Supporting Tremont

We did it!

A year after formally kicking off our campaign to open the school, and three years since we embarked on this grand adventure, the Tremont School opened its doors in September to eleven 5th and 6th grade boys and girls, led by a talented and resourceful team of four full-time educators.

What an amazing thing to watch a dream turn into reality. To spend years planning and imagining and building, and then sit back and watch as teachers, parents, and students all bring it to life in just the way you imagined it could be.

When we first came up with the idea for the Tremont School, the founding families had very immediate and practical concerns: what was going to happen to our kids when they graduated from The Tobin School?  If necessity is the mother of invention, then anxiety must surely be its mid-wife.

Born out of that deeply personal need, the Tremont School is now poised to do for other families what it has done for ours; providing a school for our kids to call home.  Here is what some of our new parents have to say:

"We couldn't be happier with our daughter's experience at the Tremont School thus far.  She takes more initiative on project work and her confidence has grown dramatically since she began the school year.  She has also thrived socially and calls all of her classmates her friends, which was not the case at her prior school.  She is smiling when we drop her off and when we pick her up from school.  We knew that we were making a leap of faith by having her be part of Tremont's first class of students, but we had faith in the school's mission and the vision and enthusiasm of the school's founding families.  We have no doubt that we made the right decision."

"The Tremont School has meant the world to us, because our son is happy.  The curriculum addresses all of a child's educational needs from the social to the artistic to the traditional so that it can give a wider picture of the world in a deep and meaningful way.  Everyone can use that."

At the Tremont School the students have a voice, they have a say, and they are truly valued for what they bring to the community.  These are not hollow words but are at the core of how we build our school community.

• With our Student Contract, students set personal goals for themselves in conjunction with their teachers.  They have input into how and when they will get the week's work done and accomplish their goals.  Homework is born through the process of learning to plan and manage one's time.
• During Learning Blocks, kids can establish a rhythm of workflow that suits their learning style, energy level, and moments of inspiration within the framework of the work that has been laid out for the week.  This personalized schedule engenders learning that is engaging, meaningful, and yes, even fun.

Through this collaborative process, our students are learning to organize themselves, to advocate for themselves, to take ownership of their work, and to develop the self-confidence and self-knowledge that comes from understanding, patient, and respectful leadership.

The opening of the school brings us to a new phase in our evolution.  The shift from idea to reality is an exciting – and expensive – transition.  The costs associated with running a school are complex and immense.  With a mandate to make the Tremont School accessible to as many families as possible we have set our tuition purposefully low.  The full cost of tuition covers only about 50% of our actual costs.

We have a broad and generous family of supporters who have helped us reach this remarkable milestone.  As we set out to expand on what we have started together, we need your continued support.  We have an aggressive goal of raising $30,000 from our Annual Fund campaign to support our next critical growth phase, which is focused on expanding our student recruitment efforts and increasing our ability to offer financial aid.  Please help us provide the opportunity for other families to join our learning community by contributing to our annual fund today.

Perhaps another of our new parents put it best:

"If you are part of Tremont, you are part of a school that changes lives.  You aren't just helping to educate some terrific kids – although you are certainly doing that – you are healing hearts... You have created a place for families and given them hope that the right school for their kids does exist, one that teaches the whole child."

Thank you for all that you have done to get us where we are today.

David Vaughn Board Chair

Bill Wilmot Academic Director