About

Fessy Facts

 

Head of School

Steve Armstrong, appointed 2018
 

Mission

The Fessenden School cultivates each boy’s talents and develops in balance his character, mind, and body in an inclusive and joyful community.
 

Faculty

  • 90 faculty members, with an average tenure of 8 years
  • 70% hold advanced degrees
 

Student Profile

  • Students come from 12 countries, 10 states within the US, and 33 communities within MA
  • 35% students of color (inclusive of our international boarding population)
 

School Spirit

Nickname: Fessy
School Colors: Red & Gray
Mascot: Bear
Motto: Labor Omnia Vincit (Work Conquers All)
 

Core Values

Honesty, Compassion, and Respect
 

Enrollment

Total: 537
Boarding: 105
Day: 432
Lower School (Pre-K-Gr. 4): 202
Middle School (Gr. 5-6): 120
Upper School (Gr. 7-9): 215
Average Class Size: 12
 

General Facts

  • Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 9
  • Oldest all-boys, junior boarding school in U.S.
  • Seven and five-day boarding options available in Grades 5-9
  • 41-acre campus in metropolitan Boston
  • Academically challenging curriculum structured to educate and foster the specific learning styles of elementary and middle school boys
  • Character education infused program
  • 21 Middle and Upper School athletic offerings (competitive, intramural and recreational)
  • 18 elective offerings, such as robotics, video production, woodworking, and performing and technical theater arts
  • Parents Association (PA) offers a broad range of volunteer opportunities in conjunction with faculty, staff and parents
  • 13 musical groups
  • 7 theatrical productions per year
 

Day Entry Points

  • Pre-K
  • Kindergarten
  • Grade 4
  • Grade 5
  • Grade 6
  • Grade 7
  • Grade 8
Occasionally openings do become available in other grades too. Please call Admissions (617‑630‑2300) to inquire.
 

Learning Resources

  • Items in library – approximately 20,000 (including print and electronic books, audiobooks, other digital media and instructional devices
  • Comprehensive English Language Learners (E.L.L.) program serving approximately 22 international students
  • SmartBoards/digital projectors in all classrooms
  • 1:1 iPads in grades K-3, 1:1 Chromebooks in grades 3-9
  • “My Fessy” access to personalized web-based communications tool for students, parents, faculty and alumni
 

Secondary School Counseling

Fessenden students, diverse in talents, interests and families priorities, matriculate at a wide range of outstanding day and boarding secondary schools. Two full-time placement officers work with our students and families to identify the best fit for each boy.
Schools that enrolled Fessenden students over the past five years. The number in parenthesis indicates the number of students enrolled during this period:
  • Beaver Country Day School (12)
  • Belmont Hill School (33)
  • Belmont High School (3)
  • Berkshire School (4)
  • Blair Academy (4)
  • Boston College High School (4)
  • Boston Latin School
  • Boston University Academy (2)
  • Brewster Academy (3)
  • Brimmer & May School (2)
  • Brookline High School (3)
  • Brooks School (12)
  • Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School (8)
  • Catholic Memorial School (2)
  • Cheshire Academy
  • Choate Rosemary Hall (8)
  • Commonwealth School
  • Concord Academy (14)
  • Cushing Academy
  • Deerfield Academy (9)
  • Dexter Southfield School (14)
  • Episcopal High School (VA) (2)
  • Gann Academy (2)
  • Groton School (4)
  • Holderness School (2)
  • Hotchkiss School (10)
  • IMG Academy
  • Kent School
  • Kents Hill School
  • Lake Forest Academy
  • Lawrence Academy (5)
  • Mercersburg Academy (2)
  • Middlesex School (10)
  • Millbrook School (4)
  • Milton Academy (14)
  • New Hampton School
  • Newton North High School (5)
  • Newton South High School (4)
  • Noble and Greenough School (42)
  • Northfield Mount Hermon School (2)
  • Northwood School
  • Park Tudor School (IN)
  • Peddie School
  • Phillips Academy (Andover) (16)
  • Phillips Exeter Academy (18)
  • Portsmouth Abbey School (2)
  • Proctor Academy
  • Rivers School (18)
  • Saint Andrew’s School (FL) (2)
  • St. Andrew’s School (DE) (4)
  • St. George’s School (5)
  • St. Mark’s School (14)
  • St. Paul’s School (5)
  • St. Sebastian’s School (16)
  • Suffield Academy (7)
  • Tabor Academy (9)
  • Taft School (9)
  • Thayer Academy (4)
  • The American Overseas School of Rome
  • The Bolles School (FL) (2)
  • The Cambridge School of Weston
  • The Governor’s Academy (6)
  • The Hill School (3)
  • The Lawrenceville School (4)
  • The Loomis Chaffee School (10)
  • The Roxbury Latin School (17)
  • The White Mountain School
  • The Williston Northampton School (11)
  • The Winchendon School
  • Wayland Academy (MN)
  • Wayland High School
  • Wellesley High School (3)
  • Westminster School (2)
  • Woodberry Forest School (VA)
  • Woodstock Academy
  • Worcester Academy (2)
  • Xaverian Brothers High School
 

Residential Program

  • Boarding student-to-residential faculty ratio – 2:1
  • Weekend Program activities chaperoned by residential faculty each year – more than 800
  • Number of activities offered to boarders each weekend – 20-25
  • Dormitory families living on each dormitory floor – 2
 

Financial Assistance* – $5.5 million

  • Percentage of Operating Budget – 16.3%
  • Students receiving assistance – 123 (22.9% of the 537 total enrollment)
*Inclusive of tuition remission
 

General Finances

  • Operating Budget – $33.8 million
 

Alumni

Number of alumni with whom we are in contact – 4,800
© 2015 The Fessenden School. All Rights Reserved.
The Fessenden School
250 Waltham Street
West Newton, MA 02465
(617) 964-5350

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