The Cambridge School of Weston

The Cambridge School of Weston (also known as CSW or The Cambridge School) is an independent, coeducational high school in Weston, Massachusetts. Currently, the school has 325 students in grades 9 to 12, with approximately 70% day students and 30% boarding students. History The school was founded in 1886 as The Cambridge School for Girls at 20 Mason Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Arthur and Stella Gilman, who had previously helped found Radcliffe College, as a preparatory school for Radcliffe. In 1918, The Cambridge School for Girls merged with the Boston-based Haskell School, and was renamed The Cambridge-Haskell School. Lebanese-born poet Kahlil Gibran, an "intimate friend" of headmistress Mary Haskell, designed a ring for her students depicting a "flower" "growing" in an open "hand". In 1931, the school was moved to its present campus in Weston under the direction of then-head of school John French, became coeducational, and was renamed a final time as The Cambridge School of Weston (CSW). A follower of educational reformer John Dewey, French put in place many of the progressive educational underpinnings that still guide the school, such as a focus on the whole student, experiential learning, community involvement, and a low student-to-faculty ratio. In 1939, the school implemented a form of community self-governance modeled after the traditional New England town meeting. Following Robert's Rules of Order, the entire school community, including students, meet to propose and debate school rules and policies, elect representatives to school committees, and decide on other relevant topics to the community. The Cambridge School Town Meeting continues to be a central part of the school's community governance to the present day. Academics The school adopted the Module System, implemented in 1973 by then Head of School Bob Sandoe. The goal of the Module, or "Mod" System, is to provide a framework to allow students to focus on fewer subjects more intensively during a given term. The academic year is divided into six terms (known as modules) of six weeks apiece. A school day consists of four class blocks of 90 minutes each, with some classes spanning several consecutive blocks. Students take up to three academic and one extracurricular class per mod. Some classes, such as those in mathematics or a foreign language, continue for multiple mods. No two students have the same schedule; every student's schedule is unique to themself.