Can anyone give me information on the Tilton School? Wonder about the implementation of their new “design process”.
Hmmmm. I have friends who are faculty there. I could email them and see what info I get!
I am currently a senior at Tilton school. I came in as a sophomore and throughout my three years I have noticed a lot of changes. At our school we have a committee of faculty, students, the board of trustees, alumni, and extended community members working on a new initiative called the “design process”. They are doing extensive research on current education models and working towards redesigning how we live and learn at the school. Most teachers are involved and split into different design cohorts. Each cohort has a different focus, anything from residential life to partnerships with outside organizations for study abroad and internship opportunities. I am impressed by how dedicated the faculty at Tilton school are to creating a system that works for the students. The student’s feedback is actually heard and they work to accommodate us. I’ve personally been involved in many “Tilton Experience” events where I along with other classmates have been asked to brainstorm ideas about what would make an ideal school. Everything from creating a new grading system to having co-ed dorms have been suggested, though some ideas are more realistic than others.
I hope you found this information to be helpful if you have more questions be feel to reach out to me or anybody at T School.
@prepster1234 Do you find you are already seeing benefit from the design process? What are the biggest changes that have actually been implemented? Is it hard being in a constantly changing environment? DS is looking to apply for the 19/20 school year.
What are your favorite things about Tilton?
Most improvements have been made to the schedule, grading system, and dining hall. The schedule changes have allowed us to sleep in later in the morning, have long lunch breaks, and have extra time built into the day to meet with teachers. The grading system is meant to focus more on personal academic progression through teacher evaluations rather than letter grades. When our reports are released we receive pages full of teacher notes telling us specific observations about how we are doing. We also receive two grades, and academic grade (based off of tests and projects) and a habits of mind grade (based off of participation in class, preparedness, and work ethic) both equally important. The dining hall has improved a lot too providing us with more options and putting on lovely formal dinners almost every Monday.
I think Tilton School thrives on the constantly changing environment. The changes are all made after long evaluation and input from many different perspectives and have all seemed to work well so far. Again, they take feedback very well and are invested in creating an incredible place to live and learn.
My favorite thing about Tilton School is the people. Everybody says that the friends you make at boarding school will be your friends for life and I truly believe that. The school does a good job of integrating new students and everyone becomes one big family. In such a small school everything feels more personal and the bonds are strong. I’ve also just enjoyed getting involved in the sports, clubs, and stepping into a few leadership roles.