President's Message

Welcome to Whitfield School.

Whether you are a student, faculty member, current parent, alumni or visitor, I welcome you to our school community. As a true community, every member of our school is dedicated to treating one another with respect and kindness. Whitfield is a unique school, with a special history and philosophy that has helped kids grow to be thoughtful, well-rounded young adults for over 50 years.

Since we were founded in 1952 by John Barnes and Alan Cole, Whitfield has been committed to educating students in a personal and engaging manner. As our alumni often tell us, Mr. Barnes and Mr. Cole brought heart and soul to leading our school. While much has changed in the ensuing years, Whitfield retains this spirit of personalized education that is so essential to our school culture.

The tradition of strong leadership begun by Barnes and Cole continued when Mary Burke became the Head of School in 1984. From that time until her retirement in June 2004, Mary led the School with the passion of an educational reformer and the drive of a true entrepreneur. Under her leadership, the School's enrollment grew over fourfold and the facilities were expanded to match the strength of our academic, artistic and athletic programs.

Although Whitfield's campus and classrooms may at first appear much different from those of 50 years ago, our mission has not changed. We are still a family-oriented, college preparatory school where every child is important. Our faculty brings knowledge, creativity and passion to the classroom, with a solid commitment to helping every child succeed.

Our curriculum is academically challenging and developmentally appropriate. Designed by our own expert teachers, our courses are engaging and constantly changing and improving as we look for the best ways to prepare our students for entrance to the nation's very finest universities and colleges.

Our students study six years of foreign language, mathematics, science, history, English and the arts. Most students will study calculus and all students take two years of physics, biology and chemistry. This is definitely a rigorous academic program, but the combination of great kids who want to learn and achieve and teachers who are knowledgeable and engaging produces fantastic results.

As the president of Whitfield School, I am excited about the upcoming school year. I am also encouraged by the work of our faculty, administrators and students to make our school and community even stronger. We will study and discuss initiatives related to technology, diversity and academic integrity. These are meaningful and important topics, and our community is ready to respond to the challenges they pose. And like a family, we will continue to grow and evolve together.

Best regards,

Mark J. Anderson
President

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