Academics

The Williams School combines the excellence of a classical liberal arts education with a commitment to preparing students to thrive as they become engaged and engaging in our our rapidly changing world. In the context of a reading and writing intensive curriculum emphasizing process and product, outstanding teachers spark and nurture students’ intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and imagination. While elective courses are available throughout the program, older students enjoy even more flexibility in creating personalized schedules to help them pursue their passions and achieve their goals. Furthermore, in addition to Honors and Advanced level work, several seniors each year qualify to take courses at Connecticut College.

At Williams, all community members collaborate to perpetuate an open atmosphere of mutual respect, providing a supportive context that encourages students to take meaningful, developmentally appropriate risks as they pursue their own academic, artistic, and athletic goals. In the classroom, students analyze and integrate complex material, find comfort in ambiguity, and are expected to avoid generalization and facile thinking. Through the arts, service, and athletics, students stretch themselves, knowing that their efforts will be recognized, supported, and appreciated by their peers. In all of these endeavors, students learn that only with collaboration, empathy, and self-discipline, is the excellence they seek attainable.