Miss Porter's School Explained

Miss Porter's School
Head:Katherine G. Windsor
Address:60 Main St
State:Connecticut
Zipcode:06032
Country:USA
Ceeb:070210
Other Name:MPS, Porter's, Farmington
Campus Size:55acres
Enrollment:325 total
212 boarding
113 day
Enrollment As Of:2014
Faculty:52
Class:10
Ratio:7:1
Mascot:Fighting Daisy
Endowment:$142.3 million
Tuition:$66,825 boarding
$53,475 day (for 2021–2022)[1]

Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the fifty U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% in the 2017–2018 year. The average class size was 10 students in 2017.[2]

History

Early history and Sarah Porter

Miss Porter's School was established in 1843 by education reformer Sarah Porter.[3] She was insistent that the school's curriculum include chemistry, physiology, botany, geology, and astronomy in addition to the more traditional subjects taught in girls' schools. Also encouraged were such athletic opportunities as tennis and horseback riding; in 1867 the school formed its own baseball team, the Tunxises, named after the Saukiog tribe who once settled the area on which the school is situated.[4] [5]

Mary Dunning Dow (1884–1903)

In 1884, Sarah Porter hired her former student, Mary Elizabeth Dunning Dow, with whom she began to share more of her duties as Head of School. From then until her death in 1900, Porter gradually relinquished her control of the school to Dow.

Sarah Porter's will named her nephew, Robert Porter Keep, as executor of her estate, of which the school was the most valuable asset. Dow's compensation for her position as sole Head of School was also specified in the will. As executor, Robert Keep began extensive repairs and renovations to the school. While Dow continued to receive a salary as per Porter's will, she became convinced that Keep, in diverting the school's income to pay for construction, was enriching his inheritance with funds that were rightfully hers. The conflict escalated and culminated in Dow's resignation in 1903. She moved to Briarcliff, New York, taking with her as many as 140 students and 16 faculty members, and began Mrs. Dow's School for Girls, which would become Briarcliff Junior College, absorbed in 1977 into Pace University.[6] [7] [8]

Elizabeth Hale Keep and Robert Keep (1903–1917)

Robert Keep announced in July 1903 that the school would reopen in October 1903 with his wife, Elizabeth Vashti Hale Keep as Head of School, eleven teachers, and between five and sixteen students in attendance. After Keep succumbed to pneumonia and died on July 3, 1904, Elizabeth Keep continued to work at the school. One of her many legacies was a kindergarten for children of employees.[9]

Robert Porter Keep, Jr., and Rose Anne Day Keep (1917–1943)

When Mrs. Keep died in 1917, leadership of the school passed to her stepson, Robert Porter Keep, Jr., a German teacher at Phillips Academy. From 1917 until the school's centennial celebrations in 1943, he and his wife remained Heads of School at Miss Porter's.[10]

Centennial (1943)

The school was incorporated as a non-profit institution in 1943, emphasizing its purpose as a college preparatory school rather than a finishing school. Also in 1943, the school ended the tradition of hiring Heads of School from the Porter family, instead selecting Ward L. Johnson and his wife Katharine.[11]

Ward L. Johnson and Katharine Johnson (1943–1954)

Ward Lamb Johnson had been the headmaster of the Lawrence School for twenty-two years when he and his wife joined the Farmington community in 1943. He retired eleven years later. During their tenure, Leila Dilworth Jones '44 Memorial Library was opened. They also increased faculty housing.[12] The MPS Bulletin stated: "by the early 1950s the scholastic standing of Miss Porter's was among the highest in the country."[13] [14]

Hollis S. French and Mary Norris French (1954–1966)

Mary Norris (née Frick) French and her husband Hollis Stratton French served as co-principals of the school from 1954 to 1966.[15]

Richard W. Davis (1966–1975)

In 1966, then headmaster of The Buffalo Seminary Richard W. Davis was selected to be headmaster at Miss Porter's. He was to free the school of its "reputation of being too restrictive and too conservative." His appointment marked the first time in a half-century that the school would be directed by one person instead of a couple. Reflecting on his tenure at the school, Davis recalled, "We no longer required that girls wear head coverings in bad weather. We allowed pants to be worn, neat ones, to classes, but not to the dining room. We gradually dropped the requirement that all meals were 'sit-down,' with assigned seating. The changes did not come all at once, yet each one brought some dissent. Certain faculty members felt that standards were slipping."

