View book for Boarding Students 2015

It takes an impressive history...

Visionary thinkers embrace the idea that we borrow the earth from our children, rather than inherit it from our ancestors. That’s why 2

Baylor School is focused on the future, from the sustainability of our practices to the realization of each student’s singular potential.

Our vision is realized in programs like our iPad initiative. By empowering every student and faculty member on campus with leading edge technology, we’re minimizing our environmental footprint and maximizing opportunities to share the joy of learning.

At Baylor, we reject the notion that rigor equals pressure. We find that our students learn more – and excel more – when they’re happy and engaged.

Our greatest satisfaction comes when parents tell us their children look forward to school every day.

Innovation, engagement, environmental responsibility – these qualities have emerged from more than 120 years of history to define today’s culture of learning at Baylor School.

Just imagine where that kind of thinking can lead.

The materials are recycled. The ideas are brand new.

Amid the global communication stream, consider this publication a hybrid. It’s designed to connect you to a new world of learning across websites, blogs, videos, and real-life experiences – much like a Baylor School education.

Check out the Baylor iPad experience at: baylorschool.org/iPad.

to think this far forward.

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The Baylor Sch ool mission: To foster in students both the ability and th e de si re to make a positive difference in the world.

“When I talk with families, I tell them how meaningful it is to be at a school that has vision and purpose. Baylor has had a quiet confidence about our path for more than 100 years, and now the research is catching up to us.

We know that the more we educate the whole child, the better prepared that child will be for life.”

– Scott Wilson ’75, President and Headmaster

When it comes to academic excellence,

perfect test scores are a nice start.

If Baylor School evaluated student success on the strength of our test scores, we could easily rest on our laurels. In just the past few years, our students have earned perfect scores on the ACT, SAT, and National Latin Exam.

At Baylor, however, high test scores are just one of the ways we define academic excellence. When rising seniors apply for the opportunity to spend a week in Washington, D.C. exploring ethics, honor, and service, we see excellence. When science students use our professional-grade laboratories to genotype their own DNA, we see excellence. When a single capstone project raises thousands of dollars for cancer patients, we see excellence.

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Certainly, we celebrated when Matthew Chen ’12 and Josh Smith ’13 received the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. But at Baylor, national recognition is only one measure of success. Within each Gates Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, and Presidential Scholar nominee, we also see the tech wizard, the mixed media artist, the social activist, and the champion athlete.

No matter how many awards and accolades our students may earn, nothing makes us prouder than the passion and enthusiasm they bring to Baylor every day.

Advancing academic options.

We’ve come a long way since Baylor was one of the first schools outside New England to be invited to participate in the national Advanced Placement program. Today Baylor offers 20 AP courses, from Physics and Latin to Studio Art: 3D. For a complete list of AP offerings visit baylorschool.org/AP.

BaylorInspires.

When students arrive on campus each day, they’re welcomed by some of the leading minds in independent education. Our instructors have earned Fulbright Scholarships and the Presidential Award for Excellence. They grade Advanced Placement exams and help write the National Spanish Exam, and hold degrees from institutions such as Boston University, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Harvard, and Vanderbilt.

In addition to academic achievements such as a perfect ACT score, Lauren Johnson ’13 played – and won championships – on the Baylor golf team. She now attends Vanderbilt University, having earned the prestigious Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship.

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Amazing teachers >> Un

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Unparalleled engagement Motivated by teachers like Chris Watkins, students are happy to give their all. And they get plenty back in

return. In his English IV Voices on Equality class, Watkins skillfully guides them to think beyond the simple answer, to peel apart the fundamental idea and reach elusive conclusions – valuable skills for college and the workplace beyond it.

International experts.

Baylor’s science department chair Dr. Dawn Richards recently visited China to serve as expert and chairman at the Fourth International Workshop on Environmental Health and Pollution Control.

Leading authorities.

