Boarding at Westtown
Westtown’s boarding program begins in the 9th grade; about half of the 9th and 10th grade classes are boarders, and the remainder are day students. Our Upper School consists of approximately 400 students with 300 boarding and 100 day students. All students are required to board in 11th and 12th grade.
Why do we require boarding? Living and learning in community has defined the Westtown School experience for 209 years. Values fundamental to the vision and mission of the school are taught through the residential program, including relationship building, accountability, integrity, stewardship, respect and tolerance. Boarding life serves not only as a learning experience in its own right but also as a valuable preparation for college. The supervised independence inherent in a boarding program provides a stepping-stone toward the independence of college life.
It is our conviction – and our alumni affirm it – that the experience of actually living in the learning environment is one of the most important features of a Westtown education. In a survey sent to 1300 alumni who graduated over the last 15 years, 93 percent of the respondents rated their level of satisfaction in their student experience at Westtown as high to very high. Of note is that the market research company that conducted the survey has conducted similar research for many independent schools and found only one other school whose alumni reported as high a level of satisfaction with their educational experience. Westtown alumni also commented repeatedly on the power of community and how it impacted their lives and their preparedness for college both academically and socially.
The intentional building and teaching of community is an integral part of preparing our students for college and for life. There are countless educational opportunities outside the classroom and we seek to harness these for our students. At Westtown we teach skills needed for the 21st century. Because of Westtown’s large cohort of international students, we have the opportunity to prepare students to live among and understand people from a multitude of diverse backgrounds, and our students become close friends with people from all over the world.
Living together, going to class together, playing on the ball field or acting in a play are just some of the ways our diverse community comes together to learn about each other’s cultures. It is different from a college experience because it is more intentional, structured and supervised, and because of the close interaction with teachers and coaches.
From helping students develop time management and study skills necessary for college to living in an authentically diverse environment, we at Westtown are committed to the education of the whole person.
Residential Life Mission Statement
Westtown School’s Residential Community is guided by the essential Quaker calling to honor that of God in each of us. Within a richly diverse mix of students and adults, the Residential Program fosters stewardship, accountability and integrity while challenging students to discover, share and develop their individual and collective identities.
Westtown’s Residential Life Program expects that students will achieve these outcomes:
- Develop time management and effective study skills
- Value and appreciate diversity
- Recognize and appreciate positive leadership
- Become an effective self advocate with adults and peers alike
- Recognize the need for stewardship resulting from one’s impact on others
- Take responsibility for one’s actions, especially mistakes
- Form a variety of lasting, positive relationships on a variety of levels
- Recognize, cope with and constructively manage stress
- Engage in and manage conflict in healthy ways
- Learn to live with others
- Become aware of one’s own interpersonal strengths and challenges
- Develop increased autonomy and skills in daily living
