Learning How to Learn

Field's first mission is to teach skills: critical thinking, inquiry, writing, and problem solving. We do not follow “tracks” similar to other schools to separate students based on levels of academic achievement or efficiency. Students are exposed each day to varying types of teaching, modeling that there is more than one way to think, to learn, to process information, and to express an idea.
 

We Know Kids and Care About Them

Our small classes allow teachers to get to know their students well beyond their first and last names. Our teachers, who are extraordinarily bright and passionate individuals, are genuinely committed to understanding and teaching adolescents in a way that takes all of their strengths and weaknesses into account. We understand that different children and different brains do learn differently, and strive to vary our teaching and assessment styles accordingly.

Involvement in Arts and Athletics

Field students are required to participate in a studio or performing arts class every day of every year. While some schools may phase out art as part of a student’s daily experience as he or she gets older, we believe that regular participation in an arts class – be it painting and drawing or playing music – categorically makes for better Calculus and English students, and happier kids.

Similarly, students at Field are asked to participate in our after-school athletics program during their time here. Requirements vary by grade, but most importantly, no student at Field is ever cut from a sports team. We believe that athletic experiences foster teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills, and that no child or teenager should be deprived of the opportunity to play based on their relative skill.

Serious Studies - and College Results

Each day, Field students undertake demanding intellectual pursuits with their teachers and peers, from reading and analyzing Dante’s Inferno to working with the mathematical concept of symmetry as it relates to music, architecture, human biology, or learning differences. Classrooms are about dialogue, inquiry, and critical thinking, and Field students engage in deeply serious work in their classes. Colleges know our program and its depth well; without a single AP class on their transcripts, we have sent students to a mix of small liberal arts colleges, larger state universities, art schools, and Ivy League colleges.