The Foundation for a Meaningful Life
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA
About

Mission & Philosophy

Fay School nurtures each child’s potential through a broad, balanced, and challenging program that establishes the foundation for a meaningful life.

Fay's Philosophy

As a day and boarding school for students in Kindergarten through Grade Nine, Fay School is a community built on five core values: academic excellence; honorable conduct; dedicated service; earnest effort; and wellness of mind, body, and spirit. While the school has grown and evolved since its founding in 1866, our central purpose has remained constant. Fay provides a broad and challenging program that empowers students to discover their talents, develop their intellectual abilities, establish essential academic skills and knowledge, and define their moral character. Earnest effort has been emphasized throughout the School’s history, as enshrined in our motto, Poteris modo velis (“You can if you will”).
 
Fay is dedicated to educating children to their full potential in the early childhood, elementary, and middle school years by helping them recognize and develop their intellectual, aesthetic, physical, social, and emotional capabilities. We teach our students essential, enduring skills: to read well, to write and speak clearly and coherently, to reason soundly, to question thoughtfully, and to study effectively. These skills support their ability to lead, to collaborate, to create, and to solve problems.
 
Love of learning brings us together, and we encourage our students to be curious, creative, and open to new ideas. Fay’s safe and supportive environment allows students to take risks and encourages them to learn from mistakes, within the context of high expectations regarding academic performance and ethical conduct. Our teachers know their students as individuals and help them come to know themselves. As Fay students grow, they develop an understanding and acceptance of their own challenges and strengths as learners.
 
Honesty, respect, responsibility, empathy, and kindness inform our conduct. The development of manners, civility, and integrity are hallmarks of our school. At every grade level, we emphasize an obligation to help ensure the well-being of others. As a home for boarding students from many cultures and backgrounds throughout the United States and around the world, Fay is an inclusive community that recognizes, respects, and celebrates the full range of human diversity.
 
In all of these ways, Fay prepares our students to lead productive and fulfilling lives that make a positive difference in the world.

Fay's Core Values

List of 5 items.

  • Academic Excellence

    The academic program at Fay challenges students to excel and to develop an inherent love of learning. As members of the Fay community, students are expected to:
    • Value learning and appreciate their unique gifts, strengths, and challenges as learners;
    • Find encouragement and support in how they learn from the Fay community;
    • Be curious, creative, and open to new ideas and taking risks in order to learn;
    • Contribute to a safe and secure learning environment;
    • Take responsibility for their own intellectual development; and
    • Strive for mastery in their learning.

  • Earnest Effort

    Earnest effort is a vital aspect of our School program and is viewed as distinct from achievement. Effort grades assess the extent to which a student takes responsibility for the student’s life at school: academics, athletics, service, conduct, and citizenship. Earnest Effort is reflected in the School’s motto, “You can if you will.” As members of the Fay community, students are expected to:
    • Value the Fay tradition of effort;
    • Be their best selves;
    • Persevere when faced with adversity;
    • Work hard to reach their potential;
    • Have the courage to try again; and
    • Embrace the importance of earnest effort and its role in the Fay community.

  • Honorable Conduct

    Mutual respect and civility are central aspects of healthy communities. At Fay School, manners and social skills are valued and taught from the earliest grades, and the School expects that everyone be treated with courtesy. As members of the Fay community, students are expected to:
    • Follow the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you;”
    • Be honest and truthful;
    • Make good choices when faced with difficult decisions, and encourage others to do the same;
    • Be responsible for their actions and interactions within the community;
    • Try their best to understand and respect the needs and feelings of others; and
    • Value and celebrate both the differences and similarities among members of the Fay community.

  • Dedicated Service

    Members of the Fay community are expected to make a positive difference in the world. Students in every grade are given opportunities to participate in service activities both on and off campus. As members of the Fay community, students are expected to:
    • Care for the well-being of each person in the School community;
    • Show compassion for others;
    • Be generous with their time, talents, and resources;
    • Strive, and encourage others, to maintain and improve their community; and
    • Demonstrate care for the environment.

  • Wellness of Mind, Body, and Spirit

    Fay School values intellectual, physical, and personal development. As members of the Fay community, students are expected to:
    • Strive to be mentally, physically, and ethically fit and to care for their own wellbeing;
    • Seek help when they are in emotional, spiritual, or physical need;
    • Pursue meaningful activities and take time for personal reflection; and
    • Build positive friendships and share their joy with others.
48 MAIN STREET
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA 01772
main number 508-490-8250
admission 508-490-8201