The Waring School

A small, elite private school in Massachusetts. The overall school atmosphere is excellent, with very close teacher-student relationships and deep mutual understanding. Every student receives comprehensive development under a liberal arts college-style education, which is a characteristic of excellent students highly valued by many top universities in the U.S., leading to impressive college matriculation results.

I had the privilege of visiting Waring School. It offers an excellent liberal arts education, is a small top private school, and has a very good overall student-teacher atmosphere. Its location is also excellent, about a 20-minute drive from Boston. The school's French courses are all taught by native French speakers or teachers with near-native proficiency, which is quite distinctive. Furthermore, the school collaborates with local schools in France and organizes student exchange programs and study trips to France.

Waring School is located in Beverly, Massachusetts, approximately a 40-minute drive from the city center. It is a co-educational school for grades 6-12, with only 168 students in total, and about 25 students per grade level, making it a small, elite educational institution. School features: *The curriculum is highly comprehensive, emphasizing humanities and arts. Every student is required to learn a musical instrument (with one-on-one teacher instruction), and every student must learn French (emphasizing a second foreign language). *Strong emphasis on STEM; the school's robotics team has won world-class awards. *Strong emphasis on the relationships between teachers and students, and among students. During the visit, the strong bond between teachers and students was palpable. All 168 students are closely connected; every student knows the names of all other students and teachers, making the entire school feel like an inseparable family. *Teachers do not give conventional grades. Instead, they write detailed narrative evaluations. *A traditional 4-day trip at the start of the school year helps students get to know each other better, to the point where they can call everyone by name. To allow children to immerse themselves in learning a second foreign language, every student has the opportunity to go on an exchange program to France! *Excellent university placements: The most concerning aspect for Chinese students, their university placements, are also excellent. Last year, there were two Chinese graduates: one was admitted to Rice University (USnews #15), and the other was admitted to Emory University (USnews #22)!

Waring School, located in Beverly, Massachusetts, is a very quaint school. It boasts a 32-acre tree-lined campus, with over 80% senior faculty. Nearby universities include MIT, Harvard University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In recent years, the school has seen good college matriculation outcomes for its Chinese students. I once visited the school and interviewed the Chinese students there at the time, who gave the school very positive feedback.

School Features:
1) The school does not provide GPA; student assessment is done through narrative evaluations, a method highly recognized by top universities.
2) Rich curriculum with 108 courses offered, and a strong STEM program.
3) Few international students, resulting in high individual attention, and a strong emphasis on student relationships and unity.
4) Teaching Assistant Program: 11th & 12th-grade students have the opportunity to apply to become TAs.
5) Outstanding 12th-grade students have the opportunity to take Harvard courses and earn credits.
6) Excellent graduation outcomes: In the past 4 years, 3 graduates have matriculated to Harvard University, 5 to the University of Chicago, and 5 to Middlebury College, among others.
7) Special programs include Humanities, French, and Science programs.
8) French is particularly prominent: Every February, all students participate in a French poetry recitation contest judged by members of the French Consulate; students can participate in a four-week exchange program in Angers, France; in 2019, students won 69 medals in the Le Grand Concours National French Contest, with 2 students achieving perfect scores.
9) Emphasis on arts, with pianos and artworks displayed everywhere. Students can choose one instrument class annually, and one-on-one lessons are included in the tuition fee.