When Baylor students need insight into the intricacies of mathematics, they go straight to the source: Dr. Dan Kennedy. His calculus and algebra textbooks are used by millions of students nationwide.

Groundbreaking visionaries.

In Cynthia Gray’s “flipped” classroom, conventional elements such as lectures and homework are turned upside down. Students review content on their own and come to class for activity-driven work and collaborative conversation.

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“At some schools you can focus on one thing like math and be considered really successful.

Baylor gives you the chance to lead in lots of other ways, too.�

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Writing and publishing a book can be the goal of a lifetime.

Eugene Park did it over summer break.

When freshman Eugene Park ’13 said he

BaylorInnovates.

wanted to write a book about Baylor School,

Learning spaces that do away with the desk. Courses

Headmaster Scott Wilson ’75 took it with a grain of salt. Just a few months later, Park returned

from summer break with fresh copies of Baylor’s Treasure – his fictional account of a secret fortune buried in Lupton Hall – published in both English and his native language, Korean.

Having executed a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT at age 12, Eugene could have been content to excel in his comfort zone. Instead, during four years at Baylor he learned to play the clarinet, served as editor for “Baylor Notes” and even had an academic Q&A column called “Ask Eugene.”

Still passionate about mathematics, he competed in the USA Junior Math Olympiad and received Baylor Departmental Awards in both math and band.

Why do so many talented students achieve even more at Baylor? Ask Eugene.

such as AP Human Geography, which examines society and our place in the global landscape. iPads as textbooks, notebooks, lab tools, video recorders, star maps, and more. At Baylor School innovation is a way of life – and learning.

Capstones change lives.

For her senior capstone project, Carley Hawkins ‘13 created a fall break service trip to New York City.

Working with Community Service Director Joli Anderson and Dr. Ernest Morrell (a Columbia University professor and recent speaker at Baylor), Carley planned every aspect from transportation to the daily itinerary. Seven students joined her for service with elementary school children, a peer group meeting in the Bronx, and time with NYC-dwelling Baylor alumni. Check out more capstones at baylorschool.org/capstones.

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When it comes to STEM curriculum, Baylor students get to practice what they learn.

Working in partnership with the UT School of Medicine, Baylor science students are performing

university-level research in renal medicine while an underwater robot built by the Computational Thinking and Logic class enables the Aquatic Research students to explore sediments in a lake just steps away from their classroom.

Collaboration among Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board, the Tennessee Valley Authority,

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and Lawson Electric (owned by Baylor alumnus Ryan Crimmins ’78) created Baylor’s solar array,a real-life laboratory in which students study sustainable energy while it delivers clean, renewable energy to the local power grid.

And speaking of sustainable, Baylor’s $15 million science endowment guarantees research opportunities like these for generations to come.

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Our river offers more than a beautiful view.

BaylorSparks.

In collaboration with the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, Baylor

It’s a given that Baylor’s robotics program exposes students to

School students are becoming stewards of Williams Island – a

advanced computer programming and engineering concepts.

400-acre wilderness within easy rowing distance of campus.

But the real excitement comes during the annual SumoBot

The island is already the site for archaeology and ornithology

competition, in which student-created robot warriors face off

projects as well as recreational pursuits such as camping

in a fight to the finish.

and fishing. Baylor also hosts an aquatic summer camp in partnership with the Tennessee Aquarium, funded by the National Science Foundation.

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“It’s a gi-normous family.”

As Aden George-Warren ’14 sees it, life in the Baylor dorms is more than movie nights and chili cook-offs.

“You grow so tight with all your friends – it’s a gi-normous family. Right now, I have 36 brothers.”

You’ll find that sense of community across all six Baylor dormitories, and it starts with an exceptional team of dorm parents. Faculty members by day, they transform, superhero-style, into mediators, mentors, counselors, cooks, and crisis managers – even if the “crisis” is simply choosing an outfit for the homecoming dance.

