Learn more on how McMillan Education helps families find their best fit school
Berkshire School
Dana Anselmi: [email protected]
245 North Undermountain Road, Sheffield, MA 01257
Web: www.berkshireschool.org
Inquiry Link: Berkshire School
Founded in 1907, Berkshire School is a co-ed college preparatory boarding and day school for 400 ninth–12th graders and post-graduates, offering a forward-thinking curriculum and state-of-the-art facilities on a 400-acre campus in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Berkshire’s signature programs, including Advanced Math/Science Research, Advanced Humanities Research, and Aviation Science, are offered along with advanced sections and AP offerings in all disciplines. These programs are designed to expand the minds, provide real-world experiences, and help distinguish our students in an increasingly competitive college process. With a range of artistic and athletic offerings and national recognition for our efforts in sustainability, Berkshire provides an extraordinary setting in which students are encouraged to learn in the words of the School motto: Pro Vita Non Pro Schola Discimus, “Learning—not just for school but for life.” Berkshire strives to instill core values—curiosity, integrity, perseverance, inclusion, respect, and resilience—along with the critical skills, initiative, and confidence that will ensure our students’ success in school and in life.
Bridgton Academy
Joe Hemmings: [email protected]
11 Academy Lane, North Bridgton, ME 04057
Web: www.bridgtonacademy.org
Inquiry Link: Bridgton Academy
Bridgton Academy is the nations’ leader in postgraduate education. Founded in 1808 and accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Bridgton is one of the only institutions in the country with a program focused exclusively on a one-year boarding school experience for young men after high school and before college. Academic skills, NCAA-level athletic development, and personal maturation are areas where Bridgton students grow and thrive. Our innovative programs in academics, athletics, and residential life develop students who are self-confident, independent critical thinkers, ready to conquer the challenges of college, be their best selves, and live lives of principle.
Located in the beautiful lakes and mountains region of southwestern Maine–50 minutes from Portland–Bridgton Academy is the year that makes The difference!
Buxton School
Franny Shuker-Haines: [email protected]
291 South St, Williamstown, MA 01267
Web: www.buxtonschool.org
Inquiry Link: Buxton School
At Buxton, we live our education. For over 90 years, we have been educating students to be ethical and engaged citizens of the world. Teachers challenge students to think for themselves, to become more curious about their everyday world, to immerse themselves in creative activity, and to seek out knowledge that has both resonance and relevance. The school has long believed that a student’s entire lived experience is the most important aspect of their education; as a result, Buxton was designed (and continues) to provide an experience that helps young people grow as thinkers, community members, creators and doers.
Co-ed, College Preparatory. Enrollment 90–Boarding 80, Day 10. Extensive Arts, Work Program, Urban Intensive (all-school trip), Advanced students may take courses at Williams College at no cost. Brand new PG Year program. Academic support and ESL are available. 120-acre campus overlooks historic Williamstown.
Cushing Academy
Dan Morrissey: [email protected]
39 School St, Ashburnham, MA 01430
Web: www.cushing.org
Inquiry Link: Cushing Academy
Students who talk about why they love Cushing Academy describe how their experiences transform them as scholars, friends, artists, athletes, and as people who are endlessly curious and actively engaged in discovering new talents and interests. Founded in 1865, Cushing is an independent boarding school for grades 9-12 and post-graduate that offers a challenging academic curriculum and outstanding offerings in arts and athletics. The Academy also offers Academic Support and English as a Second Language instruction. Home to 400 students from 30 countries and 30 states, Cushing’s 162-acre campus is located one hour northwest of Boston in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.
Deerfield Academy
Chip Davis: [email protected]
7 Boyden Lane, Deerfield, MA 01342
Web: www.deerfield.edu
Inquiry Link: Deerfield Academy
Deerfield students represent 37 states and 49 countries. Each of our 655 students has the opportunity to contribute to our community in meaningful ways. Approximately 40% of our student body identifies as US students of color, 14.9% identifies as foreign nationals or US citizens living abroad, and we have 84 day students from the Pioneer Valley.
Character, integrity, and responsible citizenship guide student life in the Deerfield community. We live the goal of celebrating each student’s unique perspective to foster an inclusive educational community. Deerfield’s program emphasizes students’ roles as conscientious leaders in the community and the world.
