St. Paul's School - Review #1

The single most important aspect of life at St. Paul's is that every member of the student body and the faculty lives on campus. There are no day students disappearing after classes or sports, and students are not left sitting around at night completing their homework in an intellectual vacuum. Every student has the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with other students as well as faculty members in the classrooms, on the athletic fields, and in the dining halls and dormitories. Faculty members, many of whom live in apartments connected to the student dorms, are around in the evenings to help students understand their homework problems, work through the social issues confronting all adolescents, or simply chat about the day's events. The 100% boarding method is incredibly successful in allowing students to make effective use of their time at St. Paul's, as well as giving them the opportunity to learn as much as possible from the exceptional faculty.

I remember sitting down one evening and thinking back through all of the different roles I played throughout the day: biblical scholar, scientist, classics scholar, linguist, diplomat, historian, athlete, musician, artist, activist, actor, student, teacher, friend, explorer. St. Paul's has made me better at all of these things, and changed me in other ways that I can't even begin to imagine. Any single achievement, in the classroom, on the athletic field, or in the dorm, would be meaningless without the complex background of other accomplishments that defined my career there.

For the first few months after I arrived at school, I kept mostly to myself, convinced that I had figured out how to manage my own life there. Looking back, I realize that while I may have figured out how to manage, I had not learned how to live. The upperclassmen and faculty members in my dorm had figured this out; I only had to look around or ask, and my first months could have been as memorable as my last.

Seated meal, morning chapel, crew races, poppyseed cake in the rectory, long walks in the woods, late-night ice cream with an adviser, skating on the pond, graduation day.

The school is still dealing with the recent introduction of telephones and internet access into rooms. The administration still has a long way to go before they can work those access issues out to everyone's satisfaction. Also, the Rector and Trustees have been struggling with the issue of housing for same-sex couples on the faculty. A few buildings on campus have outlived their usefulness, and a master plan is being developed to provide for their renovation or replacement, beginning with the new gym, which should be opened soon.

Order a Special at the Tuck Shop; while you're eating it, shoot the breeze with Big Guy. Head back to the dorm, and ask one of the older or more adventurous faculty members to help you find Jerry Hill. Then, the next day, take your best friend with you and climb it. Walk back; go to a Keiser concert. Play frisbee on the chapel lawn. Go to an open house at the Rectory, eat poppyseed cake and play Jenga. Look for interesting names of alumni on the walls of the Upper. Start a theological discussion with a member of the clergy. Watch the crew races against Exeter from the footbridge. Watch a debate tournament. Visit your friends in Montana. Talk to some of the old people that show up on Anniversary weekend; you'll be surprised to find out how much you have in common.

The wide variety of stimulating, high-level classes in many different subjects allows students to fully explore their interests and abilities, whether their interest is in Latin, computer science, music, biology, or the humanities. Small classes allow the knowledgeable, experienced faculty, nearly all with graduate or doctorate degrees from world-class universities, to teach each student according to his or her full potential. Also, the grading system is not curved, reducing competition among students and focusing their efforts instead on improving relative to their own performance.

The block system of scheduling classes occasionally creates unfortunate conflicts and difficult choices.

The school requires every student to participate in some form of athletics through their junior year. Some students who may have thought that they hated sports may discover a team that they become passionate about; others come to the school to participate in well-respected, conference-leading teams. The school's coaches are all members of the faculty, providing an example to students that academic and athletic prowess are not mutually exclusive. At the very least, everyone gets an outlet for the stress that is created by the school's busy atmosphere. Nearly every varsity team (the most notable exception being football) is competitive in their conference. The options available to students include many stereotypically "preppy" sports, such as crew and squash, but the range of sports offered allows everyone to find something they enjoy.

Except for a few major events, most notably the major crew races towards the end of the spring, athletic competitions are sparsely attended. The old gym, which will soon be replaced, was an unattractive, uninviting base for the school's athletic activities.

The Keiser concert series, free for students and faculty, brings world-class musicians to perform on campus several times a year. Similar programs in the visual arts and theater departments provide a multitude of wonderful arts events on campus, all of which are very well-attended. As in the other areas of the school, the faculty in both the performing and visual arts are excellent artists in their own right, and are able to provide a level of teaching that most students are highly unlikely to find at home. The ballet program, while not very widely publicized on campus, is one of the leading programs in the country for the high school age group.

The arts programs are outgrowing the facilities that they are currently using. This is not a major problem yet, but it is an inaccurate representation of the school's commitment to the arts.

There is something for everyone. Nearly every person is involved in one or more groups which sponsor events and activities throughout the school year. Faculty members are also actively involved in many of the groups, helping them to expand their knowledge and experiences beyond the ideas that students may have. Also, officially recognized student groups all receive funding from the school to help with the organization of special activities or trips or in sponsoring weekend activities for the entire school.

The overwhelming number of extracurricular activities available sometimes leads to students becoming committed to more groups than they have the time or psychological capacity to handle. My grades slipped significantly in the spring semester of my sophomore year because I was involved in more than ten different extracurricular activities, not including athletics.

Every person in a dorm adds something to the dynamic of living at a boarding school. Social interaction by no means ends at check-in, which is graduated according to grade. Many students stay up working to gether on homework problems or simply socializing. All of the dorms have common computers in workstations available to all students, as well as laundry rooms and access to a kitchenette for late-night snacks.

Many students take issue with the limited hours for visiting dorms housing members of the opposite sex. There is not much more time in the average student's day, however, for an extension to make any meaningful difference. The hours imposed on internet and telephone access are somewhat arbitrary, although during my time as a student the school made significant progress in offering these services at all. The housing process causes a great deal of stress and controversy at the end of each year, but most students develop a sense of loyalty to their new dorm and neighbors despite the arguing of the previous spring.

Regular cafeteria meals are sufficiently varied to prevent boredom, and an effort is made to provide a number of appealing choices while keeping an eye on nutrition as well. The traditional seated meals, two evenings a week, are a major part of life at the school and help to introduce students and faculty to each other when they might not otherwise meet. Breakfast is particularly good; I was spoiled eating at the omelet bar and by the eggs benedict at Sunday brunch.

Aside from the standard dining-hall complaints about limited options and lack of taste compared to home, I think that the food service does a very good job.

The upperclassmen all remember what it was like to be in the dorm for the first time, and they will help you get comfortable and feel like you belong at the school. Because you are in close contact with a lot of different people over the course of a day, it's easy to find your place and develop friendships with others.

St. Paul's is an old, Episcopalian boarding school in New England, and its largely white student population reflects that. There are increasing numbers of asian and black students, however, and they are well integrated into the student body. At times it is clear, however, that they still feel more comfortable around those with a similar ethnic background, but not to the exclusion of the rest of the school.

Watch a crew race, explore the thousands of acres of forest owned by the school, listen to a Keiser music concert, sing in the volunteer Sunday church choir, watch (or participate in) a debate in the Schoolhouse, play frisbee on the chapel lawn, or take a dip in the pond. Check the water temperature, first, though - it may be wiser to throw your friend in than to jump in yourself!

Students often go into town on weekends to eat at restaurants, shop, or watch movies. Concord is a good size for the school: large enough to have options for the students to explore, but small enough that they don't feel threatened by its complexity.