WHO WE ARE

School One was built for one purpose: to offer students a high school, centered on their individuality and creativity, which challenges them to tackle the questions that matter most. We’re passionate. We’re caring. And we’ve spent five decades helping students make their own choices, find their footing, and thrive. Our graduates go on to colleges and elite art schools across the country, and more importantly, they go on to be engaged members of their community.

Our Mission

At School One, we teach students to think, write, analyze, and create. As a community, we treat each other with care and respect. We appreciate each other’s differences as people and as learners.

At School One, we help our students:

What Makes us Different?

We enroll 100 students in grades 9-12, we know them well, and we help them reach beyond what they thought was possible. Unlike other schools, School One was built from the start as a small, creative home for students of all backgrounds and identities to learn and work together, not compete.

We’re rigorous and real. School One students go beyond test scores to prove what they can do in the classroom and the world.

We know everyone is creative. Our arts-based curriculum nurtures creativity in both novice and serious artists.

We know every student. Our small school environment means that every student is known and challenged to do their best. You can’t hide in a small school.

We innovate. We pioneered an individual advising system and honed it over four decades; now these practices are standard at top-performing high schools nationally.

We’re affordable. Our tuition is affordable relative to other private schools and we offer generous financial aid.

We’re truly diverse and accepting. Our students come from around the corner and across the globe. School One students come from a range of backgrounds and together they learn to collaborate, not compete.

What do Students Get?

At School One, we help our students to write clearly, think with imagination, read insightfully, create art, pose questions, develop skills, know who they are, make choices about what they learn, speak up for what they believe, prepare for college and beyond, and become better versions of themselves.

Students at School One:

Find a school community that takes their ideas and their voices seriously.
Take an active role in their learning and are responsible for their choices.
Are immersed in writing and critical thinking in every course, developing strong communication skills and the ability to advocate for themselves.
Are asked to relate information across disciplines, preparing them for the demands of college.
Work and learn together inside the classroom and out, forming a caring community and developing the skills to scaffold their success in the world.

What do Parents Get?

At School One parents get a trusted partner in developing their child’s strengths and talents during the critical high school years, including:

A real person on the phone, who can answer questions or connect them to the right person.
Clear and timely communication from advisors. They don't find out that their child has been struggling after it's too late to help.
Access to a team of faculty and staff (including a social worker, college counselor, special education teachers, etc.) who will work with parents as partners.
Peace of mind that their child is in a safe, nurturing, caring school community where difference is embraced and bullying is unheard of.
The satisfaction of knowing their child is happier.

SCHOOL ONE FAST FACTS:

9–12

GRADES

offered at School One

60%

OF STUDENTS

receive some form of financial aid

ORGANIZATIONS

provide internships to students

STUDENTS

in an average class

12%

OF STUDENTS

receive specialized academic support through an IEP

34%

OF STUDENTS

identify as students of color

1000

HOURS

of community service contributed by students each year

10%

OF STUDENT BODY

is international

NATIONAL MEDALISTS

at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards since 2012