AField School
We are
The Field School
Field is a small, warm community of about 375 students and 65 teachers, devoted to a unique, specific mission: Self-Discovery, Skills of Mind, Generosity of Heart. In these pages you’ll learn how we reach for these ideals in distinctive ways. Our school motto is Aude Sapere— “Dare to be Wise.” Field believes that a great education requires both wisdom and daring.
Dale Johnson, Head of School
Where s tudents are Field students thrive because we see them as individuals. Our small classes allow every student to be heard, involved, and challenged. Our teachers understand that students learn in many different ways, and they create a classroom environment where comfort and creativity are the bridge to understanding and achievement. As a result, our students often say “the best thing about Field is that it’s a school where I can be myself.�
Known, Challenged, and Inspired
The Daring to Make a Difference The ethos at Field encourages students to take risks, to ask questions, and to push for an authentic understanding of themselves and of others. We teach students to think, to write, and to solve problems. With these tools, they develop the independence necessary for college and an ethic that propels them to contribute to their community. Field is both casual and critical in the best sense: our school is where you are most challenged and where you feel most comfortable to grow.
Where s tudents are
Known, Challenged, and Inspired
Field provides a
Classic Foundation for the Future
A Comprehensive Body of Knowledge The Field School provides a deep and profound education in the traditional subjects. Our students
Read Homer, Voltaire, Dickinson,
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Hemingway, Morrison, and many others
Study mathematics through calculus
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and the core sciences of physics, biology, and chemistry
Inquire into the nature of culture,
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leadership, societies, and change in the US and around the world
Learn Latin, French, or Spanish
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Play on competitive sports teams
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and display or perform their art
Serve their community
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From this foundation, our graduates go to an array of colleges and universities: from Princeton University to Pitzer College, from Middlebury to Michigan, from The College of Charleston to USC. Field students are well-prepared and eager for the challenges ahead, in college and through an entire lifetime of learning.
Field provides a
Classic Foundation for the Future
But Key Distinctions Set Field Apart
It’s the first snow of the year, and no one is going to stop a Field student from catching a snowflake on her tongue. In fact, friends are likely to join in…and maybe some teachers. Field hallways bustle with comfort and cheer, a place where students feel truly at home. Students of all ages tell us, “I didn’t know school could be like this”— involving, serious, active, fun, human. Field kids come early and stay late—they can’t wait for September to arrive. They learn not to stand on the sidelines or fear getting into the mix.
Dare to
Love School
Field Students are not One-Size-Fits-All Field was founded as an alternative to more traditional private schools. We teach students who boast a variety of great strengths but also brilliant students who face challenges. At her graduation, Maddie Palmer ’14 said, “In my large, former school, I was an angelfish being asked to climb a solitary oak tree, a sailfish stuck in a small glass bowl. Field is the place where I could finally take a real breath, where I could learn, expand myself as a person, and find the friends, the tools, and the confidence that has given me the strength to love education and find my passions.�
Dare to
Love School
A math class where the teacher knows the strengths and weaknesses of every one of her 11 students isn’t hard to imagine—particularly when every student sits in the front row and feels free to ask questions, venture opinions, and take risks. Field classes put dialogue, discussion, and debate at the center of learning.
2 Dare to
Engage
Average Class Size of Just 11 Makes a Difference In our classes, students can’t hide from the teacher. And they don’t want to. Small classes in every subject and at every grade level mean that school is a conversation rather than a trial, an act of discovery rather than an act of survival. When teachers have relatively few students to know and care about, they create connections and forge understandings that make a greater difference.
A math class where the teacher knows the strengths and weaknesses of every one of her 11 students isn’t hard to imagine—particularly when every student sits in the front row and feels free to ask questions, venture opinions, and take risks. Field classes put dialogue, discussion, and debate at the center of learning.
2 Dare to
Engage
3 Dare to
Think Deeply
No AP Classes— Rather, Commitment to Skills of Mind Field classes are serious but not tedious. At every level, we push students to write, to debate, to research, and to think deeply about the world and their place in it. Unlike Advanced Placement classes that force students to rush through material that must be memorized, our most challenging classes develop the skills that are most essential—critical and creative thinking across a wide range of subjects. A Field education is not a list of facts but an approach to lifelong learning.
3 Dare to
Think Deeply
Learning about science and
engineering is important, and doing that by challenging students to design a structure out of spaghetti and pipe cleaners that can hold a can of rice makes it more riveting. Field dares students to think critically and creatively at once—experimenting, making
mistakes, and revising their work to achieve real understanding.
During Winter Internship, our 7th-12th graders spend two weeks working in hospitals and recording studios, architecture firms and international embassies, while others use the time to produce every aspect of a play or to join teachers on a trip based around service, academics, or self-discovery. But even our 6th graders get into the action. Learning to cook in a professional kitchen, with the involvement of a high school buddy, teaches them that nutrition, imagination, and hard work fit together in preparing a great meal.
