The Cambridge School of Weston (also known as CSW) is a private, coeducational high school in Weston, Massachusetts. Currently, the school has approximately 340 students, with about 100 boarding students. The Head of School is Jane Moulding. The school's motto is "Truthe and Gentil Deedes" (from Chaucer, "Truthe and Gentil Dedes") and its mascot is the Gryphon. The Cambridge School of Weston's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.
History
The school was founded in 1886 as The Cambridge School for Girls at 20 Mason Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Arthur and Stella Gilman, who had previously helped found Radcliffe College, as a preparatory school for Radcliffe. In 1918, The Cambridge School for Girls merged with the Boston-based Haskell School, and was renamed The Cambridge-Haskell School. Lebanese-born poet Kahlil Gibran, an intimate friend of headmistress Mary Haskell, designed a ring for her students depicting a flower growing in an open hand.
In 1931, the school was moved 20 miles (32Â km) to its present campus in Weston under the direction of then-head of school John French, became coeducational, and was renamed a final time as The Cambridge School of Weston (CSW). A follower of educational reformer John Dewey, French put in place many of the progressive educational underpinnings that still guide the school today, such as a focus on the whole student, experiential learning, community involvement, and a low student-to-faculty ratio. In 1939, the school implemented a form of community self-governance modeled after the traditional New England town meeting. Following Robert's Rules of Order, the entire school community, including students, meet to propose and debate school rules and policies, elect representatives to school committees, and decide on other relevant topics to the community. The Cambridge School Town Meeting continues to be a central part of the school's community governance to the present day.
Academics
The school has gained recognition as a pioneer of the Module System, implemented in 1973 by then Head of School Bob Sandoe.
The goal of the Module, or "Mod" System, is to provide a framework to allow students to focus on fewer subjects more intensively during a given term. The academic year is divided into seven terms (known as Modules) of five weeks apiece. A school day consists of four class blocks of either 75 or 90 minutes each, with some classes spanning several consecutive blocks. Students take up to three academic and one extracurricular class per mod. Some classes, such as those in mathematics or a foreign language, continue for multiple mods. No two students have the same Mod Schedule; every student's schedule is unique to themselves. Students submit what classes they would like to enroll in, and the faculty works on their schedule to fit their electives into schedule, along with the required classes each class must participate in.
Tuition
The Cambridge School of Weston's tuition for the 2015â€"2016 school year is approximately $57,700 for boarding and $45,600 for day students. About 25% of students receive financial aid.
Initiatives
The Cambridge School of Weston finished building a "Green" building called the Garthwaite Center for Science and Art, with a dedication ceremony and day of environmental education events on October 20, 2007. The building represents a large portion of the Changing Lives Capital Campaign completed at the end of 2009. Four key initiatives currently form the central architecture of the school's strategic plan: Health and Wellness, Global Engagement, Social Justice and Teaching and Learning.
Athletics
The Cambridge School of Weston offers the following interscholastic sports:
- Soccer
- Cross Country
- Field Hockey
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Ultimate
- Volleyball
- Tennis
- Girls' Lacrosse
Additional fitness courses offered are: Yoga, Rock Climbing, Fencing, Cycling, Weight Training, Golf, Table Tennis, Dance, and Martial Arts.
Notable alumni
- Miguel Arteta, director
- Jonathan Bertman, physician and professor at Brown University
- Louisa Bertman, illustrator
- Lyudmila Bouzinova, model
- Josh Clayton-Felt, singer-songwriter
- Bruce Beal, chairman of Related Beal
- Jennifer Coolidge, actress
- Robert M. Cunningham, cloud physicist
- Aprille Ericsson-Jackson, mechanical engineer
- Ian Falconer, illustrator and author
- Ellen Feiss
- Zach Feuer, artist
- Paul Michael Glaser, actor famous for playing Starsky from Starsky and Hutch
- Erin Hamilton, singer
- Andras Jones, actor
- Susanna Kaysen, author of Girl, Interrupted
- Helen Keller
- Stephin Merritt, singer-songwriter
- Hamilton Morris, editor of Vice Magazine
- David Mugar, businessman and philanthropist
- Neal Nathanson, virologist and professor at University of Pennsylvania
- Douglas Preston, author
- Margaret Salinger, daughter of J.D. Salinger
- Andrew Strominger, theoretical physicist
- Joe Sumner, musician and son of Frances Tomelty and Sting
- Nick Zinner, guitarist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Steve Mumford, artist
- Jonas Wood, artist
- Eric von Hippel, economist
- Kelly Zutrau, lead singer of Wet (band)
- Hilaria Baldwin, wife of Alec Baldwin
- William J. "Billy" Ruane Jr. Boston Area Music Promoter
References
External links
- The Cambridge School of Weston website
- The Cambridge School of Weston alumni/ae website
- Picture of award winning Mugar Center for Performing Arts
- de Lone, Richard H. and Susan T., John Dewey is Alive and Well in New England, Saturday Review, November 21, 1970, pages 69â€"71. Included in: The New World of Educational Thought, Frank A. Stone, editor (Ardent Media, 1973. ISBN 0-8422-0282-X, ISBN 978-0-8422-0282-4), pages 182â€"189.