The Putney School

Summer Programs
Putney, Vermont


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For More Information, Contact
The Putney School Summer Programs
Elm Lea Farm
418 Houghton Brook Road
Putney, Vermont 05346
802-387-6297
Fax: 802-387-6216
http://www.putneyschool.org/summer

Type of Program: Visual and performing arts, creative writing, and ESOL
Participants: Coeducational, ages 14–17
Enrollment: 135 boarding and 15 day students
Program Dates: Session I: Sunday, June 28, through Friday, July 17; Session II: Sunday, July 19, through Saturday, August 7
Head of Program: Thomas D. Howe, Director

Location

The Putney School campus is located in southeastern Vermont on a 500-acre hilltop farm near the Connecticut River. The campus offers beautiful views, miles of trails, a pond, a nature preserve, and a working dairy and animal farm.

Background and Philosophy

The Putney School Summer Programs offer high school students the opportunity for in-depth exploration in the visual arts, performing arts, and creative writing. In addition, its Program for International Education for nonnative English speakers offers challenging English language classes and accelerated learning through language immersion (ESOL). In three-week sessions, Putney students are given the essential tools for creative growth: mentor-teachers who are both practicing artists and experienced teachers; high expectations to be focused, intense, and active learners; long blocks of time—6 hours of workshops each weekday and ample open studio time on weekends; and opportunities to exhibit and perform works in progress to the whole community.
Individual attention is paramount—a goal Putney achieves by limiting workshop enrollment (8 to 15 students) with an overall 3:1 student-staff ratio. Putney recognizes, too, the importance of play, of connecting to the natural world, and of building a healthy community. Each day at Putney offers recreational, community, and residential activities.
Inaugurated in 1987, the Summer Programs highlight successful academic-year programs at the Putney School, a private boarding school founded in 1935 and dedicated to intellectual engagement, creative play, and progressive learning. The Summer Programs share these values and the emphasis on self-discovery, independent inquiry, community, and sustainable living.

Program Offerings

At Putney, students choose two half-day workshops from among thirty offerings in visual arts, theater, music, dance, and creative writing. Each workshop meets 3 hours each weekday for the three-week session. Students may select one creative thread—for example, the full-day Writing Intensive or the double workshop in theater—or move between two creative disciplines. Students may enroll in both sessions for a total of four workshops.
Arts Workshops: Designed for students who are seriously interested in the arts, these workshops offer students the opportunity to work in-depth with professional artists, writers, and performers. Summer offerings at Putney include theater and theater intensive; modern and jazz dance; audio art, chamber music, instrumental jazz, music composition, songwriting, or vocal ensemble; and animation, book/paper arts, ceramics, drawing, filmmaking, glass arts, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wearable arts, weaving, or woodworking.
Creative Writing Workshops: Each student’s unique voice is inspired by writing prompts and props, by short literary works as models, by group critiques, and by opportunities to share works in progress in open readings for the full community. Students may enroll in half-day workshops in fiction writing, poetry writing, or playwriting or in the full-day, multigenre Writing Intensive. Playwriting students see their work performed by the theater students in a 24-Hour Theater Festival. Each of the other writing workshops publishes its own literary magazine that includes several pages of work by each student. All workshops are taught by practicing, published writers with experience in teaching young adult writers.
Farm & Garden: Working with the school’s professional farm crew, students learn about dairy farming, small-animal care, organic gardening, and issues of agricultural sustainability. Students may elect a half-day workshop for the full session, enroll in the afternoon farm activity, or volunteer for early-morning barn crew.
Program for International Education (ESOL): Through classroom instruction, small-group practice, and individual lessons, nonnative speakers work toward English language proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Each afternoon, students take educational trips or work on supervised group projects. For language immersion, international students are fully integrated with U.S. students in all dormitory, social, and recreational activities. (International students who are fluent in English are welcome to enroll in the Arts, Creative Writing, and Farm & Garden programs.)

