Williston is a school shaped by its location in the Pioneer Valley, a remarkable area of education, culture, history, and nature in Western Massachusetts. From the summit of Mt. Tom to the restored buildings of Mr. Williston's mills, the environment and the school are inextricably connected. Our location has led us to form a distinctive academic collaboration with the five colleges in our valley to enrich the educational experience of our students. We like to think that the pioneer heritage and open attitudes of this region have contributed to our student-centered ethos and diverse, down-to-earth culture. Williston offers a holistic education that integrates academics, athletics, and community life with uncommon opportunities to promote high achievement for all our students according to their individual strengths, interests, and goals. The 125-acre Williston campus is home to a community of 80 day students in the Middle School and 450 Upper School boarding and day students from 25 states and 27 countries, together with 90 faculty members who also act as dorm parents, advisors, and coaches. The teaching faculty numbers 75, with 49 advanced degrees among them. Our academic neighbors: the Five College consortium of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.   In preparing students for college, we are always mindful of our larger responsibility of inspiring them to be critical thinkers and engaged learners. A good education is much more than the passing of knowledge from teacher to student. It's a journey shaped as much by the faculty-student relationship as by the information imparted. This relationship is at the heart of our academic program. Our faculty brings its love of learning to the classroom, together with broad life experiences and many graduate degrees. These talented teachers create a dynamic classroom environment, emphasizing discussion and collaboration and promoting an open exchange of ideas. In addition, we offer excellent advising, a progression from beginning courses to those that demand university-level work, and a host of special programs that offer uncommon academic opportunities.   We promise you an academic culture that respects your ability to think for yourself and gives you the right balance of structure and freedom to make the most of it. You'll be pushed to question comfortable assumptions, encouraged to exceed self-imposed limits, and inspired to tap into multiple areas of your intellectual abilities. You'll be immersed in a challenging curriculum that cultivates active, lifelong learning. And we'll help you build solid leadership skills by giving you hands-on practice in working collaboratively with others.   Williston is a community of individuals bound together by mutual respect, love of learning, and shared experiences. It’s a community that’s diverse, unpretentious, inclusive—and fun. Both boarding and day students benefit from the high level of trust that comes from our residential setting. We all cross paths in the dorms, at the Birch Dining Commons, at the Reed Campus Center, or at the local favorite ice cream shop (who doesn't love Mt. Tom's?). The annual round of events also brings us together, from opening Convocation to Commencement. Events such as Family Weekends, the Holiday Banquet, Williston Film Festival, Willy Gras spring carnival, and many others give our students the opportunity to develop their leadership and organizational abilities. Joining or starting clubs, serving as class officers or dorm proctors, managing sports teams, leading campus tours, and organizing community service projects are some of the ways to contribute to the Williston community while learning valuable life skills. Williston is active seven days a week, and thanks to our location, students have many options both on and off campus. We sponsor dances, concerts, comedians, and movies; organize hiking and ski trips; and make sure that everyone who wants to attend a Five Colleges event has the chance. Day students have ample opportunities to spend as much weekend time on campus as they like.   At Williston, the visual, musical, dance, and theater arts disciplines are housed within a single department, providing opportunities for creative synergy. Our faculty, who are practicing artists in their chosen fields, bring their professional experiences to their teaching. Students engage with the arts as academic subjects and as extracurricular endeavors. Our goal is to instill in them a respect for and enduring interest in the arts through knowledge and experience; to stimulate their awareness of their own creative potential, not only in the arts; and to equip them with the skills and discipline necessary for pursuing one or more of the fine or performing arts.       We believe in the value of physical fitness and activity for developing a lifelong commitment to healthy living, personal discipline, fair play, good sportsmanship, and teamwork--qualities that lead to success on the field, in the classroom, and in life. With 35 interscholastic sports offered at the varsity, junior varsity, and beginner levels (a total of 67 teams) we also offer non-competitive opportunities to choose from, every student can participate in serious competition or develop skills in a new sport. Participation in athletics or an afternoon athletic alternative is required in all three seasons. Athletics is an integral part of our education and community. Williston has always taken pride in its ability to be both highly competitive and inclusive. For the serious athlete, our outstanding facilities and excellent coaching staff provide a wonderful opportunity for students to compete at the highest levels of New England prep school sports. We have a record of success supporting students who aspire to play in college—our student-athletes are recruited by Division I, II, and III institutions in New England and beyond. For students less inclined to this level of competition, the diversity and breadth of our offerings provide a wide range of opportunities to participate, learn, and stay fit.

WHO (AND WHERE) WE ARE

ENGAGED LEARNING

TO STUDENTS WHO ARE EXPLORING WILLISTON

A COMMUNITY FIRST

FINE & PERFORMING ARTS

ACADEMIC ARTS DISCIPLINES

• Design

• Drawing

• Painting

• Ceramics

• Sculpture

• Photography

• Film Making

• Art History

• Voice

• Instrumental Music

• Music Theory

• Music History

• Movement

• Choreography

• Acting

• Theater Design

EXTRACURRICULAR ARTS PROGRAM

• Dance Ensemble

• Teller Chorus

• The Williston Theatre

• Private instruction in voice and instrumental music

• The Fine and Performing Arts Intensive Program (for serious musicians, visual artists, and theater technicians)

COMPETITIVE AND INCLUSIVE