Thinking About High School - Why PDS

WHY PDS PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL

Opportunities of a Lifetime. Every Day.

UPPER SCHOOL BY THE NUMBERS 414 students 51%/49% Female/male student ratio 47 new students entering 9th Grade 59% of new 9th Grade students identify as students of color 300 applicants to 9th Grade Average SSAT Percentile of Admitted Applicants, Class of 2023 Verbal: 78; Quantitative: 81; Reading: 76 26% of students receive need-based financial aid 64 faculty members 81% of faculty hold advanced degrees 48%/52% faculty female/male ratio 8 to 1 student/teacher ratio 12 students per class on average 221 student innovators learn in the Wellemeyer STEAM Center 82 student writers, editors and artists produce the Spokesman, Cymbals and the LINK yearbook 30 seniors mentor 109 9th graders and 78 7th graders through Peer Group and Bridges student leadership programs 26 Writing Center mentors spend more than 980 hours assisting their peers 420 scholar-athletes compete on 35 teams in 22 sports 276 performers and musicians grace the McAneny Stage 40+ clubs offer opportunities to get involved in everything from Model UN to student ambassadors to a capella groups

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Paul J. Stellato, Head of School B.A., Hamilton College; M.F.A., Columbia University Lisa Surace, Associate Head of School B.A., Princeton University; Ph.D., New York University Trixie Sabundayo, Head of Upper School B.A., Johns Hopkins University; M.A., Middlebury College Elizabeth Monroe, Dean of Students B.A., Bowdoin College; Ph.D., University of Southern California Sarah Graham, Director of College Counseling B.A., Princeton University; M.A., The College of New Jersey

ACCEPTANCE TOTALS AT SELECT COLLEGES (2014–2019) Bard College: 19 Barnard College: 8 Bates College: 8 Boston College: 22 Boston University: 41 Bowdoin College: 4 Brandeis University: 13 Brown University: 12 Bryn Mawr College: 8 Bucknell University: 33 University of California, Berkeley: 9 Carleton College: 5 Carnegie Mellon University: 14 University of Chicago: 13 Colby College: 16 Colgate University: 7 Colorado College: 8 Columbia University: 12 Connecticut College: 24 Cornell University: 13 Dartmouth College: 10 Dickinson College: 26 Duke University: 17 Elon University: 16 Emory University: 12 Franklin & Marshall College: 32 The George Washington University: 28 Georgetown University: 18 Gettysburg College: 22 Hamilton College: 13 Harvard University: 5 Howard University: 7 Ithaca College: 20 Johns Hopkins University: 16

Kenyon College: 14 Lafayette College: 32 Lehigh University: 39 McGill University: 8 University of Miami: 30 University of Michigan: 18 Middlebury College: 6 New York University: 59 Northeastern University: 36 Northwestern University: 4 University of Notre Dame: 7 Oberlin College: 16 University of Pennsylvania: 11 Princeton University: 24 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: 18 University of Richmond: 11 Skidmore College: 32 University of Southern California: 17 Stanford University: 7 Syracuse University: 32 Trinity College: 23 Tufts University: 25 Tulane University: 27 Union College: 11 Vanderbilt University: 4 Vassar College: 8 Villanova University: 43 University of Virginia: 16 Wake Forest University: 20 Washington University, St. Louis: 21 Wesleyan University: 5 College of William and Mary: 15 Yale University: 9

2018 -2019

STANDARDIZED TESTING AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT RESULTS

• • •

SAT Average Score: Reading/Writing: 690; Math: 700 ACT Composite Average: 29 Advanced Placement Results: 71% of AP scores in 2019 were a 4 or 5; 171 students, in Grades 9 –12, took 325 exams in 22 different subjects 71% of the class of 2019 took an AP exam during their senior year

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION RESULTS

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS IN THE ARTS

(2015–2019)

Outstanding High School Theatre Program, Northeast Region, Stage Directions Magazine Outstanding Musical Production, Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Outstanding Acting Ensemble, Montclair State University Theater Awards Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Member, Honorable Mention, Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award

• Commended Scholars: 79 • Semifinalists: 21 • Finalists: 20

THEATER PROGRAM Princeton Day School’s award-winning theater program offers seasonal dramatic and musical performances and opportunities to travel to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland to perform an original work.

THEATER

DANCE

Performances at 92nd Street Y Dance Up Series for High School Choreographers Performances at Grounds for Sculpture Outlet Dance Project Festival MUSIC

Students have participated in the following: Central Jersey Music Educators Association (CJMEA) Honor Band NJ Performing Arts Center Jazz for Teens CJMEA High School Regions Chorus CJMEA Honors Chorus Julliard Pre-College Program FINE ARTS AND DESIGN

National Scholastic Arts Awards: 80 Awards, including 20 Gold Key and 60 Silver Key and Honorable Mention Awards in Writing and Art, including Photography, Painting, Drawing and Illustration, Architecture and Industrial Design Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers (AWFS) Fresh Wood Competition, Las Vegas: Gold and Silver Medals Professional Gallery Exhibits

GLOBAL STUDIES PROGRAM The Global Studies Program is comprised of three tenets: globally-focused daily curriculum, school exchange programs and international travel programs. These include the School Year Abroad (SYA), Chewonki Semester School, Semester at High Mountain Institute School, School for Ethics and Global Leadership, the Conserve School and school-sponsored travel to Japan, China, India, Italy, France, the Bahamas and the United Kingdom.

