Town School celebrates boys and boyhood and strives to help each boy fulfill his greatest potential. As a boys’ school, we have the crucial responsibility to work with students on broadening, rather than constraining, boys’ identities. Town intentionally designs experiences that encourage each student to create an expansive personal definition of boyhood and manhood.
An Expansive Definition of Boyhood
At Town, students discover new facets of their identities, build enduring relationships, and are continually given opportunities to lead, learn, and grow within a joyful and caring community.
We work to develop boys who embody the qualities of joy, respect, integrity, curiosity and a sense of belonging, and who possess an innate belief in their natural goodness.
Developmentally-Aligned Curricula for Boys, Designed to Challenge and Engage
- Emphasize key skills, needs, and outlets for boys at every juncture in their learning journey
- Highlight many different perspectives, including female voices
- Integrate gamesmanship and healthy competition in a collaborative environment, provides frequent opportunities for movement
- Provide the opportunity for choice, manifested from the classroom to the art room to the lunchroom
- Celebrate and consider failure as a profound opportunity for learning and growth
- Offer diverse opportunities across electives, clubs, and the academic program to explore areas of interest across the arts, technology, student government, and more
Integrated Character Development Program
- Dedicated lessons and a school-wide approach woven throughout the curricula
- Development of emotional awareness and a toolkit for navigating conflict in ways that retain and strengthen relationships
- Encouragement to take risks, embrace challenges, and learn from failure
- An emphasis on executive functioning skills to prepare students for high school and beyond
- Opportunities for boys to serve as leaders and mentors within the community
- Service learning and global education experiences that expand students’ understanding of the world and their capacity to contribute positively
Leaders for Good
At Town, boys across the grades set a positive example for and nurture younger students and develop an expansive sense of how they might impact the world around them.
- Buddies and Families programs create structured connections between grades and provide opportunities for boys to serve as role models and mentors
- An all-boys environment enables boys to play all roles in their community, including artist, mathematician, leader, and caretaker
- Leadership development encourages boys to lead at every stage of their Town School education, through both formal Student Government roles and informal leadership within the community
- Culminating Capstone Projects allow eighth-grade students to explore areas of personal passion and potential impact, with recent topics including The Causes of Extreme Weather in California, Pottery Traditions in Mexico, Morocco, and Japan, SCUBA, How to Build a Pipe Organ, and Expanding Access to Engineering: Designing Cost-Effective Kits for Schools
Lasting Relationships and a Dynamic Community
- Each grade includes two sections, providing breadth within each class for students to find peers who share their interests as well as those who bring different perspectives
- A joyful and connected culture promotes strong and lasting relationships among students, between students and teachers, and across faculty and staff
- Town’s administration, faculty, and staff serve as teachers, coaches, and advisors—furthering students’ understanding of the many roles one can play in a community and reinforcing the belief that identities are broad and multifaceted
Town School has been a member of the International Boys’ School Coalition since 1995, and Head of School Lorri Hamilton Durbin has served on the IBSC Board of Trustees.
