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The Academic Program
Our challenging curriculum features more than 200 courses. We offer classes in traditional disciplines such as English, history, mathematics, science, and world languages, plus a full slate of courses in art and music, an innovative series of courses in leadership, and honors-level classes in the upper grades. Our flexible, rotating schedule includes longer, “doubleblock” class periods designed to encourage sustained exploration and innovative instruction. Small classes allow teachers to work closely with students, adapting to their strengths and weaknesses, their goals, and their ambitions. Throughout the curriculum, we emphasize specific skills and broader habits of mind such as critical thinking and creative problem-solving, effective communication and independent inquiry, moral and aesthetic awareness, technological fluency, and, crucially, a joyful, spirited approach to learning. Our sixty-five full-time faculty members serve as mentors and advisors, counselors and dorm parents - and dedicated, deeply experienced instructors. Many have made their careers at Fay, a sign of their commitment to the School and their seasoned understanding of young students. Many are renowned in their fields and serve as resources for educators at peer institutions. Every Fay teacher works with parents, students, and administrators to help students reach their fullest potential, and an ample professional development budget ensures that they are fully educated in the best practice educational theory and its thoughtful implementation in the classroom. Fay’s effort system is unique among independent schools. Every two weeks, students in grades 3-9 receive a grade in each of their classes that assesses the effort they’ve put forward in the class, a measure of the intellectual risks they’ve taken, the questions they’ve asked, and the level of intensity they’ve brought to their work. Effort grades supplement the standard letter grades that measure academic performance. For parents, they are a vital source of information about the student’s motivation. For teachers, they are an invaluable developmental tool. For students, effort grades are an incentive to work hard, an acknowledgement of their intellectual courage, and a source of pride. Our parents are an essential part of our academic program. We see education as a collaborative effort, the result of an open exchange between parents, students, and members of the School’s staff - teachers and advisors, coaches and administrators. We urge parents to join the School community - to attend recitals and athletic matches, to volunteer for School organizations and committees, thereby playing an active role in the shape and scope of their child’s education. We also offer programs and events specifically for parents - including a speakers’ series and regular workshops - dedicated to optimizing the work we do together: raising thoughtful, responsible children. Fay School uses technology as an educational tool. Every classroom provides the most current technology; and students have access to more than 90 computers across campus, including stations in four multimedia rooms and three computer labs. Students can also use wireless internet service in the Root Academic Center and video conferencing technology that allows boarding families to stay in close touch with their children. Our comprehensive technology program grounds students in essential skills, including programming, graphics, and information literacy. Fay’s student body is an international community; roughly 15% of our students come from countries around the world: Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, France, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Viet Nam. For students with limited proficiency in English, our International Student Program (ISP) offers specialized classes, academic support, and assistance with travel arrangements, secondary school placement, and communication with their families. Classes emphasize grammar, composition, reading comprehension, and academic skills; as students become more proficient, they gradually join classes in the larger Fay curriculum. The program also serves as a resource for Fay’s domestic students in that the ISP makes available an opportunity to attend field trips, dances, dinners, and other events that celebrate the world’s cultures.
For more information about the International Student Program, please click here.
Lower School ProgramFay’s Lower School - grades 1–5 - is a caring, welcoming, respectful community. We ask our students to be kind and civil, honest and tolerant. We also ask them to work hard, challenge themselves, and take pride and pleasure in the act of thinking.
Our faculty work closely with students; in grades 1 and 2, the student/teacher ratio is 9/1; in grades 3–5, the ratio is 15/1. Dedicated, diverse, and expertly trained, our teachers come to know students in multiple settings - small groups, full classes, individual sessions - and a range of activities. They also serve as advisors to students and as liaisons to parents; together, they help students discover their potential. We practice hands-on education. We offer a range of activities - some required, some elective, all designed to encourage an active engagement with the world. Classes visit art museums, prepare full-scale plays, and participate in public speaking activities. Students join the Chess Club, Chinese Language Club, or a special program dedicated to computer graphics. With small class sizes and faculty expertise in all facets of elementary education, teachers get to know and appreciate the individual differences that come with each child, and thereby are able to attend to each student’s needs. Our flexible schedule allows time for tutorial help during the school day. Tutors work with one or two students to provide classroom support, lesson reinforcement, supplementary lessons, and organizational skill work. And teachers can meet privately with students during study time, flex time, or daily homeroom periods. We see ourselves as partners with parents and children. We reach out to parents in a number of ways: we provide bi-weekly effort grades - a measure of a student’s commitment to their work - detailed progress reports, and student-led conferences with parents. And our parents reach out to us; the School’s Parents’ Association is an active, voluntary organization that supports student and School events. Fay School is committed to educating the whole child to his/her fullest potential in preparation for a productive and fulfilled life. Fay School admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or creed to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, religion or creed in administration of its educational policies, scholarships and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. |
Our academic program takes as its starting point the motto of the School: Poteris Modo Velis (You can if you will). We ask students to extend themselves, to set meaningful goals and work steadily toward them, and to reach one horizon before setting out for another.
Our curriculum isn’t confined to the classroom; you can see it in the dining hall, on the playground, in the hallways. It’s designed to help children become active, complex thinkers and attentive, outward-reaching members of the community. Our classes include core academic subjects, public speaking, world languages, physical education, music, and the visual arts - a broad, firm foundation for future learning. Course work proceeds in careful sequence, but the curriculum is flexible enough to account for each student’s abilities and goals.