John Burroughs School

John Burroughs School, a college-preparatory day school in St. Louis, Missouri, strives for breadth and balance among academics, the arts, athletics and activities. This broad base of knowledge—in essence a liberal arts approach at the secondary level—provides the opportunity for students to explore possibilities and in the process discover their passions.

Burroughs was founded in 1923 by a group of parents who wanted a coeducational, non-sectarian, college preparatory secondary school for their children. They named the school for the 19th-century naturalist, and we continue to take great pride in the physical simplicity and beauty of the campus, the trees, the pond, the natural Missouri plantings — not to mention our 44-acre campus, Drey Land, in the Ozarks.

We also hold on to our founders’ original ideas: that education is not simply to be handed down on high from the teacher to the students. We take a progressive method of education and apply it to a liberal arts curriculum. We want students to be active learners. To be curious. To think. To question. To be involved not just with their heads but with their hands and with each other. To be involved in student government. To compete on the playing fields. To create in fine, performing and practical art studios. To try, to learn, to succeed and, sometimes, to fail and try again.

This is possible because Burroughs is a close community. It’s a place where people are known. Every student has a grade-level principal, a school counselor, and an individual advisor. And this is on top of five core teachers, three or four elective teachers, several coaches and faculty members with whom they have a family-style lunch.

Our teachers respect our students as individuals. They do not expect — or want — our students to follow pre-set paths or achieve specific goals. Instead, their common mission is to help our students discover and develop their own strengths and passions in any number of different ways.

Our faculty average more than 19 years teaching experience, and 78% of them hold advanced degrees. They love their subjects, and they love teaching. The school supports them by guaranteeing small class size, providing state-of-the-art classrooms and athletic facilities, and granting a significant degree of independence with the expectation of high standards.

John Burroughs School seeks to instill the joy of living through active learning, integrity and service to others. Our mission is to foster in our students academic, physical and creative fulfillment, together with strength of character, while helping them become productive members of our school community. Burroughs promotes an atmosphere of understanding, trust, respect and accomplishment among our faculty, staff, students and parents. We embrace democratic ideals, the liberal arts and concern for the environment. We believe that excellence in education goes hand in hand with diversity, which we value and celebrate.

Burroughs encourages students to communicate, to be open to others and to embrace meaningful challenge. Through a personal, active approach to learning, each student pursues his or her potential in all school endeavors—academics, the arts, athletics, and activities. We teach our students to question, to think for themselves, to imagine, to see, to solve problems, to understand subtleties and to appreciate ambiguity. We discourage the use of rewards, such as prizes and honor rolls, to motivate students; rather, we foster love of learning as an end in itself.

We teach our students the value of service to others, which requires knowledge as well as a deepened sensitivity to the world around them. Our purpose is to enable students to act in effective and positive ways, for the good of all. The pursuit of excellence at Burroughs takes place within the context of the informal atmosphere of our school. We strive for balance in our students' pursuits—in the various ways they study, play, create and show concern for the world and others. We prepare our students for a lifetime of learning. Our approach to education, reinforced by the ethical and interpersonal ideals we foster, enables our graduates to discover lifetime fulfillment in meaningful work and commitment.