The Masters School

We aim high at Masters – not simply in terms of achievement, though that matters greatly, of course. We aim for the limits of our reach, as individuals and as a community. In 1877, our founder, Eliza Masters, urged her hardworking students to “Do it with thy might,” and we continue to embrace this challenge. Students and faculty at Masters work, learn, play, and collaborate – with their might.

Our students achieve academic excellence not only because of our talented, creative, and caring faculty, but also because the Masters community emphasizes inclusion and belonging. But what do those things have to do with learning?

The psychologist Abraham Maslow outlined the human “hierarchy of needs” nearly 70 years ago. First come our physiological needs, of course. We have to have enough food, water, shelter and sleep. Next on the hierarchy are our safety needs: Nothing works well if you don’t feel safe – in your home or in your school. But when those basic needs are met, we are free to focus on the human needs for love and belonging.

At Masters, our job is not simply to educate students about the world, but to help them belong to the world. Alongside the sense of belonging that comes from a loving family, belonging to the world begins by being part of a community. When we help our students experience that sense of belonging to a good thing that is larger than themselves, we are doing the work that allows them to grow, to thrive, to contribute.

It is only through meeting the need for a sense of belonging that we can work on the next set of needs: self-esteem, confidence, achievement and mutual respect. When those are met, Masters students cannot help but move toward the ultimate human need: “self-actualization” – a state we reach toward but never fully complete. Working toward this ultimate goal gives rise to true morality, creativity, problem-solving, and an ever more meaningful existence. It gives rise to our School’s Mission Statement, wonderfully connected to our history: At Masters, “we gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do – to be a power for good in the world.”

When you step onto the Masters campus, you will see evidence of wonder, achievement, belonging, mutual respect, and the power for good everywhere you look: in the classroom, on the fields, in the hallways, in gatherings large and small.

If you are searching for a community where character, compassionate and courageous action, and belonging have equal billing with unshakable intellectual standards, you have found us. At Masters we are, each and all, learning and growing together, with our might. It is a joyfully shared undertaking. Join us, and belong to something wonderful. You will be nourished for a lifetime by memories of a school that believes in you.

We believe that students learn best when they construct their own meanings. This belief is reflected in the architecture of the classroom itself: the Harkness table gathers students and teachers to build knowledge and learn from one another. Our students practice communication and thinking skills by developing and supporting their ideas, listening carefully to others, working collaboratively, and sharing feedback. In the process, they come to understand their own approaches to learning and value those of others. This group experience fosters a sense of collective responsibility, an appreciation of others, and a feeling of accomplishment in creating something unique and profound.

We believe that our environment must inspire students to strive to be their best selves -- in academic, athletic, artistic, and all other endeavors. In working to achieve their goals, students learn to persevere. A community-wide focus on growth enables them to navigate challenges and become resourceful, confident, and resilient. We believe that we must empower students to dare -- to wonder, to question what is known, and to explore what is unknown. Our culture of kindness and inclusivity applauds students who take risks, learn from setbacks, and gain new perspectives.

We believe that learning is doing. We ask our students to be more than consumers of content -- we ask them to use what they learn to solve problems and design new visions for the world and their place in it. For our students, learning is experiential, and experience shapes learning. The Masters School celebrates active participation, deep understanding, and meaningful connection. A community of diverse individuals, we gather to learn, to strive, to dare, to do — to be a power for good in the world.