An Alternative School

What is an Alternative High School?

Modern-day education is primarily based around test scores, rote memorization, and cultural uniformity. At Putney, our alternative progressive school centers around creating critical thinking citizens who play an active role in their communities and government. To do this, we engage in a variety of holistic student-centered learning practices that put education in the hands of each student. We believe that to learn you must do.

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Putney: Your Alternative Boarding School in New England

To create doers in society, we have structured a way for students to test out different roles, jobs, and interests. From a variety of community leadership roles and jobs to after-school art and sports programs, students get to explore and learn in an environment where failure isn’t negative but a part of the learning process to proficiency. This outlook allows students to grow and excel.

To accomplish this, students partake in a variety of integral roles needed to run our community as well as thrive in their own expertise and interests. Putting the students in charge of their education and learning doesn’t mean a lackadaisical approach to learning, but rather a self-motivated practice with the guidance of teachers. This leads to resilience in the face of adversity and failure since those become part of the learning cycle.

With small classrooms, project-based learning, and vital participation in the functioning of our community, students understand their importance as an individual and as a member of the wider society. Our vision is to create intelligence, inspire our students, and promote the curious nature within. In order to fully express that intelligent force, students are provided the tools necessary to research, test and analyze the world around them. They then present their findings or skills in powerful and moving ways. Join our alternative boarding school, where a student’s job is not just to learn but to also do.

Evening Arts