Warren Smock Hance (1975–1983)

Having arrived in Farmington in 1967, also from The Buffalo Seminary (like Davis), Warren 'Skip' Hance[16] quickly took on administrative roles in addition to teaching history. First he was department chair and then director of development. There followed the appointment to be assistant headmaster, and then to be the ninth Head of Miss Porter's School.

Rachel Phillips Belash (1983–1992)

Immediately prior to her service as Miss Porter's Head of School, Belash had been vice president at First National Bank of Boston.[17] A native of Wales, an accomplished cellist, and holding a Ph.D. in Spanish literature, Belash was inaugurated tenth Head of Miss Porter's School for a term beginning in 1983. She was devoted to renewing single-sex education for girls and spoke widely on the topic, as well as writing for The New York Times.[18] One report called her a "visionary".[19]

Marianna Mead O'Brien (1992–1993)

In July 1992, Marianna 'Muffin' Mead O'Brien began her term as Head of School, following Belash's abrupt resignation at the end of June, and having served the school in years prior on the board of trustees from 1976 to 1983, and, respectively, as parent to three alumnae. Drawing on her experience of twenty-five years at the Groton School, during which she had "helped start the coeducation program, taught history, tutored reading and was in the human relations and sexuality counseling faculty," O'Brien served a one-year term between the Belash and Ford administrations.[17] [20]

M. Burch Tracy Ford (1993–2009)

M. Burch Tracy Ford was dean of students at Milton Academy and a residential counselor at the Groton School before coming to Miss Porter's. In 1994, she wrote in a letter to the editor of The New York Times, that “Coed classrooms are the norm, but the norm does not serve girls well; it needs to be challenged and, ultimately, changed. Single-sex education is counterculture, but it's good for girls.”[21] Ford oversaw the launch of The Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund at Miss Porter's, offered through the Oprah Winfrey Foundation. Memorialized in The Boston Globe by her husband and crew coach Brian Ford, “She was determined that Miss Porter's was going to compete on an even level with every school in the country. And she felt that having decent, competitive sports was one element of that.”[21]

Katherine Windsor (since 2009)

Since 2009, the Head of School has been Katherine Windsor,[22] who draws on her experience running the Center for Talented Youth program at Johns Hopkins University and The Sage School in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Her tenure as Head of School has seen the school instantiate its partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education's Independent School Teaching Residency program.

In late May 2020, due to the Covid pandemic, Windsor presided over virtual graduation exercises.[23] [24]

Finances

Tuition and financial aid

The tuition for boarding students was valued at $66,825 for 2021–22, plus other mandatory and optional fees.[25] Miss Porter's offers need-based financial aid.[26]

Endowment

The Dorothy Walker Bush 1919 Fund was established in 1994 in her memory by family and friends to bring speakers to the school who address religion, spirituality, and faith. The Emily Brown Fritzinger '59 Music Fund was established by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner Brown (Elizabeth Smith 1928), family, and friends; the fund supports musical performances on campus and occasional trips to New York City for all students and faculty to attend a live performance. The Elisabeth S. Hadden '76 Memorial Fund was established in 1976 in her memory by family and friends to support the annual Haggis Baggis poetry reading. The Kalat Fund for National and International Resources was established by Virginia Lowry Kalat '39, in honor of her 45th Reunion. The Geri Mullis '69 Memorial Poetry Fund was established in 1994 by the members of the Class of 1969 in honor of their 25th Reunion to bring a guest artist to campus. The Prescott Program Fund was established in 1961 by Marjorie Wiggin Prescott (class of 1911) to bring distinguished visiting lecturers and performers to the School. The Suzannah Ryan Wilkie '53 and Janet Norton Bilkey '53 "Wilkie-Bilkey" Program was established in 1988 by the Class of 1953 in honor of their 35th Reunion to support an annual performance from the world of dance or drama or other live performance.[27] [28] The Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship Fund, offered through the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, for the benefit of eligible students with demonstrated financial need who have displayed both academic excellence and leadership skills. One scholarship beneficiary presented her benefactor with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2011 Governors Awards hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[29] [30] [31] [32]

As of 2022, the school's endowment was estimated at $142.3 million.

