History

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

School mottoes speak to the noble purposes for which most schools were founded. School mottoes typically are Latin phrases attributed to some of the great writers of antiquity. You will also find mottoes that are taken from scripture. What is special about a school motto is that it captures the essence of the school in a short phrase of just a few words. Here are some school mottoes and a bit about the schools to which they belong. The list includes both boarding and day schools.

Admiral Farragut Academy, St. Petersburg, Florida

Admiral Farragut Academy's motto is Scientia Omnia Vincit, which means “Knowledge Conquers All”. The Academy was originally founded in Pine Beach, New Jersey, in 1933. It opened a second campus in Florida in 1945. The school is co-educational and offers grades K-12.

Choate School, Wallingford, Connecticut

Fidelitas et Integritas or "fidelity and integrity," is the original motto of Choate School, which was founded by Mary Atwater Choate in 1896 as a school for boys.

Fenn School, Concord, Massachusetts

Fenn School, which was established in 1929, is one of several day schools which uses its motto as a powerful tool to guide its students. "At the heart of the Fenn philosophy is our motto, Sua Sponte. When boys begin to understand what it means, not just as a motto, but as a way of life, they are well on the way

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

From the 1600s to the 1800s, there was no nationwide system of public education. The 12 years of grade school through high school we are accustomed to in the 21st century did not exist. Small schools, including early institutions that eventually developed into boarding schools, provided schooling for young people.

The Bible was the focus of learning in colonial times. Most lessons were practical ones learned in the home and in the fields. Robert Peterson's article Education in Colonial America explains how education worked back then.

Colonial education

Education in colonial days was quite stratified. Boys learned core subjects such as reading and math. Girls learned the domestic arts. Educational opportunities were sharply restricted by race, gender, class, and location, although some Black and Indigenous children did receive instruction before slavery was abolished. Teachers were frequently well-intentioned men who themselves did not have much formal education. Yes, back then, most teachers were men. Colonial Era Education in the United States in K12 Academics offers a detailed look at schools in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Once again, it is important to note that there was no nationwide system of public schools or compulsory education in colonial America. Schools sprouted up where there was a need for them in the population centers of the day, such as Boston and Philadelphia. Otherwise, education took place in the home.

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It is fascinating to delve into the beginnings of a boarding school. It is when the school is so malleable and strongly influenced by its founder's zeal and lofty goals. The community is tiny compared to what it will morph into over the years, indeed over the centuries in some cases. The hardships and sacrifices that were endured are almost unimaginable in this day and age, when new schools often open with significant financial backing, modern facilities, and comprehensive strategic plans already in place.

I hope you will explore these five schools against the backdrop I have set out above. They are unique, as boarding schools always are. They have great personalities, character, and rich histories. Yet they share a common theme and purpose: to provide their students with the best well-rounded education so that their graduates can make a difference in today's world.

If you enjoy learning about the traditions and evolution of boarding schools, Boarding School Review's article, 5 Founders and Their Boarding Schools, provides additional historical context.

Annie Wright School, Tacoma, Washington

• Founded: 1884
• Enrollment: Approximately 800 students
• Grades: Preschool-Grade 12
• Boarding: Girls, Grades 9-12
• Religious Affiliation: Independent
• Setting: Urban

Overview: The school was established by Episcopal Bishop John Adams Paddock with the financial support of businessman Charles Barstow Wright. Bishop Paddock named the school in honor of Wright's daughter, Annie. The school operated as a girls' school for decades before expanding its educational offerings. Today, Annie Wright Schools include a coeducational Lower and Middle School and an Upper

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

In this article, we examine five more remarkable private schools established with a vision supported by munificence. The Phillips Family, which established the Phillips Academies at Exeter and Andover in the 18th century, had the purest motives in mind. They understood that a well-educated citizenry would ensure the future of the very young United States of America.

"Above all, it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care, well considering that though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character, and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind." Echols, Edward (1970). The Phillips Exeter Academy, A Pictorial History. Exeter Press

What was taught in these early schools?

Remember that there were no schools in America when the colonists arrived. As a result, the early settlers did not have to follow traditions or laws governing their children's education. Since freedom from religious oppression was why so many colonists had left England, they ensured their religious teachings were the core of their academic curricula. Also on the list of subjects were useful skills such as simple arithmetic and spelling. Schools ran year-round.

The development of these early educational institutions helped establish traditions that continue to influence American independent schools. Boarding School Review's article on boarding

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

Five founders of boarding schools changed American education forever, but you've probably never heard their names.

• So, when you look at the examples of these five founders of legendary boarding schools, you can only marvel at the sheer determination that each one had to make his or her dream come true.
• American boarding schools are some of the best in the world.
• In an age when everybody seems to be taking shots at America and what we stand for, that's an excellent statement.

Here, then, are snapshots of the founders of five boarding schools. They are an inspiration forever, as indeed are all the founders of boarding schools throughout the United States.

The founders' educational philosophies also provide insight into how private schools evolved in the United States. Although American education has changed considerably since these institutions were established, their original missions continue to influence school communities in 2026.

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss and The Hotchkiss School

Founded: 1891
Number of students: 598
Grades: 9-12, PG.
Coeducational Religious Affiliation: Nondenominational
Setting: Rural

• Maria Bissell Hotchkiss had inherited a fortune from her husband, Benjamin Hotchkiss.
• He made his money manufacturing guns.
• After he died, Mrs. Hotchkiss donated 65 acres in Northwestern Connecticut to establish a school for boys.
• She wanted the school to be a feeder school for Yale University in New Haven.

Her original gift of 65 acres expanded over time into a magnificent campus of 645