Curriculum

From the Academic Dean

Dear Prospective Students and Parents,

Thank you for your interest in The Spence School and its academic program.

At Spence, we appreciate our students both for who they are and what they are becoming—we celebrate their emerging selves, while challenging them to reach their potential. As a girls' school specifically, we possess an in-depth understanding of how girls learn and succeed, and we provide an environment that promotes each student's personal and intellectual growth. In turn, Spence students regularly embrace the freedom to question assumptions, take advantage of the unexpected and look at things in new ways.

From their earliest years in the Lower School, our students are immersed in active study through an engaging, inquiry-based approach that promotes self-confidence and instills in them a love for learning. In Middle School, the girls become more self-reliant; and as abstract thinkers they take on more challenging work. Our Upper School students pursue a rigorous study of the liberal arts and sciences, with an emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving and independent thought. And across the program, Spence's exceptional faculty are learners themselves, deepening their content-knowledge and seeking new means of inviting students into joyful discovery and the shared creation of a vibrant school community.

Supported with exceptional resources and thoughtful guidance, Spence students continuously stretch their imaginations and develop the skills of analysis, communication, leadership and collaboration necessary to thrive both at college and in their diverse and changing world.

Douglas Brophy

Academic Dean