I am very excited to have returned to Oldfields after twenty years. Oldfields is a very special place to me. This is where I learned my craft as a teacher and administrator and where I realized that I had a passion for teaching young people. My seventeen years at Oldfields was a formative experience. I have been an administrator at two excellent day schools during the last twenty years, but have often caught myself saying “well, when I was at Oldfields, we did it this way…”
So, what makes the Oldfields learning experience so special? In many ways, we are hard to categorize. We are not a school for one particular kind of student. We are able to meet the academic needs of a variety of students because of our commitment to maximize the potential of each student. If a young woman is particularly gifted in one discipline or another there are honors classes using an advanced placement curriculum to stretch her. On the other hand, we have excellent support services for students with academic deficits or a learning difference. We see each Oldfields girl as unique with her own strengths to challenge and deficits to support. We are able to do this because of our small classes, a diverse curriculum and a dedicated group of talented teachers.
This commitment to individual growth colors everything we do at Oldfields. We are not just a school, but a learning community. Because we are a boarding school, our students’ education does not stop when the final bell rings marking the end of the academic day. The self-assurance gained on the athletic field, on stage, through community service or in the show ring often leads to success in the classroom. Being part of a boarding school environment also enriches the experiences of our day students who take advantage of many of our evening and weekend activities and whose horizons are expanded by attending school with students from all over the world.
Oldfields is a great blend of tradition and innovation. In many ways Oldfields is the same school founded by Anna Austen McCulloch in 1867, a school where “character counts” reflected by the school motto of Courage, Humility and Largeness of Heart. However, the McCullochs were also educational innovators, preparing young women for college and the world beyond Oldfields.
I urge you to come spend a day at Oldfields. It will not take you long to sense what is so special about an Oldfields education.
Taylor Smith
Head of School
So, what makes the Oldfields learning experience so special? In many ways, we are hard to categorize. We are not a school for one particular kind of student. We are able to meet the academic needs of a variety of students because of our commitment to maximize the potential of each student. If a young woman is particularly gifted in one discipline or another there are honors classes using an advanced placement curriculum to stretch her. On the other hand, we have excellent support services for students with academic deficits or a learning difference. We see each Oldfields girl as unique with her own strengths to challenge and deficits to support. We are able to do this because of our small classes, a diverse curriculum and a dedicated group of talented teachers.
This commitment to individual growth colors everything we do at Oldfields. We are not just a school, but a learning community. Because we are a boarding school, our students’ education does not stop when the final bell rings marking the end of the academic day. The self-assurance gained on the athletic field, on stage, through community service or in the show ring often leads to success in the classroom. Being part of a boarding school environment also enriches the experiences of our day students who take advantage of many of our evening and weekend activities and whose horizons are expanded by attending school with students from all over the world.
Oldfields is a great blend of tradition and innovation. In many ways Oldfields is the same school founded by Anna Austen McCulloch in 1867, a school where “character counts” reflected by the school motto of Courage, Humility and Largeness of Heart. However, the McCullochs were also educational innovators, preparing young women for college and the world beyond Oldfields.
I urge you to come spend a day at Oldfields. It will not take you long to sense what is so special about an Oldfields education.
Taylor Smith
Head of School