WOOSTER UPPER SCHOOL

Dear Parents, Students, Friends, and Inquirers,

Welcome to Wooster’s Upper School page. If you’re here, you’re thinking about going to high school at an independent school. Likely you’re asking: Why should I consider Wooster over any number of strong, college-preparatory independent school programs here in western Connecticut? As an educator with 35 years of experience (22 of them as an administrator) in seven different high schools (public, independent, day, and boarding) on both sides of the country, I have strong opinions about what works. So here’s my answer to the question:

Nearly all independent schools boast strong academics, college preparation, and the development of thinking and writing skills. Wooster does, too. But intentional student leadership training, the widespread expectation that students and adults take responsibility, a culture of kindness, and an audible student voice make a Wooster education unique.

Academic success and personal growth depend on trust - between student and teacher, student and school, student and community. And trust is founded on mutual responsibility among students, faculty, administration, and the community at large. Wooster’s culture focuses on teaching students responsibility for themselves, in several ways:

• Self-help – we clean the mess we make, we help each other out
• Honor code – we live by it
• Jobs program – students maintain the school – every day
• Prefect system – seniors manage the jobs and the work days, and facilitate the citizenship program
• Volunteer expectations – all students give 100 hours of service to the School and the local community over four years
• Citizenship program – six times a year, based on volunteer minutes and behavior, students earn a citizenship rating from their peers and Advisors
• Afternoon activities – every student is required to participate in an afternoon sport or an afternoon activity, like drama; such participation teaches not only the responsibility to oneself but also one’s responsibility to a group
• Many students participate in musical groups (singing, jazz, improve, contemporary) which also places a great deal of responsibility on the individual to meet the needs of a larger group
• Regular reflection – at weekly Chapel, during community service, asking, Who am I? Who do I want to be? Am I, as the Wooster School prayer states, gentle, generous, truthful, kind, and brave?

• Effort grades – six grading periods, six effort grades, valued as highly as the course grade
• Student evaluations – twice yearly, students help their teachers see what’s working and what is not
• Extra help – daily, weekly, students have access to all teachers(and their home telephone numbers) and a learning specialist from whom they may ask for extra help as needed; there is a 50-minute built-in period on Wednesdays, and all students can access our on-line course management system for their homework assignments
• Optional review day – before exams, teachers are available, students come for questions; attendance is strong
• Time management – Wooster grads return from college marveling at how well, by comparison to their peers, they balance their college life, both academic and social
• College guidance process – with adult guidance, students take ownership of their next academic step
• “Stu-Fac”  - a student and faculty group that meets weekly to explore what might be changed, adjusted, or created at Wooster
• Senior Independent Study – a five-week program at the very end of the senior year during which students create their own off-campus internship or project

• Honor pledge – the entire community says this aloud, together, each fall at Convocation; students write it daily.
• Honor and Discipline Committee - has members of the senior class and faculty, and meets for student infractions
• Big Brother Big Sister – over a third of our students meet monthly with their Lower School brother or sister
• Tour guides – working with Admissions, students take all guests, visitors, and potential students on a guided tour of the campus
• Service requirement – students create their own plans to carry Wooster’s service ethic beyond our borders; Wooster plans events such as coat drives and the Midnight Run (taking clothes and food to homeless in the city) to serve others
• “Slips and recs”  - volunteer slips and job recommendations, created by students for students during each citizenship period