The Putney School - Review #1

In addition to a progressive education, two of the most unique aspects of Putney are the work program and arts program. The work program has students working in the kitchen, on the farm, and in the buildings. It taught me responsibility, gratitude, and the joy of hard work. The arts program is both broad and deep with opportunities for students of all skill levels to explore and develop regardless of whether they are interested in music, visual arts, performing arts, or no art.

I can confidently say that Putney had the greatest positive impact on me of any of the schools I attended either before or after. I learned how to think critically, how to work hard, discovered my own creativity, and learned to live and work alongside others.

I loved boarding school. I would definitely do it again.

For me, it was the people. I was exposed to peers from all over the world. The faculty and staff were generally very strong and I was able to develop close relationships with several great teachers.

My advice is to be open to trying new things. Try a new sport, try out for a school play, or learn how to milk a cow. I was exposed to so many new experiences that I never would have had elsewhere. I don't use all of the skills I learned at Putney in my life today, but the experiences I had there had a profound and positive impact on who I am today.

I came to Putney from a more traditional school where everything we learned came from textbooks. Putney's progressive foundation had me studying primary source materials and connecting dots between various subjects that never would have happened at my previous school. Putney taught me how to think rather than just memorize. I found the academic workload manageable and allowed students to progress at different paces.

I appreciated that the Putney athletics program had room for all skill levels. Specifically, beginners could feel comfortable trying out a new sport or activity. This feels increasingly rare as youth athletics seem to get serious at a younger and younger age each year. We had several truly amazing athletes while I was there. Putney offered a reasonable number of both individual and team sports, as well as a variety of other non-sport physical activities.

Putney did not skimp on the arts program. In addition to a variety of art class offerings (sculpture, photography, drama, painting, music, etc.), Putney also has "evening activities" that allow students to try new arts or go deeper on existing passions. For a school of this size, the arts offering was incredibly broad and deep with great facilities: fiber arts studio, sculpture studio, printmaking, photography, ceramics, theatre, music, blacksmithing, etc.

The work program was life changing for me. It taught me to be responsible, how to work with others, to take pride in my work, and to find joy in working hard. I also took full advantage of the many student leadership opportunities available.

I enjoyed the independence and responsibility that came with dorm life. It was a bit of an adjustment going into a freshman dorm at college where most of my peers were away from home for the first time--I was beyond well prepared coming from Putney. My senior year at Putney I had the opportunity to apply to live in a cabin in the woods with a friend--no electricity, no running water, wood fired heat, etc. It was one of the greatest experiences of my adolescences and taught me countless lessons.

Cooking for hundreds of people every day is always a challenge, but I generally felt the food was above average for what I would expect from a boarding school. Similarly, I felt the overall nutritional quality was above average.

The school itself is fairly isolated on top of a hill in Vermont. The scenery is beautiful, and you are surrounded by nature. The town of Putney is small and only a few miles away. We had access to shuttles into town a couple of times per week. Brattleboro is a slightly larger town, and I believe we had weekly shuttles there.

I had a great time and made some of my greatest lifetime friends at Putney. I enjoyed forging relationships with international students. In general, I found Putney to be a welcoming and accepting community.