We offer small, discussion-based courses in a wide range of academic disciplines. Our faculty has designed a variety of interdepartmental courses, team-taught by two or more faculty members, to enable students to create new and innovative interdisciplinary skill sets. Individual research, off-campus study opportunities, advanced Alternate Study electives, and 19 AP courses provide students with exceptional academic opportunity.
Students at Deerfield are encouraged to participate in both arts and athletics. Deerfield’s visual and performing arts department offers a wide variety of academic courses in our innovative Center for the Arts. Students gain physical skills as well as foster sportsmanship and camaraderie through our co-curricular interscholastic and intramural teams. Our on-campus athletic facilities include over 90 acres of athletic fields, and our nearby off-campus facilities include a state-of-the-art boathouse, a first-rate golf course, and a downhill skiing site.
Deerfield is dedicated to creating a warm and supportive environment for our students. Dorm life fosters a sense of community on campus. Dorm proctors, peer counselors, and peer tutors offer classmates valuable support. Clubs and organizations play a major role in life at the Academy. Student hangouts such as the Greer Center, the Koch Café, and the dorm provide opportunities for students to strengthen friendships and foster community spirit.
Gould Academy
Tim Mannix: [email protected]
39 Church St, Bethel, ME 04217
Web: www.gouldacademy.org
Inquiry Link: Gould Academy
What do you want out of high school? How will you plan your journey? At Gould, we can help you blaze your own trail and follow your passions, whatever those may be. Our location in the White Mountains of western Maine gives us a unique outdoor classroom right at our doorstep. Our online learning component gives flexibility to skiers and freethinkers alike.
Want to explore robotics with the school’s Navy-class REMUS submarine in the local pond? Maybe you’d like to explore the school’s 40 kilometers of trails on your mountain bike or build your own skis in the IDEAS Center. Or you could travel to China, Ecuador, Peru, or Tanzania with the Ninth Grade Four Point immersion experience.
Gould is a small, co-ed, independent boarding school where faculty do their best to say ‘yes’ more than they say ‘no,’ where students have flexibility to try new things in new ways. Here, students celebrate each other, take risks, experiment, because we know that education is about the journey, about being in the NOW. We celebrate the creative process, not just the outcomes. Students thrive in Gould’s college prep setting thanks to close, collegial relationships with their instructors and counselors, and a vast network of alumni and visiting professionals who come to campus and work with students each and every year.
Our mission is to prepare academically motivated students for college and help them to become independent-minded, ethical citizens who will lead lives of purpose, action, excellence, and compassion in a dynamic world.
Hebron Academy
Edwin Nunez: [email protected]
339 Paris Road, Hebron, ME 04238
Web: www.hebronacademy.org
Inquiry Link: Hebron Academy
Boarding and Day · Co-ed College Prep · Grades 6–12 & Postgraduate · Hebron, Maine
40% Honors and AP classes · 21 Varsity and JV sports · Outdoor Education · Academic Guidance
Support · Mental Health and Wellness supports · 100% college placement.
Belonging and Becoming.
Students from across the U.S. and around the world come to Hebron Academy to pursue
their passion, broaden their perspective, and find their purpose in our community.
Hebron’s faculty, led by our academic principles, empower students to become
personally accountable and engaged in their learning and educational experience.
At our small coed community of 250 students, we understand the value of providing
students with the knowledge, guidance, and support necessary to make informed,
educated, and healthy life choices. Hebron’s mission emphasizes cultivating a culture of
trust, respect for self and others, and inclusion. The resulting warm, welcoming and
nurturing community provides a strong foundation of support and enables our focus on
mental health and wellness promotion to permeate broadly throughout our students’
experience.
By teaching life skills, offering a comprehensive approach to academic coaching,
promoting social connectedness, identifying students at risk, encouraging health seeking
behaviors, and providing evidenced-based mental health services, we are committed to
supporting the holistic needs of our student body. Along with the effectiveness of the
supports available, care and consideration are maintained to ensure easy access, without
stigma, for all.
Kents Hill School
Matt Crane: [email protected]
1614 Main St, Kents Hill, ME 04349
Web: www.kentshill.org
Inquiry Link: Kents Hill
Kents Hill School, located in Maine, just an hour from the ocean and mountains, serves students in grades 9-12, PG and is primarily boarding. Our students’ educational journey begins with our belief that 21st Century skills ought to be focused on communication, critical thinking, character and values, and leadership.