Campus

The 40-acre campus overlooks the Farmington River and includes a number of historically significant buildings which have collectively served the wider Farmington community in a range of functional capacities over their respective histories.[33] Over the years, the school has transformed its campus assets to suit its needs.

Academic facilities

Athletic facilities

Residential culture and student life

Approximately 75% of Porter's girls live on campus in dormitories, all but one of which are former Farmington private residences left to the school. The school currently maintains a total of nine student residence halls (or "houses"): Brick, Colony, Humphrey, Keep, Lathrop, Macomber, Main, New Place, and Ward, two of those are strictly limited to the senior class. Each residence has a house director who lives in a private suite or apartment in the immediate vicinity, often with his/her family. One of the school's distinguishing features is that house directors' primary responsibilities are within residential houses. Houses traditionally count among their residents two Junior Advisors, student leaders appointed to serve as peer counselors and mediators for each residence, respectively, with the exception of those houses restricted to seniors.[58] Each house is self-governing to an extent, with students responsible for chores on a rotating schedule, the threat of curtailed privileges ever looming. Week-to-week, the Head of Student Activities works closely with the Office of Student Life to build an array of weekend activities; any one weekend has the potential to see a student take in a movie at a nearby AMC Theatres complex, peruse the Westfarms Mall, and partake in a game of lasertag, all in one fell swoop. This privilege is made available on an individual basis, at a student's leisure, depending of course on the student's academic or disciplinary standing and barring explicit parental restriction.

In her later years, Ancient Theodate Pope Riddle outfitted a section of her family's homestead on Mountain Road as The Odd and End Shop, known alternatively as The Gundy.[59]

Clubs, sports, and organizations

The school claims to have over fifty active student-run clubs and organizations. If a student doesn't find an organization that fits their specific interest or need, there is a process by which they can create their own.

Athletics

Porter's traditional rival is The Ethel Walker School, against which it competes as a member of the Founders League, and, to a lesser extent, the likes of fellow founding members Choate Rosemary Hall, Hotchkiss, Kent, Kingswood-Oxford, Loomis Chaffee, Taft and Westminster. At the end of each season, Porter's competes against the league's most competitive teams in the New England Championships.[60] [61] The school has no mascot, although some call the teams Fighting Daisies.[62] Since the turn of the millennium, student athletes have earned a combined 12 Founder's League and 8 New England championship titles.[63]

Student publications

The following organizational boards sustain each of the school's publications:

Archives and special collections

As one of the oldest independent schools with archival holdings, the school is particularly significant for research.[68] The archives contain a broad array of materials pertaining to the school and its founder. Sarah Porter’s Rule Book is in the holdings, as well as many letters, including those sent to her mother and sisters when she made her first visit to Europe in 1872 at the age of fifty-nine.[69]