To keep schedules and activities on track, dorm parents work with prefects and proctors – student leaders who help fellow students with everything from homesickness to homework. They also help plan some of the most fun events on campus, including the “Clash” dorm competition and the legendary skit night during Baylor-McCallie week (inspired by our most intense football rivalry).

The strength and support of our boarding community allow students to grow in ways most won’t experience until college. With the Baylor family’s support, just about anything is possible.

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BaylorWelcomes.

even heading out of town. Outdoor

Baylor Dormitories

Some of the first friends boarding

adventures hit the heights (climbing

families will meet are Baylor’s

and hiking) and the lows (diving into

Parent Alliance Ambassadors. These

swimming holes). Boarders can also

volunteers, who are also parents, help

request a leave to spend weekend time

organize orientation and show up

with friends who live in Chattanooga.

Harrison Hall Hunter Hall Lowrance Hall Lupton Hall Probasco Hall Riverfront Hall

throughout the school year with treats, birthday cakes, and plans for off-

Residence has its privileges.

campus events.

Baylor School has six dormitories, each with its own unique amenities: gorgeous

Weekends, Baylor style.

views of the Tennessee River, stone

Baylor’s residence life team always has

patios, TV and study lounges, faculty

something fun on the daily calendar,

families, and hundreds of friendly

and on weekends they take it up a

housemates.

notch. Hop on the Baylor bus and you could end up bowling, shopping, catching dinner and a movie, or

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A Purposeful Mission >> Incomparable Vision

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OUR MISSION:

To foster in our students both the ability and the desire to make a positive difference in the world.

It never rains after three o’clock.

In the 1930s, Baylor football coach James B. Rike set the bar for our dedication to rich after-hours experiences.

He boasted that afternoon activities would be cancelled only when it rained and stated, “... it never rains after three o’clock at Baylor.”

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That’s why we kick into high gear just as the school day is winding down on other campuses. Every Baylor student is required to be actively involved in after-school, cocurricular activities, from varsity athletics to costume and set design to our concert dance company Vervé.

A huge part of co-curricular programs is community service.

Baylor students work with more than 250 inner-city children across Chattanooga, helping with homework and technology skills and giving music lessons and art classes. Last year, Baylor volunteers devoted 3,266 hours to one of our academic partners, the Hardy Elementary School.

This effort caught the attention of Girls Inc., which awarded Baylor School its prestigious 2012 Corporate & Private Program Volunteer Award.

Baylor co-curriculars could give you the chance to tutor local schoolchildren, play in the jazz band, train with your team, clean up your community, or even star in a theatre production. Why stop at three o’clock when an afternoon can lead to so much more?

BaylorCreates.

For both academic electives and after class creativity, Baylor’s facilities are literally state-of-the-art. The Ireland Arts Studio features studio spaces for drawing, printmaking, pottery, sculpture, photography, computer graphics and painting – and it’s just one of three fine arts facilities on campus.

All things theater take place in the Roddy Performing Arts Center, and the music building houses Baylor’s vocal and instrumental programs.

One Baylor.

When a school claims students from 24 countries, 24 states, and dozens of area neighborhoods, you might expect distinct dividing lines. But here, we don’t see local students or foreign students, day students or boarding students. Living and learning together, we simply see Baylor students.

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Walkabout >> For nearly 40 years, Baylor’s Walkabout program has been making students uncomfortable and raising the standard for outdoor programs nationwide.

Unleashing discovery. Trekking in India. Kayaking in Panama.

Backpacking the Appalachian Trail.

Each Walkabout journey is designed around skills that students learn every day after school. Taught by a team of adventure leaders that includes a Wilderness First Responder and a Whitewater Rescue Technician, Walkabout students love discovering the great outdoors.

Redefining spring break.

Walkabout Director and Eastern Religions teacher Tim Williams describes the Walkabout trip to India as “a wonderfully uncomfortable spring break adventure.” Students live with Tibetan families, wander the banks of the Ganges River, and volunteer at Sikkim Happiness Home, where Himalayan children receive education, healthcare, and shelter.

