Within our legacy lies our future

The buzz on campus

Understanding the important role bees play in sustaining healthy ecosystems, this year Miss Porter’s School established its own apiary colony. Located behind the Pool & Squash Building, it contains about 35,000 bees that will eventually produce enough honey for consumption.

Letter from Katherine G. Windsor, Ed.D. Head of School

Within our legacy lies our future

In 1843, when society prioritized boys’ education, the doors of Miss Porter’s School opened with a singular focus on girls’ education. Sarah Porter was a renegade. She was a visionary. She saw the world through a different lens. She was a woman who believed that girls had the right to a high-quality education. She believed that young women could and should be impactful members of their communities and that, just as each new piece added to a kaleidoscope creates a unique and ever-changing image the diverse contributions of individuals would continually shape and transform the world.

More than ever, we stand on and lean into our mission:

Miss Porter’s School educates girls to be bold, informed, resourceful and ethical global citizens. We expect our graduates to shape a changing world.

As perpetual learners, we take every opportunity to understand our current environment to better help students navigate an evolving landscape. We also know that learning about and understanding our Ancients as both collectives and individuals is vital. The students and Ancients of today are not the students or Ancients of Sarah Porter’s era. I dare say we are much better. Through thoughtful and careful analysis of the recent Ancient census, we aim to ensure that Ancients feel seen and heard in the same way that we care for our students today.

I believe that the value of Farmington is not only in the education students receive on campus but also in the life they live as Ancients. Our Ancients are some of the boldest women in the world. Like Sarah Porter, they have a penchant for learning that extends beyond the classroom, because learning can happen anywhere and any time. They are resourceful using the tools around them or building their own if unavailable. And they are global citizens, molding and shaping our world into the one they want to live in.

Our current students, future Ancients, all of them, along with our vast network of more than 6,500 Ancients, are the school’s perpetual cornerstone, because in our legacy lies our future.