Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School

School history

Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School opened in August 1993 with grades Pre-School-9 and 185 students. The school's first Upper School graduating class was the Class of 1997, and the school has graduated 19 classes, with more than 300 graduates. More than 99% of graduates have matriculated in undergraduate school. Thomas Jefferson graduates have matriculated to a wide range of colleges and universities including some of the most selective private schools in the country. The school employs 37 full-time teachers, 70% of whom hold advanced degrees in their disciplines. Dr. Benjamin Parsons (A.B. Bowdoin College; M.A. Dartmouth College; Ph.D University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth)was named Head of School in November 2014. Thomas Jefferson is accredited by Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS).

Academics

In the Upper School, Thomas Jefferson offers 18 Advanced Placement courses including: Biology; Chemistry; Calculus AB; Calculus BC; Government and Politics; English Language and Composition; English Literature and Composition; French Language; Latin: Vergil; Music Theory; Physics B; Spanish Language; Spanish Literature; Statistics; and U.S. History.

Athletics

Membership in the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) enables the school's athletes to participate with other schools in a wide variety of activities. Thomas Jefferson is a member of the Ozark 7 Conference. Other schools participating in the Ozark 7 Conference include: McAuley Catholic High School, Southwest, Wheaton, Verona, Exeter, and Purdy.

Students in grades 6-12 are able to compete in:

Fall: soccer (coed), tennis (upper school girls), volleyball (girls), cross-country (coed)

Winter: basketball (boys and girls), cheerleading (coed)

Spring: golf (upper school coed), tennis (upper school boys), track and field (boys and girls)

Student activities

The school is particularly notable for its quiz bowl program and has competed at NAQT Nationals, as well as finishing in the top three at the Class 1 state level since 1997, winning the championship in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2016. The school offers students the ability to participate in contests for math, writing, foreign languages, music, art, geography, and spelling. The school offers foreign language clubs, a chess club, a film-making club, and several other extracurricular and cocurricular activities. The school has a theater program and puts on a high-school show every fall. Past musicals have included Curtains, Anything Goes, The Music Man, Hello, Dolly!, "Bye Bye Birdie", and "Legally Blonde: The Musical." In 2012, the school began a Middle School Musical, which is a 1-hour condensed version of a Broadway musical performed every spring. Past shows have included "Dear Edwina, Jr." and "Annie, Jr.". In 2014, the Upper School Vocal Ensemble was selected to be part of a 200-voice choir that would perform Faure's "Requiem" at Carnegie Hall on June 7, 2015. In March 2015, the school began an annual film festival open to area students in grades 6-12, with over 40 films being entered.