Thoughts on Proctor, White Mtn, Vermont Academy and Holderness

zuzu_spetals
Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:12:14 +0000

I am sure I authored some of those “great comments on Proctor” as my son just graduated from there in May. It is not for everyone, but was a great choice for my son. Proctors motto is “live to learn,learn to live” (or very close to that). They stress experiential learning and a full 85% of the kids there study in an off campus program during their years at Proctor. All are Proctor organized. Some go to a semester at sea where they are responsible for sailing the boat (small crew plus kids), some go to France, Costa Rica, out west, Spain…
My son was there for two years and was in the minority that didn’t go (mostly due to sports). Teachers are called by their first names which really put me off in the beginning, but the reason behind it is to make teachers more approachable and a partner in learning.
Dorms are mostly converted older homes with an exceptional new dorm, Peabody. The campus is very green, in all ways. My son spent a fall semester chopping and selling wood to the community with the “woods team”. With the procedes, the team all bought flannel jackets. Cool lesson in working together and marketing.

Overall, I would say Proctor offers a great sense of community and very caring teachers. Sports are decent, but could be emphasized more, imo. My son played lacrosse there and is now enrolled in a D1 school.
also, while there are preppy kids there, and woodsy kids, and artistic kids, the distinctions seem more blurred at Proctor than perhaps at other schools we visited.
zp