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“I never would have gotten involved in something like Walkabout before I came to Baylor. It thrust me out of my comfort zone and I’m so thankful, because now I’m more comfortable trying new things.”

– Esther Park ’13

Boundary-defying adventures

“Walkabout” is a term that Australian aboriginal tribes use to describe a young person’s rite-of-passage journey in the wilderness. Find out more at baylorschool.org/walkabout.

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Almost 100 state champion With more state championships than any other school in Tennessee, Baylor School’s tradition of athletic leadership is still going strong. In a single year, the Red Raiders have brought home

titles in cross country, swimming, tennis, wrestling, golf, track, fencing, and softball, plus recent national rankings in girls and boys swimming, girls and boys soccer, and softball.

Baylor players are champions on the field, but they also score plenty of academic points. With regular appearances on National Honor Society and Scholastic All-American rosters, it’s no wonder our scholar-athletes earn as many academic scholarships as athletic ones.

Baylor swimmers dominate.

Having won their third national high school title in four years, the Baylor girls swim team was featured on the cover of Swimming World magazine.

SO MANY WAYS TO PLAY | BASEBALL | BA CREW | CROSS COUNTRY | GOLF | FENCING | SWIMMING & DIVING | TENNIS | TRACK

nships in the past decade.

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FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME. One of the few things that rivals our love of competition is the high standard of Baylor’s athletic facilities.

• A state-of-the-art training and fitness center for elite athletes • A football stadium with artificial turf and a seven-lane track • Three baseball fields • A new soccer complex, including artificial and natural turf fields • An expansive wrestling facility

• An on-campus cross country course winding through the woods and along the river • 24 indoor and outdoor tennis courts • A short-game golf practice center, right on campus

• A field house with weight rooms, a cardio room, a dance studio, a running track, and equipment, training, and film rooms • A state-of-the-art aquatic center and Olympic-sized pool

• Three basketball courts that convert to volleyball, badminton, and fencing areas Check out your favorite sport at baylorschool.org/athletics.

ASKETBALL | BOWLING | CHEERLEADING | FOOTBALL | LACROSSE | SOCCER | SOFTBALL K & FIELD | VOLLEYBALL | WRESTLING

Outside magazine named Chattanoo

“Best Town Ev We couldn’t agree

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oga the

ver.” more.

Outside magazine readers have learned what Baylor students have known for decades. If you love the

great outdoors, there’s no better place than Chattanooga.

Within minutes of our campus lie some of the nation’s most beautiful settings for kayaking, rafting, hiking, biking (road and mountain), rock climbing, paddleboarding, hang gliding, and more.

For those interested in a more laid-back experience, a stroll across the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge takes you from hip shops and restaurants in the NorthShore neighborhood to cultural gems in the Bluff View Arts District. The Hunter Museum of American Art has one of the nation’s largest collections of American art and a few blocks farther downtown, you can meet more than 10,000 animals at the Tennessee Aquarium.

We make sure boarding students have access to all Chattanooga has to offer. Every weekend, Baylor takes groups of students downtown, to the mall, or to trendy spots in nearby neighborhoods.

Overnight excursions to Atlanta and Nashville are led by our

dedicated student activities staff.

And Walkabout offers group hikes and bouldering almost every weekend.

In a city known for its bests, Baylor School has been named “Best Private School” for four straight years and counting by a Chattanooga Times Free Press readers poll. Like us, Chattanoogans know a leader when they see one.

BaylorSplashes.

Just outside Chattanooga, there are more than 30 creeks that feature Class IV or V whitewater runs. So what if you’ve never picked up a paddle? Baylor School offers afternoon and weekend programs in kayaking, backpacking, paddleboarding, caving, and more.

All you need is a sense of adventure.

Get out of town.