Dare to
Learn Through Action
Learning at Field is Not Passive Field emphasizes learning experiences inside and outside the classroom— from the darkroom to the science lab, from battlefields to soup kitchens. Physics students use equations but also glue guns. English students edit essays but also films. We believe that every student learns best by learning with her hands as well as her brain. We know that preparing for a test is important and that preparing for the mock-trial of a character from a novel is a different level of challenge. At Field, learning is a memorable experience, not a mind-numbing chore.
Dare to
Learn Through Action
5 Dare to
Create
Creative Expression, Academic Benefit At Field every student is engaged with the arts every day. Why? Because we know that students who regularly devote part of the day to active creativity are more productive and inventive in their academic classes. For middle school students, this means beginning every day with painting, music, or another studio pursuit and sampling a different craft each semester. Field high school students also take some form of studio class each day—so there’s a good chance that they have been playing the drums before that chemistry test or will end each afternoon at the potter’s wheel. And, as they improve student performance, the arts also make our school—and the world—a better, more vibrant place.
5 Dare to
Create
In our black box theater, a story comes alive in song, acting, movement, costume, and scenery. But it’s not a play that required a stressful audition, and rehearsals don’t compete with athletics or other clubs. The musical theater class, open to any high school student, meets every day, all year, and it is just one vehicle through which our arts program is integrated into the life of every Field student, every year.
6 Dare to
Our girls varsity volleyball team meets before the match to remind every player— the tallest and the shortest, the most skilled and the most enthusiastic—that the game is a chance to play, to compete, and to support each other as they grow. They earned the red banner behind them in an undefeated season, yet no player has ever been cut from this—or any—sports program.
At Field, every student can play.
Play
Sports as a Healthy Part of Life Every student is involved in athletics every year at The Field School. Competitive interscholastic teams are available to every student, regardless of natural ability. Our athletes compete with intensity and joy in soccer, crosscountry, tennis, basketball, baseball, softball, girls lacrosse, track and field, and Ultimate Frisbee. Students can play any sport they desire—or they can dance, practice yoga, exercise, swim, or engage in other noncompetitive activities. The distinction is this: Field makes athletics a part of every student’s experience, so that learning the benefits of exercise, sportsmanship, competition, and physical well-being is not the province of a very few.
6 Dare to
Play
Dare to
Relate
Field Faculty: Energy, Empathy, Expertise Field teachers come in every variety but share an energy and sense of connection that is rare. Hired for their passion and training in a particular field of study, they know that intelligent engagement with their students is paramount. Field’s mission and methods are conveyed by experienced teachers to our youngest teachers in an exceptional training and mentoring program. And our small classes give everyone the chance to do their best, most meaningful work.
It’s Field Day. Students across grade levels have divided into two teams, and the afternoon brings a series of games that will crown a champion—blue or white. Teachers run activity stations and lead small squads… and at The Field School that means demonstrating spirit
Dare to
Relate
and enthusiasm along with their students with a dance, a rap, a smile, or a show of quiet solidarity with a student who needs it.
The great challenge of adolescence goes beyond mastering academic skills. Young people must develop a love of learning, an understanding of themselves, and an appreciation for the impact they can have on their community. We believe that The Field School develops these capacities, creating not merely accomplished college students but superb adults. We have asked our alumni to finish this sentence: If it weren’t for The Field School‌
8 Dare to
Believe in Yourself
If it weren’t for The Field School… “I might not have learned to love learning.” –Ethan Dyer ’05 “I wouldn’t have been encouraged to speak my mind, to follow my heart, to make mistakes and to get up and do it all again.” –Johanna Goldstein ’99 “I would be forcing myself to do something I didn’t love because I thought it was important to someone else.” –Liam Mulshine ’03 “I would have taken the least risky, most narrow path that opened itself in front of me.” –Jon Stern ’85 “I wouldn’t have such a strong sense of self today and such confidence in what I believe in, my passions, and how I can bring them to other people.” –Lisa Aurigemma ’94
8 Dare to
Believe in Yourself
Dare to...
Love School Engage Think Deeply Learn Through Action Create Play Relate Believe in Yourself
Dare to
Be Wise
“When I walked into Field, everyone seemed so happy. It was like walking into a different world. For me, going to Field would be the perfect fit. Field is the shoe that isn’t too tight and isn’t too loose, the shoe that you put on before a long day of walking because it fits just right and makes you feel comfortable.” Hannah Weissler ’15 from her admission essay (age 11)
Field The
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2301 FOXHALL ROAD NW WASHINGTON DC 20007
2301 Foxhall Road NW Washington DC 20007 www.fieldschool.org