Three initiatives are key to learning at Kents Hill: the 4-D curriculum, designed by our teachers with the assistance of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focuses on knowledge, skills, character, and reflection; the DIRIGO program, which is grade-level programming for social-emotional wellness, thinking about the future, and leadership development; and the Project-Based Learning program, which will debut this fall and spring in every class, will enhance the experience for each student as continue to make learning more relevant and hands-on for our students.
Kents Hill enhances all of this with a robust residential life program, significant commitment to the arts, and a broad extracurricular program. The facilities at Kents Hill are uniquely extraordinary, particularly the Alpine Center, which is on campus with snowmaking and lights.
Miss Hall’s School
James Eberhart: [email protected]
492 Holmes Rd, Pittsfield, MA 01201
Web: www.misshalls.org
Inquiry Link: Miss Hall’s School
Founded in 1898, Miss Hall’s School was one of the first all-girls boarding schools established in New England. Today the School is a nationally recognized, boarding and day independent secondary school that combines an exceptional college-preparatory curriculum with two acclaimed leadership programs, Horizons and the Girls’ Leadership Project. Both programs are central to our belief that, in addition to outstanding academic preparation, girls need additional skills that allow them to step confidently into college and beyond, when they will be expected to communicate effectively and authentically, voice opinions with resolve and respect, and be comfortable having influence, leading change, and contributing boldly and creatively to the common good. Our innovative approach to curriculum — with Foundational, Elective, and Hallmark courses — give students the opportunity to pursue their passions in an individualized path to diploma. Miss Hall’s School currently enrolls 189 girls, representing 13 states and 15 countries.
Northfield Mount Hermon School
Claude Anderson: [email protected]
One Lamplighter Way, Mount Hermon, MA 01354
Web: www.nmhschool.org
Inquiry Link: Northfield Mount Hermon
Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) is an independent, secular, co-educational boarding and day school for 650 students in grades 9–12 and a postgraduate year. Located in bucolic western Massachusetts on the Connecticut River, the school engages the intellect, talent, and compassion of its students and empowers them to act with humanity and purpose.
That is NMH’s mission. It also lives by the motto “education for the head, heart, and hand.” The school creates an environment in which students can live balanced, multidimensional lives, diving deep into a rich, innovative academic curriculum learning and also having time to explore extensive opportunities in international studies, athletics, the arts, and service work. Students hone their existing skills and talents, discover new ones, and leave the school prepared not only for college but for the world — today’s and tomorrow’s.
They are supported every step of the way by expert faculty and staff. NMH has two main initiatives that drive this support. One is the College-Model Academic Program (CMAP), with 80-minute classes that allow students to explore subjects in greater depth and spend more time with teachers who devote an immense amount of time and energy to fostering student success. Students take three major courses each semester — six per year, which is one more than schools using traditional schedules. The average class size is 11 students, and NMH’s overall student-teacher ratio is 6 to 1.
The other is the Partnership of 12, in which each student is connected with at least a dozen adults every semester — advisors, teachers, coaches, dorm staff, and work supervisors. The focus is on the whole student and meeting their individual needs while also integrating them into a diverse, dynamic community.
Putney School
Jessa Harge: [email protected]
418 Houghton Brook Rd, Putney, VT 05346
Web: www.putneyschool.org
Inquiry Link: Putney School
The Putney School, located in rural Putney, Vermont, is a coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9-12 founded in 1935 by educational pioneer, Carmelita Hinton, who wanted “to make school life a more real, less sheltered, less self-centered venture.”
Putney School is a progressive school, which means we believe people learn best by doing, not by being told. We foster intellectual freedom and student agency. We believe teenagers are capable and trustworthy. We regard the curriculum as everything we do. The four pillars of the school, rigorous academics, the work program, the arts, and physical activity, all combine to create students who understand what it takes to get things done. We value transparency with our students and our willingness to engage them in the running of the school. Because our demanding academic program is balanced with physical work, play, and arts for everyone, our days are very busy. Our students are constantly interacting with adults, with whom they become very comfortable. The realities of working the land, caring for animals and contributing to the well-being of a larger community all lead to natural self-discipline and an ability to be constructively self-reflective.