Notable faculty

In popular culture

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Miss Porter's School Facts & Stats . missporters.org . 2021–2022 . 3 October 2021.
  2. Web site: Miss Porter's School Facts & Stats . 2017-09-01 . www.porters.org . en.
  3. News: Peretz . Evgenia . 2009-06-09 . The Code of Miss Porter's . 2021-10-03 . Vanity Fair . en-US . July . 0733-8899.
  4. Web site: Miss Porter's School ~ School History and Archives . Porters.org . April 23, 2013.
  5. Web site: Tunxis Indians. Farmington Historical Society.
  6. Book: Davis. Nancy. Miss Porter's School: A History. 1992. 0-9632985-1-8. Barbara. Donahue.
  7. Web site: The Independent . April 23, 2013.
  8. Web site: The Ghosts of Briarcliff Manor . River Journal Online . April 23, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924091358/http://www.riverjournalonline.com/categoryblog/2474-the-ghosts-of-briarcliff-manor.html . September 24, 2015 . mdy-all .
  9. Book: Alfred Emanuel Smith. Francis. Walton. New Outlook. 19 May 2013. 1917. Outlook Publishing Company. 686–687.
  10. Web site: 54 Main Street: Historic Resources Inventory . Farmingtonlibraries.org . 2016-07-16.
  11. News: 1977-05-09 . Katharine Works Johnson, 86; Headed Miss Porter's School . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-12-12 . 0362-4331.
  12. Web site: 117-Main-Street.PDF .
  13. News: 1983-12-16 . WARD LAMB JOHNSON . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-12-12 . 0362-4331.
  14. Web site: 66-Main-Street.PDF .
  15. Web site: 2000-01-30 . FRENCH, HOLLIS (STRATTON) . 2023-12-12 . Hartford Courant . en-US.
  16. Web site: Warren Hance Obituary (2009) - Hartford, CT - Hartford Courant . 2023-12-12 . Legacy.com.
  17. News: 1992-05-27 . Article - Marianna Mead O'Brien appointed interim head of Miss Porter's School . 51 . Hartford Courant . 2023-12-12.
  18. News: Belash . Rachel Phillips . February 22, 1988 . Why Girls' Schools Remain Necessary . New York Times .
  19. Ransome . Whitney . December 2001 . Why girls' schools? The difference in girl-centered education. . Fordham Urban Law Journal . 29 . 2.
  20. Web site: 2002-12-18 . Heads of Miss Porter's School . 2023-12-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20021218144530/http://www.missporters.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=28 . December 18, 2002 .
  21. Web site: M. Burch Tracy Ford, educator, administrator, and advocate for girls' education, dies at 78 - The Boston Globe . 2023-12-12 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.
  22. News: Santos. Fernanda. 2009-03-20. At a Prep School, the Gloves Are Off. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-10-03. 0362-4331.
  23. Web site: 2021-04-29 . Bulletin: The Miss Porter's School Magazine, Spring 2021 by Miss Porter's School - Issuu . 2023-12-12 . issuu.com . en.
  24. Web site: Miss Porter's School reimagines the heart of campus . 2023-12-12 . issuu . en.
  25. Web site: Miss Porter's School Facts & Stats . missporters.org . 2021–2022 . 3 October 2021.
  26. Web site: Tuition and Financial Aid . 2023-12-12 . Miss Porter’s School . en-US.
  27. Web site: Miss Porter's School | Visiting Speakers . https://web.archive.org/web/20040806234731/http://www.missporters.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=1179&pagename=Visiting%20Speakers . August 6, 2004 .
  28. Web site: The Bulletin - Summer 2011 - Miss Porter's School .
  29. Web site: Summer 2012 - Miss Porter's School .
  30. Web site: The Ceremony: Academy Honors Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones and Dick Smith in Emotional Evening . . November 13, 2011 .
  31. Governors Awards: Oprah picks up honors . .
  32. https://streetsquash.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/StreetSquash_News_Fall_2008-Vol-7-No-4.pdf
  33. https://www.farmington-ct.org/home/showdocument?id=3681
  34. Web site: Historic Buildings of Connecticut » Miss Porter's . March 26, 2008 . Historicbuildingsct.com . April 23, 2013.
  35. Web site: 60 Main Street: Historic Resources Inventory . Farmingtonlibraries.org . 2016-07-16.
  36. Web site: 60 Main Street: Historic Resources Inventory . Farmingtonlibraries.org . 2023-12-13.
  37. Web site: Mark Simon and Agatha Pestilli update a historic campus building with a more intuitive design for today's uses while preserving the iconic qualities of the original structure . January 13, 2023 .
