Type Private Founder Ellen Geer Sangster Director Peter S. Smith Number of students 90 Mascot Lion | Established 1928 CEEB code 222410 Phone +1 413-458-3919 Founded 1928 | |
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Motto Cognoscite Agite Laetate Similar Mount Greylock Regional, Drury High School, Hoosac Valley High School, Williams College, McCann Technical School | ||
Buxton School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory, and boarding and day school for grades 9–12 located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA. The school has a student body of approximately 90 students. Buxton is known for its commitment to education that is experimental and experiential.
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History
The school was founded by Ellen Geer Sangster in 1928 as a coeducational country day school in Short Hills, New Jersey. In 1947, the high school was moved to Sangster's family estate in Williamstown, and formed anew as a boarding school. Nineteen students and many faculty followed Sangster from the New Jersey school to the nascent boarding school in Williamstown. The primary and middle school stayed in Short Hills as the newly formed Far Brook School.
In 2013, Peter S. Smith was appointed Director.
Academics
Available classes include: English, French, Spanish, American History, Ancient Greece and Rome, Sociology, World Religions, Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Health, Marine Biology, Physics, The Practice of Poetry, Writing: Daily Themes, Drama, Music, Ceramics, Photography, Printmaking, Studio Art, Video Production, and more.
If students are interested in a subject that is not offered as a class, they can initiate an independent study with a faculty member relevant to their subject, or a teacher from outside. Private music lessons are offered. More advanced students have the opportunity to take more advanced science and math courses at Williams College, which is a few miles away.
Requirements for graduation are based on a credit system:
Sixteen credits are required for graduation, which include 4 years of English and a year of American history. Students are also counseled to complete a minimum of 3 years of mathematics, 2 years of social science, 2 years of laboratory science, and a minimum of 3 years of a foreign language. In addition, students are also strongly encouraged to pursue courses in the arts.
The grade system is based on report conferences. Students are given grades for the purposes of college, but they are not allowed to see them until they are relevant to the students' college application process. Feedback from teachers is in the form of report letters and report conferences. Conversations and written assessments are utilized to give the teacher and student a full understating of the student's performance in the class.
Campus
Buxton occupies 150 acres (0.61 km2) of New England meadow and forest in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Buildings on campus include the Main House, a girls' dorm, and where meals are served; The Boys' Dorm, affectionately called "The Barn" due to its history as a barn; The Classroom Building, which houses most of the classrooms on campus; the Arts complex which includes buildings for Photography, Studio Art, Music, and Ceramics; The Theater; The Library; and faculty houses.
Notable alumni
Stephen Lee Saltonstall, public interest lawyer and humanitarian worker