/ECA
Avon Old Farms School
Branford High School
Canterbury School
Cheshire Academy
Cheshire High School
Choate Rosemary Hall
Colegio Sagrado Corazón Chamartín
Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School
Dana Hall School
Daniel Hand High School
Deerfield Academy
Dublin School
Gilman School
Greens Farms Academy
Guilford High School
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Hamden High School
The Hill School
Holderness School
Hopkins School
The Hotchkiss School
Kingswood-Oxford School
The Lawrenceville School
Lincoln School
The Loomis Chaffee School
Marvelwood School
Milton Academy
Mountain High School
New Haven Academy
New Haven Academy/ECA
North Haven High School
Notre Dame Academy
Old Saybrook High School
Overseas Family School, Singapore
Phillips Academy Andover
Phillips Exeter Academy
Pomfret School
Proctor Academy
The Putney School
Rye Country Day School
Sacred Heart Academy
The Sound School
St. Joseph High School
St. Paul’s School
The Taft School
The Williston Northampton School
United Nations International School
The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Walnut Hill School for the Arts
Wilbur Cross High School
Wilbur Cross High School/ECA
Wooster School
Alumni MAKING A DIFFERENCE
John Goodenough ’35
2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Recipient; Virginia H. Cockrell
Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas; Professor Emeritus Harvard University
After Foote: Yale University; University of Chicago
Ruth Ozecki ’74
American-Canadian author, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest
After Foote: Smith College; Nara University
Paul Giamatti ’82
Actor, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winner, Academy Award nominee
After Foote: Choate Rosemary Hall; Yale University; Yale School of Drama
Spencer Luckey ’85
Artist and president of Luckey Climbers, a design/fabrication firm that specializes in climbing sculptures for children’s museums and other institutions worldwide
After Foote: Northfield Mount Herman; Connecticut College
Charles F. Stewart ’85
CEO of Sotheby’s
After Foote: Phillips Exeter Academy, Yale University
Jonathan Levin ’87
President, Stanford University; Dean at Stanford Graduate School of Business
After Foote: Hopkins School; Stanford University; Oxford; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ai-jen Poo ’89
President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Director of Caring Across Generations; Co-Founder of SuperMajority; Trustee of the Ford Foundation
After Foote: Phillips Academy Andover; Columbia University
Emily Oster ’95
Emily Oster, economics professor at Brown University and author
After Foote: Choate Rosemary Hall; Harvard University
Andrea Miller ’97
Choreographer, creative director, and founder of the internationally renowned, multidisciplinary organization GALLIM. A Guggenheim, Sadler’s Wells, New York City Center, and Princess Grace Fellow
After Foote: Choate Rosemary Hall; The Julliard School
Jennifer Milikowsky ’02
Founder of Walden Hill, a sustainable food company focused on forest-based food products
After Foote: Choate Rosemary Hall; University of North Carolina; Yale School of Management; Yale University
Jasmine (Tompkins) Nikole ’06
Engineer, artist, educator, entrepreneur
After Foote: Sacred Heart Academy; Rochester Institute of Technology
“When the pandemic struck in 2020, 80% of the revenue generated by the small business I had started came from sales to restaurants. You can imagine the uncertainty my husband and I felt in those early months while restaurants were closed. We quickly decided to pivot to selling our farm products direct-toconsumer; you won’t be surprised to hear that the Foote community played a pivotal role in supporting us in this new endeavor. It shows that even a small gesture from someone within this community can have a big impact.”
Jennifer Milikowsky ’02
“The art program at Foote really shaped me and exposed me to the tools and skills that I use today and every day. The different media that I was exposed to at Foote just opened my eyes and makes me want to explore it more as an artist now.”
Jasmine (Tompkins) Nikole ’06
Foote is the kind of school where your kid runs inside when you drop them off and is smiling when you pick them up. It’s a place where students—and teachers, and staff members—feel fully engaged, fully alive. People are working at the top of their game, thinking in new directions, taking confident risks. There’s a lot of learning by doing: experimenting, collaborating, revising.
Students are always digging deeper, asking hard questions, looking for new challenges. It’s a K-9 school, so every resource is dedicated to Lower and Middle school students, and students take leadership roles at each stage. They come from all over the region, from different backgrounds. But everyone is there for the experience, the Foote School experience. It stays with you forever.
