Ms. Alsbach was my field hockey coach, and she was so patient with us. If you wanted to stay after practice for extra help, she would always work with you. It helps to have a coach you can talk with. I was a goalie this year, and I had five shutouts, which was a highlight for me. I improved so much from Ms. Alsbach’s coaching. —Sophie Janeway, Robbins House, Stuyvesant, New York The faculty made the transition easy. One of the hard things was organization. You need a lot of it here, because there’s a lot of work. Teachers were tuned in to where we were and what we needed. — Carly Cummings, Sudbury, Massachusetts
Feeling Proud I’m proud of my Class IV talk. I have major stage fright and this was a big bump in the road for me. Everyone was so supportive and I got through it without too many hitches. Afterward, about ten people came up to me in the hallway to tell me that I had done a great job. — Carly Cummings, Sudbury, Massachusetts I’ve changed in a good way. I’m proudest that while I had a high standard for myself, in terms of grades, and I was nervous about a competitive environment, I’ve grown to understand that I am learning things more fully, more completely. As opposed to memorizing and reporting back, this is much more fulfilling. And I’m still doing well. —Lina Neidhardt, Canton, Massachusetts
Owning the Culture The students at Milton are all very aware: aware of what they have to do, aware that they’re capable, aware of the world around them. Milton students seem to have a broader knowledge, in general, than most kids our age. — Cydney Grannan, West Newton, Massachusetts
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Everyone’s really nice at Milton, and everyone’s really different. I didn’t meet the same person over and over like you do in some schools. —Deema Dahleh, Cambridge, Massachusetts Milton maintains this interesting balance: you’re encouraged to be independent, but you’re not alone. You’re thrown into things to figure them out, but you’re supported. —Maggie Walsh, Milton, Massachusetts What I like best is the way Milton does things. It’s a trust-based environment. We have free periods and the idea is “we trust you to do your work.” That was a huge switch for me. Before, people expected us to do the worst we could do, so they made the policies and rules with that expectation. Here they expect the best person to come out, so it does. —Lina Neidhardt, Canton, Massachusetts Being around peers who are excited to learn, ready to learn, love to learn, really pumps you up and makes you excited to come to school every day. —Martin Page, Kingston, Massachusetts