This page provides an outline of our school's development, including the mission, philosophy, enrollment, and building resources, and a thorough overview of the Charlottesville school market.
Develop well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment.
Motto
omnis puer scitus et frater (every boy known, every boy a brother)
Our goals are ….
To establish an academically rigorous boys middle school in Charlottesville, one that complements the strong reputation of the Village School for Girls, with particular attention to the needs and learning styles of boys;
To develop our school and its traditions around a strong, well educated, hard working, involved faculty, one which participates in the school’s activities and coaching, and one which models and mirrors the school’s philosophy;
To distinguish ourselves by our rigorous, regular, and engaging academic curriculum, one that inspires our boys to become lifelong learners;
To teach to the whole boy—giving attention to the academic, social, physical, creative, ethical, and personal development of each of its boys.
To engage middle school boys by exposing them to a variety of interests in academic, athletic, extracurricular, and service opportunities;
To attract and support a student body which reflects the diversity of our local community, both ethnically and socioeconomically;
And, to develop a strong working relationship with the parents, one that recognizes the partnership we have in raising all our children.
Field School Fundamentals
Unwavering attention to our mission—to develop well-rounded boys of character and accomplishment.
A class size of 16 students, beginning with Grades 5 and 6 in 2007 and adding Grades 7 and 8 in the following two years, with a maximum school size of 64 students.
A small school with consistent and deeply held values—honesty, compassion, trust, respect, fairness, courage, and responsibility.
A strong and involved faculty.
A small teacher/student ratio, ensuring students an engaging and vigorous classroom experience.
A traditional, academically rigorous curriculum in English, social studies, math, science, Latin, and the arts, along with character and leadership development.
Daily team sports participation, emphasizing physical fitness, teamwork, fair play, and sportsmanship.
An emphasis on regular field trips, to expand the classroom and to increase the vitality of learning experiences.
An affordable tuition rate for Charlottesville families.
A reserve fund, to financially support our operations in our initial years.
School Enrollment
The general model for enrollment is as follows. We started with 26 boys in Grades 5 and 6 in the Fall of 2007, and will grow by one class each year, adding Grades 7 and 8 in the following two years so that by 2009-10 we will have capacity for 64 students. This model was successful for the Village School and they managed to reach their target of 64 students in their fourth year. Depending on the land lease or purchase options and decisions made in the first few years, we can adopt a regular approach to adding buildings and playing fields over the years.
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Charlottesville represents an excellent market for a boys’ middle school. It is an area of rapid population growth, and with the presence of the University of Virginia, its population is perhaps more interested in excellent education than any other in the commonwealth. Furthermore, there are a high number of quality boys-only high schools in Central Virginia (Woodberry Forest, Blue Ridge School, Fork Union Military Academy, St. Christopher’s School). The strongest argument for the existence of a market for a boys’ school in Charlottesville, however, is provided by the example of the Village School.
In 1995, Proal Heartwell and Jamie Knorr, two Charlottesville teachers, started the Village School, a girls’ middle school. The two felt that there was a need for an all-girls institution in Charlottesville, and they leased a building in town and opened their school in September of 1995 with 20 students in grades 5 and 6. Their goal was to have 4 classes (5th to 8th grade) of 16 students each, and they reached it in their fourth year. After the first year, their numbers grew to 33, 45, 53, and then 64 in Year 5, with full classes and waiting lists ever since.
The philosophy of the Village School originally grew out of the founders’ belief that girls were being shortchanged during their middle school years by the presence of boys in classrooms. They subsequently created a small school around a strong, dedicated faculty and have quickly developed a strong reputation in town both for their community and for their academics. Field School will follow their successful formula in its early years and make every effort to develop the same strong community and academic reputation.
