Ethel Walker School

The Ethel Walker School
Location
Simsbury, Connecticut
United States
Coordinates 41°50′59″N 72°50′08″W / 41.8497°N 72.8356°W / 41.8497; -72.8356Coordinates: 41°50′59″N 72°50′08″W / 41.8497°N 72.8356°W / 41.8497; -72.8356
Information
Type A private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 6 through 12 plus postgraduate located in Simsbury, Connecticut.
Motto Nullas Horas Nisi Aureas
"Nothing But Golden Hours"
Established 1911 by Ethel Walker
Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan
Grades 6-12 plus postgraduate
Gender Girls
Number of students 250
Average class size 12
Student to teacher ratio 1:7
Campus size 175 acres
School color(s) Purple and Yellow
Website www.ethelwalker.org

The Ethel Walker School, also commonly referred to as “Walker’s”, is a private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 6 through 12 plus postgraduate located in Simsbury, Connecticut. The school was founded by Ethel Walker in 1911 during an era when rigorous educational and athletic opportunities for women were limited. Today, the school offers a college-preparatory education which combines the traditional areas of liberal arts studies - science, math, history, English, world languages, and the arts - with electives that are relevant to the world today. The faculty, including both new educators and well-tenured teachers, animate the coursework with discussion-based exploration and project-based learning. Today, more than 80% of the faculty hold advanced degrees. Walker’s is also one of only a small number of independent schools that offers an equestrian sport, along with a course in equine science.

History

The Walker’s School for Girls, later renamed The Ethel Walker School, opened its doors in the fall of 1911 in Lakewood, New Jersey, The Ethel Walker School's first student body consisted of just 10 girls. The School quickly outgrew its first home and was moved in 1917 to its present site on the former Phelps-Dodge estate in Simsbury, Connecticut. In 1991, Walker’s added the Middle School for grades six through eight, extending Ethel Walker's vision to benefit girls during these formative years.

Ethel Walker was a Bryn Mawr graduate whose vision of a changing world for women inspired her to create a school where young women would receive a rigorous preparation for college and create the foundation for lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity. This commitment to a challenging academic program strongly resonates among today’s faculty and remains central to the Walker’s mission.

Ethel Walker was very active in the life of the School. She attended every Commencement since the first in 1913 until her death in 1965 at the age of 94. Bryn Mawr College awarded a citation to Ethel Walker in 1960: “A woman of wit and vigor, a great lover of the outdoors, she has always emphasized strongly the necessity of the development of character as well as of brains. She chose 'Nullas Horas Nisi Aureas' as her school's motto, which means, “None but golden hours.” Lively as always and deeply admired by all who knew her, she has made many hours golden for her alumnae and for those privileged to share in the life and the work of her school.

The School recently completed a $50 million capital campaign which was launched in 2011 in celebration of the School’s Centennial anniversary. Funds raised during the campaign supported the construction of a new dormitory, renovation to the barn facilities, installation of new turf athletic fields, the upgrade of the soccer and softball fields, and the construction of the School’s Centennial Center, a 62,000 sq. ft. health, wellness and athletic facility which opened in Fall 2016.

Main academic building, Beaver Brook, at The Ethel Walker School

Curriculum

Academics

Academics at Walker's is built on a foundation of small class sizes and advanced, skills-based courses. The curriculum combines the traditional areas of liberal arts studies - science, math, history, English, world languages, and the arts - with electives that are relevant to today. The faculty, including new educators and well-tenured teachers, animate the coursework with discussion-based exploration and project-based learning. Classrooms are set up in a style to encourage conversation and communication. The average class size is 12 students, with a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 82% of Walker's faculty members hold advanced degrees.

Signature programs include Lacuna, a one week of intensive experiential, cross-disciplinary and inquiry-based learning, and the Seminar Series, a comprehensive course of study in life skills such as public speaking, personal finance, leadership, and computational thinking.

Walker’s is one of five high schools in the United States participating in the Small World Initiative (SWI), a program formulated at Yale University in 2012 as "an innovative program that successfully encourages students to pursue careers in science through hands-on experience and real-world applicable laboratory and field research." Students from Walker's join other students from around the world to crowdsource antibiotic discovery.

One hundred percent of Walker's graduates continue to four-year colleges, with many receiving post-graduate degrees.

Arts

The arts play an integral part of the curricular and co-curricular ethos of the school, with choices including painting, drawing, pottery, sculpture, digital photography, theatre, music and dance. Award-winning performing arts groups perform regularly both on and off campus.

Arts facilities at Walker's include:

  • Two dance studios in the Centennial Center, opened fall 2016
  • Two theaters: a black box and a proscenium
  • Art studio and ceramics studio
  • Photography computer lab
  • Art gallery in the Constance Lavino Bell Library
  • Choir/Music room
  • Four music practice rooms
  • Chapel with an Aeolian-Skinner Organ

Walker’s offers two formal galleries for visiting artists and community members to exhibit their work in addition to faculty members and alumnae. Artists exhibit for approximately four weeks, with the opening of the show celebrated with a reception that is open to the public and the Walker’s community. During receptions, students are invited to discuss the exhibited artwork with the artist. Many visiting artists conduct workshops for students in Walker’s visual art studios.

Chapel at The Ethel Walker School

Athletics

In keeping with Miss Walker's conviction that exercise was essential for success in academics, Walker's students participate in extracurricular sports, dance, and riding. The school competes in the prestigious Founders League as well as numerous athletic leagues, such as NEPSAC and WNEPPSA with many varsity teams winning their divisions in recent years. Athletic offerings include lacrosse, volleyball, field hockey, soccer, basketball, softball, golf, tennis, squash, swimming, skiing and cross country. Outdoor Adventure, personal fitness, dance and the performing arts are offered to supplement competitive athletics.

Walker’s athletic facilities include a new turf field for field hockey and lacrosse, softball and soccer fields, and the Centennial Center, a 62,000 sq. ft. facility which has an eight-lane pool, a double gym for volleyball and basketball, four squash courts, a fitness center, two dance studios, health and wellness center, student social center, and community gathering spaces throughout.

Equestrian Program

Riding has been part of life at Walker’s since its founding in 1911. The social, emotional and character-based lessons that come from a passion for equestrian sports are consistent with the School’s history and mission. Walker’s is one of only a small number of independent schools that offers an equestrian sport. Many of Walker’s most supportive alumnae have been riders at the School and a number continue to compete at the highest levels regionally and nationally.

Walker’s riders have a long tradition of ribboning at competitive events including Wellington, Ocala, Medal and Maclay Finals, USEF Finals, CHJA Finals, NEEC Finals, Vermont, Saugerties, and Saratoga. Members of Walker’s riding team have the opportunity to compete at both the local and national level as well as in the IEA.

The Ethel Walker School Equestrian Center, including an indoor riding ring, heated stalls, and fourteen individual paddocks with Nelson automatic horse waterers, is located on campus, so students are just steps away from the horses, and academic and residential buildings. The Riding program is staffed by accomplished horsewomen who have decades of competition and training experience, including training for the Maclay Medal, regional and national competitions.

Notable alumnae

Notes

  1. ↑ "SON OF PRESIDENT TO WED MISS DUPONT Troth of Ethel, Wilmington Heiress, to Franklin Jr. Is Made Known. WEDDING SET FOR JUNE Fiance, Student at Harvard, to Remain There Until After His Graduation. THE PRESIDENT'S SON AND HIS FIANCEE ROOSEVELT JR. WINS MISS ETHEL DU PONT". The New York Times. November 15, 1936. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
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