Four are faculty in professional development programs at the collegiate level (Middlebury College, Rutgers University, and Columbia University) and in any given year close to a dozen of our teachers present their work at regional and national conferences. The School encourages our faculty to keep current in their fields and improve their courses; this past summer, half of our faculty received funding for conference attendance, advanced study, and course design work in the summer.
These gifted teachers drive and continually improve a remarkably rich secondary school curriculum. All our second form students take a Humanities course that allows them to explore the essential components of human cultures through the disciplines of English, history, art, philosophy, and religion. For example, we give students a chance to do real science, with help from professional scientists and researchers — and under the guidance of our full-time director of student research — through specially designed courses, off-campus internships, and independent studies. In addition, our Hutchins Scholars Program each summer provides ten of our best science students an intensive set of research experiences in our state-of-the-art labs and our 700 acre campus made up of fields, woods, and streams. Lawrenceville is also setting the standard for curricular innovation, one example being our calculus-based probability and statistics course, demonstrating a commitment to applying math in real world contexts.
The Lawrenceville faculty is augmented by the scholars, scientists, artists, and writers who inhabit the greater Princeton region—one of the most intellectually fertile places in the country. These “adjunct” faculty come to campus as performers, lecturers, and classroom guests. Lawrenceville students may also work with them in their own institutions, whether at Princeton University, a local social service organization, or a major pharmaceutical company.
With so many educational avenues to explore, and so many outstanding choices, students need close guidance, which is why academic advising at Lawrenceville is a carefully coordinated endeavor. Each student is assigned an academic advisor, who works closely with him or her, the student’s Head of House, and the academic department to create an individualized course of study.