  38. Web site: 2012-05-29. Owner: Miss Porter's To Purchase Grist Mill Space In Farmington. 2021-03-08. Hartford Courant.
  39. Web site: The Greene House Naming Ceremony Held During the Fall Board of Trustee Meeting . November 6, 2023 .
  40. Web site: 87-Main-Street.PDF .
  41. Web site: November 25, 2008. Thomas Hart Hooker House (1770). Historic Buildings of Connecticut.
  42. Web site: The Amistad Captives. Farmington Historical Society.
  43. Web site: Map to MPS . https://web.archive.org/web/20020603004339/http://www.missporters.org/pages/map.cfm . June 3, 2002 .
  44. Web site: 90-Main-Street.PDF .
  45. Web site: 54 Main Street.PDF .
  46. Web site: New Student Center at Miss Porter's School to be Named in Honor of Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris '71 . October 2, 2021 .
  47. Web site: Miss Porter's School | Ann Whitney Olin Arts and Science Center. March 6, 2021. TSKP.com.
  48. Web site: Community Life .
  49. Web site: 44 Main Street.PDF .
  50. Web site: Miss Porters School | Student Recreation Center . TSKP.com . April 23, 2013.
  51. Web site: Main-Street-64-Music-Cottage.PDF .
  52. News: The taming of the barn. Daniels. Frank. September 1, 1999. May 16, 2013.
  53. Web site: Schools of Thought - TownVibe Bedford - September/October 2010 . Townvibe.com . 2016-06-04 . 2016-07-16.
  54. Web site: Miss Porter's School – Master Plan .
  55. Web site: Miss Porter's School Squash and Swim Center .
  56. Web site: 'Town Of Farmington, Ct.. https://web.archive.org/web/20140407094317/http://web2.farmington-ct.org/TownGovernment/TownCouncil/Agendas/2006/11-14-06.pdf. April 7, 2014. April 23, 2013. Web2.farmington-ct.org. mdy-all.
  57. Web site: Miss Porter's School in Farmington to Spend $5.2M for New Turf Fields . March 5, 2015 .
  58. Web site: Boarding and Day . Porters.org . 18 May 2014.
  59. Web site: Student life . https://web.archive.org/web/20010303031747/http://www.porters.org/MPShistorySite/student_life.html#Traditions . March 3, 2001 .
  60. Web site: Miss Porter's School ~ Program Offerings . Porters.org . April 23, 2013.
  61. Web site: Founders League . Foundersleagueathletics.org . April 23, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140314152203/http://www.foundersleagueathletics.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5button=7 . March 14, 2014 . mdy-all .
  62. Book: Benson, Michael . Murder in Connecticut: the shocking crime that destroyed a family and united a community . Lyons Press . 2008 . Guilford, Connecticut . 7.
  63. Web site: Athletics .
  64. News: Burns. Carole. 1996-04-27. At Miss Porter's School, Miss Bouvier Is Just Not for Sale. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-10-03. 0362-4331.
  65. Book: Heiter, Celeste. American Boarding Schools: Directory of U.S. Boarding Schools for International Students. 2005. ThingsAsian Press. 978-0-9715940-4-3. 269. en.
  66. Web site: Haggis Baggis . 2009 . Porters.org . 2016-07-16.
  67. Web site: An Exemplary High School Literary Magazine:"Haggis/Baggis.". Holbrook . Hilary Taylor.
  68. Web site: Miss Porter's School | Mission and History . https://web.archive.org/web/20040806233544/http://www.missporters.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=1177&pagename=Mission%20and%20History . August 6, 2004 .
  69. Smith . Deborah . 2019 . Lessons from the 1800s: Creating the Miss Porter's School Digital Archive . Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies . 6.
  70. Obituary: Carlo Buonamici. The Musical Courier. October 7, 1920. 31.
  71. Book: Joss Whedon. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Anne. Dead man's party. Faith, Hope, & trick. Beauty and the beasts. Homecoming. Band candy. 4 June 2013. 2003. Simon Pulse. 978-0-689-86016-4. 75.
  72. Book: Jonathan Larson. Rent: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical. 2008. Hal Leonard Corporation. 978-1-55783-737-0. 36.
  73. Book: Cast . P.C. . P.C. Cast . Cast . Kristin . Kristin Cast . Betrayed . House of Night . October 2007 . St. Martins Griffin . New York . en . 45 . 3.
  74. Web site: and another thing… . Beth Gutcheon. https://web.archive.org/web/20130328191334/http://www.bethgutcheon.com/and-another-thing/ . 2013-03-28.
  75. Web site: Goofs . . 23 June 2013.
  76. News: 'Mad Men': Sally Draper's Boarding School Adventure . Alex . Moaba . The Huffington Post . 17 June 2013 . 17 June 2013.
  77. News: 'Mad Men' Finale Recap: The Long Goodbye. Sarane. Leeds.