Welcome to Fieldston and to our Upper School!

Laura Danforth
Principal, Fieldston Upper

We humans are meaning-making creatures, and part of how we try to make sense of the world is to divide it into contrasting categories: Over here, creativity; over there, rigor. Here, self-expression; there, self-discipline. At Fieldston, we do not see such things in opposition. In fact, we know that true creativity exists only in the face of a commitment to rigor; we know that meaningful self-expression arises within the highest of ethical standards. Our founder, Felix Adler, put it this way: Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each include the other, each is enriched by the other.

Did I say love? I did indeed. An ethical education has everything to do with love, with service, with giving both heart and mind to the needs of the world. What the world needs most is young people who are creative, curious, committed, and good. Students need to be unabashed and unafraid of loving the world.

At Fieldston, your teachers are unafraid and unabashed in their love of learning, their love of the world. They tap into the most passionate and creative core of each student and provide a venue to express that essence – in the classroom, on the athletic field, in the studio, in their relationships with one another and with the adults that influence them.

Fieldston is considered a progressive school: a place where creativity and independent thinking are central to a shared mission; a place that navigates by the principle and actuality of inclusion. In no other setting than in a progressive school does one achieve the optimal, deliberate balance of ethical learning, academic excellence, and independent thinking. Students who are fortunate enough to be in such an environment reap immense benefits – developing compassionate and fearless leadership, unshakeable intellectual standards, and deep emotional intelligence. If you are searching for a school where character has equal billing with the mind, you have found us.

It’s important that you know that we have a tremendous amount of fun working hard at Fieldston Upper. A final quotation from our founder reminds us not to forget the essential ingredient of joy in the shared enterprise of a progressive education: The truth which has made us free will in the end make us glad also.

Welcome!

Laura Danforth
Principal, Fieldston Upper