The Winsor School
Encyclopedia
The Winsor School is a girls' college prep school for day students in grades 5-12 founded in 1886. The school is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has approximately 432 students representing 57 communities in Massachusetts. The endowment as of July 1, 2007 was $50,516,000 which is $110,640 per student. In late 2007, The Wall Street Journal
identified Winsor School as one of the world's top 50 schools for its success in preparing students to enter top American universities.
In April 2010, the Winsor School was named one of the top 10 prep schools in America by Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/best-prep-schools-2010-opinions-private-education_slide_2.html?partner=yahoo
"Miss Winsor's School" occupied a number of different locations on the Hill until a group of parents asked her to be the director of the school they intended to build. They hoped to secure for children in private schools "at least equivalent advantages given to those in the Public Schools, as to fire-proof construction, light, ventilation, and other sanitary arrangements." They formed a corporation in 1907, bought land on the Fenway, and hired the Boston architect R. Clipston Sturgis to build "the most perfect schoolhouse." It included a library, science laboratories, art studios, and a gymnasium and swimming tank. The students and alumnae requested that the new school be named for Miss Winsor. President Eliot of Harvard, who was very supportive of the project, suggested the motto "A sound mind in a sound body."
In 1910 the Winsor School opened with 225 students. The lamp, which had been presented by the last class to graduate from Miss Winsor's School at 95-96 Beacon Street, came with them and used to burn on opening day and at graduation. Current fire protocols have prohibited the lighting of the lamp, though the senior class president still carries it. Winsor continued as head of the school until 1922. She wanted to prepare women to be self-sufficient and self-supporting, and hoped they would be competent, responsible, and generous-minded. She influenced the growth of her school and showed continued interest in it until her death in 1950.
The school has expanded its facilities over the years, adding a full gymnasium in the 1920s, a science wing in the 1980s, expanding the library more than once, adding classrooms in the 1990s, reconstructing a new dining hall, classrooms, laboratories, and faculty work space in 2004, and most recently, renovating many classrooms, offices, and corridors. The Winsor Dining Services are Green Restaurant Certified
. There are now 420 students. Seven directors have led the school in its 118-year history, all of whom were female.
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
identified Winsor School as one of the world's top 50 schools for its success in preparing students to enter top American universities.
In April 2010, the Winsor School was named one of the top 10 prep schools in America by Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/best-prep-schools-2010-opinions-private-education_slide_2.html?partner=yahoo
History
In 1886 Mary Pickard Winsor started a six-month school in Boston for her aunt's daughter and friends. Winsor, who had been teaching at her mother's school in Winchester, began with eight little girls in a private home on Beacon Hill. She quickly established a viable and growing school for girls, which bore her name, and began sending its graduates to college in 1895. She established the present structure of eight classes, grades 5-12, offering a ninth, graduate, year (which was discontinued many years ago)."Miss Winsor's School" occupied a number of different locations on the Hill until a group of parents asked her to be the director of the school they intended to build. They hoped to secure for children in private schools "at least equivalent advantages given to those in the Public Schools, as to fire-proof construction, light, ventilation, and other sanitary arrangements." They formed a corporation in 1907, bought land on the Fenway, and hired the Boston architect R. Clipston Sturgis to build "the most perfect schoolhouse." It included a library, science laboratories, art studios, and a gymnasium and swimming tank. The students and alumnae requested that the new school be named for Miss Winsor. President Eliot of Harvard, who was very supportive of the project, suggested the motto "A sound mind in a sound body."
In 1910 the Winsor School opened with 225 students. The lamp, which had been presented by the last class to graduate from Miss Winsor's School at 95-96 Beacon Street, came with them and used to burn on opening day and at graduation. Current fire protocols have prohibited the lighting of the lamp, though the senior class president still carries it. Winsor continued as head of the school until 1922. She wanted to prepare women to be self-sufficient and self-supporting, and hoped they would be competent, responsible, and generous-minded. She influenced the growth of her school and showed continued interest in it until her death in 1950.
The school has expanded its facilities over the years, adding a full gymnasium in the 1920s, a science wing in the 1980s, expanding the library more than once, adding classrooms in the 1990s, reconstructing a new dining hall, classrooms, laboratories, and faculty work space in 2004, and most recently, renovating many classrooms, offices, and corridors. The Winsor Dining Services are Green Restaurant Certified
Green Restaurant Certification
The Green Restaurant Association is a United States non-profit organization that provides certification for restaurants to become more environmentally responsible...
. There are now 420 students. Seven directors have led the school in its 118-year history, all of whom were female.
Notable alumnae
- Barbara Cushing Mortimer PaleyBabe PaleyBarbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley was an American socialite and style icon. She was known by the popular nickname "Babe" for most of her life. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958....
(1934), debutante, Vogue editor - Tenley AlbrightTenley AlbrightTenley Emma Albright, M.D. is an American figure skater. She is the 1956 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 & 1955 World Champion, the 1953 & 1955 North American champion, and the 1952–1956 U.S...
(1953), Olympic gold medalist (figure skating) and surgeon - Martha FieldMartha FieldMartha Alschuler Field is the Langdell Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She is a noted scholar of constitutional law, family law, and issues bioethics such as the rights of the mentally retarded.-Biography:...
(1961), first female law clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court and professor at Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S... - Hilary Birmingham (1985), Writer and Director of (TullyTully (film)Tully is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Hilary Birmingham. It was screened at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival on April 14, 2000 and received a limited release in the United States on November 1, 2002. The film is based on a O...
, 2000) - Helenka Adamowska PantaleoniHelenka PantaleoniHelen Tradusa "Helenka" Adamowska-Pantaleoni was an American silent film actress and humanitarian who was the founding director of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, a role that she held for 25 years...
, humanitarian as well as founder and long-time head of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.