Educational Model - Proctor Academy

At the heart of Proctor’s educational model lies a belief that learning happens best at the intersection of individualized academics and experiential opportunities within a strong, nurturing community.

This is what Proctor does in the classroom, on off-campus programs, in dormitories, advisories, in the arts, and on athletic teams. We understand that it is at this intersection that students are empowered to be creative, resilient, and knowledgeable problem solvers who care about their communities.

By redefining academic rigor as the process through which students push themselves beyond their comfort zones, students and faculty learn just how important trust is to learning. Honors and advanced placement courses complement non-traditional classes and challenging off-campus programs, allowing students and teachers to form relationships around shared interests. Formal on-campus academic support takes place in Proctor’s Learning Skills program, but it is the informal support provided by teachers who offer extra help sessions at breakfast, in their dormitories or in their classrooms in the evening that further emphasizes self-advocacy skills, and encourages academic risk taking.

Because we are challenging, we are also supportive.

Academics at Proctor

With over 135 courses and an integrated Academic Concentrations Program, Proctor’s academic curriculum provides both the breadth and depth for students to find and explore their passions.

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Integrated Academic Support

Formal on-campus academic support in the Learning Skills program combined with informal support by teachers living alongside their students creates a web of support and connectivity.

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Experiential Learning

Live to Learn, Learn to Live is not just our motto, it is the north star of Proctor’s educational model. We know we learn best when our hands are dirty, our hearts are full, and our minds are challenged.

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Equity and Belonging

A pillar of Proctor’s educational model, equity and belonging transcends every classroom, advisory conversation, athletic engagement, and residential life experience.

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Environmental Stewardship

We don’t just teach environmental stewardship at Proctor, we live it. Proctor’s Environmental Mission guides curriculum, thinking, building construction, and all that we do with our students.

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College Counseling

Proctor’s personalized College Counseling program strives to expand students’ knowledge of and engagement in the college and gap year process.

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Technology at Proctor

A leader in integrating technology seamlessly into the learning environment, Proctor was one of the first schools to deploy a campus-wide network and establish a full-time internet connection. We have not stopped innovating since. Learn more about Proctor’s Technology Department HERE.

Lovejoy Library and Resources

One of the most open and freely accessible spaces on campus, the library provides an arena for individual and group study, research, reflection and peer tutoring. Learn more about how the Lovejoy Library supports Proctor’s educational model HERE.

Culminating Experiences and End of Year Reflections

This final week of the school year often feels like it is simultaneously in fast forward and slow motion. We are intently focused on that which is right before us, even though the vastness of summer awaits is at our fingertips.

Pursuing Accomplishment and the Framing of Awards Season

This is our mission as a school: to create opportunities for young people to discover and become themselves, to pursue accomplishment without focusing on achievement. Our job is to simply facilitate the process with a safe, supportive, and challenging community.

Senior Project 2023: Celebrating an End, Preparing for a Beginning

Senior Project allows students to celebrate the end of their time at Proctor by working in a field that feeds the soul, as well as providing invaluable skills in self-direction and follow through. Projects are as unique as the students themselves.

Proctor Academy AP Environmental Science

Academic Lens: Student Research on Climate Mitigation

Today’s post simply shares the work of a handful of AP Environmental Science students as the class embarked on a project investigating and researching climate mitigation efforts around the world.

Proctor Academy Announces New Ocean Classroom Partner in SEA

It is with great enthusiasm that Proctor announces a new partnership with Sea Education Association (SEA) out of Woods Hole, Massachusetts for the fall Ocean Classroom program.

Proctor's Educational Model: Dichotomies in Action

Each day, we wrestle with the dichotomies of raising young adults: our students are desperate for freedom, but thrive with structure.

The Journey: On Being Vulnerable and a Sophomore

School traditions that are hotly anticipated by the entire school community and that help to expand and amplify the thinking of all who participate are rare. The Hays Speaking Contest does both.

Continuing the Legacy of the Proctor Woodlands

The Woodlands are our largest classroom – they allow students the opportunity to study ecology, forestry, and environmental science in a living, breathing laboratory.

Proctor Academy Mud Season and Fresh Starts

Fresh Starts, Mud Season, and Our Why

We believe learning happens best at the intersection of individualized academics and experiential opportunities within a strong, supportive community.