Enrollment

Putney welcomes high school students, rising freshmen to rising seniors—generally, ages 14–17. Putney’s summer community is small—up to 150 students for each three-week session—and diverse, with teens from twenty-five to thirty different U.S. states and twelve to eighteen different countries. Some students come with years of experience on stage, in orchestras and garage bands, or in art museum classes or creative writing workshops; equally welcome are students who are just beginning their craft and who have a strong commitment to learn. The exception is instrumental music workshops, which require intermediate or better skills.

Daily Schedule

A typical weekday at Putney begins with breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by a 3-hour morning workshop. After lunch at noon, students go to their 3-hour afternoon workshop, followed by afternoon recreational activities. Following dinner, students attend an arts-related evening activity and return to their dorms by 10 p.m. The daily schedule also includes three beloved Putney traditions: Community Sing each weekday; “milklunch,” a sweet second breakfast; and a community workday once each session.

8:00
9:00
12:00
12:40
1:15
4:15
6:00
7:15
9:00
10:00

Breakfast
Morning workshops
Lunch
Assembly
Afternoon workshops
Outdoor activities
Dinner
Evening workshops
Visiting hour
In dorms

Extra Opportunities and Activities

Students choose weekday afternoon recreational activities such as soccer, trail-running, swimming, yoga, fencing, and Ultimate Frisbee. Students also enroll in two arts-related evening activities—essentially, focused mini-courses that meet five evenings throughout the session, with topics such as writing microfiction, blacksmithing, slab-built ceramics, and African dance.
Weekends offer camping trips, cultural excursions, and open-studio time. Special events throughout the session include an open-mic coffee house, dances, a film festival, a faculty performance, and a final celebration of student work.

Facilities

Putney has superb facilities for the arts, including fully equipped studios for printmaking, welding, woodworking, photography, weaving, painting, ceramics, dance, and theater; a 250-seat concert hall; and art galleries. The computer lab provides support for writing programs and Internet access. The campus includes the 70-acre Garland Pond Nature Preserve, a protected wildlife area. The school library contains more than 25,000 volumes. Dormitories are small (10 to 25 students), and each is supervised by 2 or 3 adult dorm heads. Outdoor facilities include miles of riding and biking trails, an outdoor basketball court, extensive playing fields, and a working farm.

Staff

Workshop teachers at Putney are both practicing artists/writers/performers and experienced teachers. Faculty members have a firm grounding in their art form and are pushing the boundaries of their own creative medium.
Each dormitory is staffed by 2 or 3 resident staff members, who are college juniors and seniors majoring in their arts area, M.F.A. students, or young college graduates beginning their arts careers. These adult dorm heads also serve as assistant teachers in the workshops.
Staff members support and nurture students, challenge them to grow, and serve as role models of professionals and postsecondary students with a serious dedication to the arts.

Medical Care

Two registered nurses are on staff and available for office hours during the week and on call during the evenings and weekends. An urgent-care clinic and a fully equipped hospital are each 20 minutes away. Residential staff members are trained in emergency first aid. Each student submits a medical examination and release form before arriving on campus. The program requires family medical insurance for all participants. The dining hall staff prepares a menu to accommodate food allergies as well as vegan/vegetarian preferences.

Religious Life

The program has no religious affiliation but provides transportation for students who wish to attend local services.

Costs

Costs for tuition, room, and board in 2008 were $3300 for each three-week session; two sessions were $6200. Tuition, room, and board for international students were $3500 for one session, including health insurance; two sessions were $6500. Tuition for day students was $1200 for one session; two sessions were $2050. There is an additional materials fee for some workshops. Students should bring no more than $150 for spending money.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is offered based on need, as assessed from a family financial statement. Most qualified applicants receive some financial assistance. Financial aid applications are due March 1.

Transportation

Putney is about 2½ hours from Boston and 3½ hours from New York City, just off Exit 4 of Interstate 91 in southeastern Vermont. The nearest airport is Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, Connecticut. The program provides transportation to and from the airport on arrival and departure days for an additional fee. Transportation to and from any other airport must be arranged by the family.

Application Timetable

Inquiries and visits to the campus are welcome throughout the year. Students are accepted to the programs on a rolling basis beginning in December. Early application is encouraged; some workshops fill early, and students are placed in workshops only after they have submitted a full application.