Want to see more of the world? Study art and culture in places like Italy, Spain, and Yellowstone on the annual Liz Aplin trip. Earn a fellowship in Washington, D.C. Explore Aspen, Colorado on the Joe Key Recognition Trip. Lend a helping hand on service breaks in Asheville, North Carolina or Kingston, Jamaica. You can also spend an entire semester abroad through the Baylor Exchange Program, which partners with schools in Australia and South Africa.

Learn more about travel study at baylorschool.org/travelstudy.

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What it takes to lead.

Honesty. Respect.

Spirituality. Academics.

Character. Individuality.

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These are core values that define a Baylor School education. It’s no coincidence that these qualities also drive lifelong leadership.

To help our students gain independence and responsibility, we set certain expectations from the very beginning. Each boy and girl who enrolls at Baylor School must sign, and live by: The Baylor Honor Code

“The honor system is an understanding among Baylor students that we do not want among us one who will lie, cheat, steal, or falsify information. I understand this principle, and I recognize that I shall be expected to live in accordance with it.”

If the Honor Code is the start of leadership at Baylor, its culmination is the success our graduates find in the world. As leaders in their professions, our alumni have worked with the UN, won the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, developed life-saving cardiac diagnostics, and advanced the Human Genome Project.

From best-selling novels to kidney transplant centers, our graduates’ accomplishments prove what we’ve known all along: when you leave Baylor, you’ll have what it takes to lead.

BaylorLaunches.

Amherst College

Princeton University

These are just a few of the colleges

Boston University

Rhodes College

and universities Baylor graduates

College of William and Mary

Savannah College of Art and Design

have recently attended.

Duke University

Stanford University

Georgetown University

St. John’s College

Harvard University

Vanderbilt University

Johns Hopkins University

Wake Forest University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Yale University

Honesty Respect Spirituality Academics Character Individuality

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1893

FOUNDED IN

700 THE HONOR CODE:

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Baylor’s guiding value system is led by 13 students and a faculty adviser

UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS: 50% BOYS/50% GIRLS

games trips sports movies museums outdoors + more RESIDENTIAL LIFE

320 MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: 50% BOYS/50% GIRLS

200 STUDENTS FROM 20 STATES AND 20 COUNTRIES LIVE IN THE BAYLOR RESIDENCE HALLS

6-12 DAY SCHOOL: GRADES

99 FACULTY MEMBERS – 70 WITH ADVANCED DEGREES, INCLUDING 13 PHDS AND 57 MASTERS.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CALENDAR

is organized on the quarter system UPPER SCHOOL CALENDAR

is organized on the semester system UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS

take a minimum of 20 units per semester including 16 required courses

PARTICIPATION IN A CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY SUCH AS ATHLETICS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, ART, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE, MUSIC, OR THEATER

is required.

459 AP exams, scoring 3 or higher on 91.5%

9-12 BOARDING SCHOOL: GRADES

LAST YEAR, 212 BAYLOR STUDENTS TOOK

55 NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS SINCE 2008

TEST SCORES (MIDDLE 50% RANGE)

and 91% achieved a 3.0+

62% OF THE CLASS OF 2015 HAD A 3.5 GPA OR HIGHER

Act Composite: 22–27 SAT Critical Reading: 480–600 SAT Math: 500–620 SAT Writing: 520–630 OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS GRADUATES HAVE MATRICULATED AT

190+ institutions worldwide

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BAYLOR STUDENTS EARNED OVER

$60.9

million

in college merit scholarships over the last five years

100

%

OF BAYLOR GRADUATES ATTEND COLLEGE

PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT STAFF

Psychologist Learning Specialist Counseling Staff English as a Foreign Language Instructor College Counselors (3)

DORM PARENTS LIVE ON CAMPUS

ADMISSION TO BAYLOR =

selective + competitive

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171 Baylor School Road Chattanooga, TN 37405 t: 423.267.5902 f: 423.757.2525 baylorschool.org