The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school, with a day-student component, 12 miles (19 km) outside Brattleboro, Vermont. Danny O'Brien became head of school in 2022. The school enrolls approximately 225 students on a 500 acres (2.0 km2) hilltop campus with classrooms, dormitories, and a dairy farm on which its students work before graduating.
| The Putney School | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
418 Houghton Brook Road, Putney , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private independent co-educational boarding and day high school |
| Established | 1935 |
| Founder | Carmelita Hinton |
| Dean | Tarah Greenidge |
| Head of School | Daniel O'Brien |
| Faculty | 35 full-time, 24 part-time/adjunct |
| Secondary years taught | 9th through 12th grades |
| Enrollment | 221 |
| Average class size | 12 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 6:1 |
| Classes offered | Humans in The Natural World, American Studies, Ceramics, Fiber Arts, Astronomy, Existentialism |
| Campus size | 500 acres (200 ha) |
| Campus type | Rural |
| Color(s) | Green, White |
| Mascot | Elm Tree |
| Rival | Dublin School |
| Annual tuition | $74,500 |
| Feeder schools | The Grammar School |
| Website | http://www.putneyschool.org/ |
Based on its founder's principles, the school continues to emphasize academics, a work program, the arts, and physical activity. Its curriculum is intended to teach the value of labor, art, community, ethics, and scholarship for individual growth.
Campus
The original buildings on Putney's campus were overhauled or constructed by Putney work camp attendees, students, and faculty in 1935. The Currier Center is a departure from Putney's customary white, colonial-style architecture, instead using stone and concrete walls in an angular design. It is used for dance, music, movie-making and visual-art presentations. The Field House, which opened in October 2009, was designed as a "net zero-energy building".
There are ten dormitories on campus: Old Boys, Huseby, New Boys, Keep, Noyes, White Cottage, JR, Old Girls, The Heights, and Gray House. A few faculty members live in each dormitory.
Academic program
In 1995, the Boston Globe described Putney as combining "a New England work ethic and a strong academic program." It is a member of the Independent Curriculum Group and in 2009 received a 10-year accreditation review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Tuition
Tuition for the 2023-24 academic year is $74,500 for boarding students and $45,400 for day students.
Notable alumni and faculty
Alumni
According to The Putney School 2008 Alumni Directory, alumni of The Putney School include (graduation date shown, where applicable):
- Sam Amidon, musician
- David Amram '48, composer
- Tim Asch '51, anthropologist, filmmaker
- Carlos Buhler '72, mountaineer
- Peter L. Buttenwieser, educator, philanthropist, member of the Lehman family
- Tim Caldwell, Olympic cross-country skier, son of John Caldwell
- Jonathan Crary, art historian
- Dave Cole '96, sculptor
- Carlton Cuse '77, television writer/executive of LOST
- Tim Daly '74, actor
- Alicia Dana '87, U.S. Paralympian
- Lydia Davis '65, writer, Man Booker International Prize recipient
- Thulani Davis '61, playwright, journalist, librettist, novelist, poet, and screenwriter
- Anna Dewdney '83, children's book author and illustrator
- Barnaby Dorfman '86, inventor, technology products
- Mahdi ElMandjra '50, Moroccan futurist, economist and sociologist
- Kai T. Erikson '49, sociologist
- David Griffiths '60, physicist, teacher
- William B. Gray, U.S. Attorney for Vermont
- Andrea Gruber, soprano
- William Hinton '36, author, agricultural advisor, People's Republic of China
- Joan Hinton '39, atomic physicist, dairy farmer in China
- Lee Hirsch '90, filmmaker.
- Jeffrey Hollender '73, CEO of Seventh Generation Inc.
- Reid Hoffman '85, web entrepreneur, co-founder of LinkedIn
- Felicity Huffman '81, actor
- Jeffrey Jones '64, actor
- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend '69, lieutenant governor of Maryland
- Kerry Kennedy '77, lawyer and human rights activist
- Bill Koch '73, Olympic cross-country skiing medalist
- Steven Kunes '74, TV writer and producer
- Mike Ladd, hip-hop artist
- Jonathan Lash '63, Hampshire College president
- Ellen Hamilton Latzen '99, actor
- Téa Leoni (Pantaleoni) '84, actor
- Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, '52, journalist, critic, novelist
- J. Anthony Lukas '51, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author
- Jared Martin, actor
- Sally Mann '69, fine-art photographer
- Joanna Miles '58, Emmy award-winning actress in The Glass Menagerie
- Adrian Morris, painter
- Errol Morris '65, filmmaker
- Nell Newman '78, co-founder/owner, Newman's Own
- Heather Nova '83, musician and songwriter
- Eli Noyes '60, film animator
- Ken Olin '72 actor, director and TV producer
- Priscilla Paetsch '50, violinist, composer
- Bob Perelman '64, poet, literary critic and professor
- Jonathan Piel '57, science journalist, past editor of Scientific American
- Tyler Rasch '06, television personality
- Noel Rockmore '47, painter, portraitist
- Martha Rockwell '62, Olympic cross-country ski racer
- Jonathan Rosenbaum '61, film critic
- Demetria Royals, filmmaker
- Jonathan Schell '61, author
- Wallace Shawn '61, actor, playwright
- Lucy Shelton '61, soprano
- Harper Simon '90, singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer and son of Paul Simon
- Alexis Stewart '83, television host, daughter of Martha Stewart
- Peter Willcox '72, Greenpeace activist, Arctic Sunrise captain
- Ellen Winner '65, professor specializing in the psychology of art
- John Bell Young, American concert pianist
Faculty
Some Putney faculty members (subject taught in parentheses) had careers that extended beyond their teaching.
- Eric Aho (art), American painter
- John H. Caldwell (mathematics), Nordic skier on the U.S. Olympic Ski Team, author and Nordic coach of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team
- Chard deNiord (English, philosophy), Poet Laureate of Vermont
- Eric Evans (English) Olympic canoeist
- Fernando Gerassi (art), artist
- Peter C. Goldmark, Jr. (history), environmentalist, publisher, and executive
- Margarete Seeler (art), German-born American artist, designer, educator, and author
References
Further reading
- Lloyd, Susan McIntosh (1987). The Putney School: A Progressive Experiment. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-03742-2.
- Sadovnik, Alan R.; Semel, Susan F., eds. (2002). Carmelita Chase Hinton and the Putney School. Founding Mothers and Others: Women Educational Leaders During the Progressive Era. Palgrave. ISBN 0-312-29502-2.