ACADEMIC OFFERINGS

ADVANCED

CURRICULUM

BY DEPARTMENT

• Mathematics: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Statistics, Advanced Topics in Math • Sciences: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C: Mechanics

STEAM PROGRAM An extensive STEAM program at PDS includes the premier Wellemeyer STEAM Center and an innovation-centered interdisciplinary curriculum with among the highest number of independent school STEAM course offerings in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM Our renowned architecture program prepares our graduates to enroll at top college architecture and engineering programs, including Cornell, Washington University, Carnegie Mellon, Notre Dame and Tulane.

• History and Religion: AP Comparative Government, AP European History, AP US Government and Politics, AP Art History, AP Human Geography • Classic and Modern Languages: AP French Language, Advanced French Literature, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, Chinese V, AP Latin, Ancient Greek • English: All English elective courses are taught at the advanced level.

Many of our juniors and seniors sit for the English Literature AP exam.

• The Arts: Advanced courses are offered across visual, design and performing arts.

PDS students have the opportunity to take classes at Princeton University.

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

ATHLETICS OFFERINGS

Baseball • Basketball • Cross Country • Fencing • Field Hockey • Figure Skating • Golf • Ice Hockey • Lacrosse • Soccer • Softball • Squash • Tennis • Volleyball Our new athletic center adjoining the Lisa McGraw ’44 Skating Rink is scheduled to open in September 2020 and will feature a community-sized commons, a field house with two multi-purpose courts, four international squash courts, new meeting and changing room facilities and much more!

PDS PANTHERS ARE COMPETING FOR THESE COLLEGE TEAMS Amherst College Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brown University Bucknell University Christopher Newport University Colby College Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth University Dickinson College Duke University Emory University

Franklin & Marshall College George Washington University Gettysburg College Goucher College Hamilton College Harvard University Hobart and William Smith College Howard University Kenyon College Lafayette College Lehigh University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michigan State University Middlebury College Muhlenberg College New Jersey Institute of Technology New York University Princeton University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rochester Institute of Technology

Skidmore College Stevens Institute of Technology Susquehanna University Swarthmore College Trinity College Tufts University University of Chicago University of Connecticut University of Miami University of Notre Dame

University of Pennsylvania University of Vermont Vassar College Villanova University Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Washington and Lee University Wesleyan University Wilkes University Williams College Xavier University

GUEST SPEAKERS Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, PBS Open Mind host Alexander Heffner, renowned Civil War scholar and author James McPherson, scholar and author Dr. Cornel West P’18, professor of animal science Dr. Temple Grandin, clinical psychologist and author Michael Thompson, Dr. Deane Marchbein of Doctors Without Borders, NASA astronaut and professor Dr. Michael Massimino, evolutionary biologists Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant, historian and author James West Davidson, renowned podcast host Leon Neyfakh, award-winning poet and educator Willie Perdomo, acclaimed novelist Yaa Gyasi, NBA star Davon Reed ’13, poet Deborah Landau and multiple award-winning authors and illustrators including Grace Lin, Melissa Sweet, Laurie Halse Anderson and Sophie Blackall.

SIGNATURE OPPORTUNITIES Signature opportunities only at PDS include: the Research Experience (REx) program for sciencebased independent study and summer internships; exceptional Sustainability and Energy & Climate Scholars programs; Jacobson Music Scholars independent study program; the ThinSat PDS-Princeton University satellite space launch partnership; our Global Travel and semesteraway programs; an extensive selection of interdisciplinary study courses; one of the nation’s top Model UN programs; award-winning PDS Visual and Performing Arts productions including regular invitations to perform in Scotland’s world-famous Fringe Festival.

Appointed via application processs and trained extensively, PDS seniors develop meaningful mentoring and role modeling relationships with younger students. Two key student leadership experiences at PDS include seniors mentoring 9th graders in the Peer Group program and seniors mentoring seventh graders in the Bridges program. Student Council is chosen by election and commit to year-long programs of action designed to strengthen and enhance the school community, while Peer Tutoring by qualified seniors and juniors is offered to all Upper School students in the Writing Center and SiMs Center (Success in Math and Science).

Extracurricular clubs and activities abound with more than 40 groups and new initiatives regularly being organized. In many clubs, students are selected by faculty and peers for leadership positions, including Mock Trial Team, the Spokesman (student newspaper), Model UN, a capella singing groups, Science Olympiad Team and Student Ambassadors.

Advisory: Every student in the Upper School has a faculty advisor with whom they check in daily.

Advisories are organized as small groups and build trust and meaningful rapport over the course of the Upper School experience. This primary contact is important in helping students navigate high school’s inevitable highs and lows, including health and well-being issues. Weekly meetings occur with agendas that cover academic and social life in the Upper School.

Class Deans: A class dean is dedicated to the freshman class and spends the year focused on helping ensure a successful transition to Upper School for the 9th graders. Starting in 10th Grade, a class dean is introduced who will guide their class for the remaining three years.

PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL

650 Great Road

Princeton, NJ 08540ww

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Photos: Michael Branscom, David Bremer, Christine Cantera, Nancy Erickson, Rachel Eliza Griffiths courtesy of Blue Flower Art, Corbin Gurkin, Matt Pilsner

Learn more at pds.org