St. Johnsbury Academy
David Baker: [email protected]
1000 Main St, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
Web: www.stjacademy.org
Inquiry Link: St. Johnsbury Academy
St. Johnsbury Academy combines the resources and facilities of the world’s leading boarding schools, with personal attention and an individualized approach to learning. We have an award winning faculty – 77% hold advanced degrees – and offer an extraordinarily broad curriculum, including 220 courses, 30 Advanced Placement offerings, almost 40 courses in the fine and performing arts, a nationally affiliated STEM program, Career and Technical Education, and four languages: Latin, French, Spanish and Japanese. In addition, our Good Neighbor Scholars Boarding Program offers a discounted boarding tuition for property owners or residents of VT, NH and Quebec. Most importantly, for 170 years, we have delivered on our promise to parents and students that we will do our best to ensure, during the time spent within our care, each student is genuinely known, each has demonstrably grown, and each has been inspired.
Stoneleigh-Burnham School
Sharon Weyers: [email protected]
574 Bernardston Road, Greenfield, MA 01301
Web: www.sbsschool.org
Inquiry Link: Stoneleigh-Burnham School
Stoneleigh-Burnham School is an academic community that fosters an international perspective. We inspire girls to pursue meaningful lives based on honor, respect, and intellectual curiosity. Each student is challenged to discover her best self and graduate with confidence to think independently and act ethically, secure in the knowledge that her voice will be heard. With its long history of fostering the development of strong female identities, its small and inclusive multicultural environment, and its dedication to understanding how girls best learn and grow, Stoneleigh-Burnham School guides young women to become active agents of their own destiny.
Vermont Academy
Warren Samuels: [email protected]
10 Long Walk, Saxtons River, VT 05154
Web: www.vermontacademy.org
Inquiry Link: Vermont Academy
Vermont Academy is a small independent secondary school (grade 9-12 with a PG year), primarily boarding in nature, that sees the potential and value of every student and prepares them to thrive in college and life. By providing a supportive community and close personal attention to its students, Vermont Academy develops confident, active learners and respectful citizens. Each Vermont Academy student learns to take responsibility for his or her personal, moral, academic, and physical growth; is a steward of his or her environment; and contributes actively to his or her community. Vermont Academy is best known for the strong and close relationships between teachers and students, coaches and athletes, advisors and advisees, and directors and performers. These relationships create a warm and friendly atmosphere and set the tone for the campus. The students, faculty, and staff are welcoming and kind, and display an appreciation and love for the pristine natural setting in which they work and play. The 515-acre campus is inherently an extension of the classroom. Students take advantage of our rural, mountainous environment by conducting outdoor laboratory projects in the sciences; skiing and snowboarding in our winter sports park; observing the brilliance of the night sky through our observatory; playing competitive sports in rain, sun, snow, and ice; learning to rock climb; and boiling sap from our trees for maple sugar. In short, our students learn to work and play in all seasons, becoming a part of the natural wonder surrounding them. Present enrollment is approximately 190 students from 20 states and 17 countries. Approximately 50 percent receive financial aid. The school offers seminar-style classes with an average class size of 10. Vermont Academy is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Mike MacDonald: [email protected]
423 Main St, Wilbraham, MA 01095
Web: www.wma.us
Inquiry Link: Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Wilbraham & Monson Academy is for students who are looking for a transformational education within a nurturing and supportive community. WMA is a global experience with students from 33 countries, countless afternoon and athletic program offerings, and our distinctive Center for Entrepreneurial, Economics and Finance (CEEF) department, which provides students the opportunity to learn real-world critical thinking and entrepreneurial skills, while creating a foundation for business, finance or entrepreneurial endeavors in the future. The CEEF department houses the Mark R. Shenkman Trading Center – the pinnacle facility for economics, finance and entrepreneurship classes. WMA also offers college counseling as part of its program, as well as an advisor program, student promotion, many leadership and club opportunities, online courses and a unique travel program.
Williston Northampton School
Chris Dietrich: [email protected]
19 Payson Ave, Easthampton, MA 01027
Web: www.williston.com
Inquiry Link: Williston Northampton School
Located on 125 acres in Western Massachusetts, Williston has a history dating back to 1841. Williston’s 400 students (70 % boarding and 30% day) come from 30 countries and 25 US states. All Williston students take part in Williston’s Comprehensive Program for Academic and Social Success, known as COMPASS, which unifies our CORE Life and Leadership Program, our Williston Scholars program, our College Counseling program, and our Center for Academic Success (Academic Support). At the core of the Williston experience is our balance of academic excellence and support – students choose from 145 courses, 52 of which are AP or honors level, and they utilize our Writing Center and our Math Center as well as more formalized academic support. Additionally, Williston has a long history of athletic excellence, with over 30% of our graduating seniors going on to play at the college level in the last 5 years.