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FeedPrivate … But Far from Provincial
We go beyond the numbers and get to the heart of what makes local private schools unique.
(page 1 of 24)
Increasingly, the area’s independent private schools are diversifying and adopting a pronounced worldview. We provide snapshots of 23 of the best.
PICK A SCHOOL
• Abington Friends School, page 2
• Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, page 3
• The Agnes Irwin School, page 4
• The Baldwin School, page 5
• Chestnut Hill Academy, page 6
• Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, page 7
• Devon Preparatory School, page 8
• Episcopal Academy, page 9
• Friends Select School, page 10
• Friends’ Central School, page 11
• Germantown Academy, page 12
• Germantown Friends School, page 13
• The Haverford School, page 14
• The Hill School, page 15
• Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, page 16
• Malvern Preparatory School, page 17
• Merion Mercy Academy, page 18
• The School at Church Farm, page 19
• The Shipley School, page 20
• Valley Forge Military Academy, page 21
• Villa Maria Academy, page 22
• Westtown School, page 23
• William Penn Charter School, page 24
Reader Comments:
Dear Main Line Editors:
I enjoyed your article regarding independent schools in the Greater Philadelphia area and noted with interest your recognition of the fact that our regional independent schools are neither inherently provincial nor entirely local. While The Perkiomen School sits in Upper Montgomery County, we have been a World Community for decades, having welcomed students to the region from around the world and across the country. This year alone, we are proud to welcome students from Italy, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Turkey, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Lebanon, and Switzerland and a dozen states. Our students are active in the Model United Nations program and were awarded honors at Kutztown, DeSales, and the UPenn MUN events. Working with our local Lifelong Learning program for seniors, our students offered weekly seminars on the countries and cultures represented here at Perkiomen. Several students also volunteered to teach Chinese calligraphy to students at the Swain School.
Perkiomen remains committed to welcoming students from around the world to live and learn together. When we teach Mandarin Chinese, we can include native speaking students in the conversation. When we hold an international dinner, the hands preparing the food know exactly how it should taste. And, when we gather for our Morning Meeting, we look across the entire student body and realize that our school is a better place because it has fully embraced what a World Community should be – inclusive and global.
I commend you for recognizing what our schools bring to the fabric of Greater Philadelphia and I commend my colleagues at those schools presented for their hard work and success building their own global communities.
Sincerely,
Christopher R. Tompkins,
Headmaster
The Perkiomen School