Academics
Rigorous college prep taught the way girls learn best
-
Challenging -
Experiential -
Collaborative
1
/
3
— Courtney Ulmer, Assistant Head of School for Academics
“Foxcroft’s focus on the individual learner enables us to create an academic program that fits her interests, challenges her appropriately, and helps her find her voice.”
— Anne Burridge, English Department Chair
“I want the girls to be critical thinkers. I want them to be able to look at a text or speech and interpret it well. Critical thinking will help them all their lives.”
Foxcroft’s academic program challenges you to develop the analytical, critical thinking, and communications skills you need and your own creative, confident, and independent voice as well. Terrific teachers, who want you to succeed, design hands-on, interdisciplinary lessons and group projects with real-world value. And, in response to our rapidly changing world, the all-girls prep school in the Southeast faculty continually examines course offerings and teaching methods to prepare you for college, career, and anything else the 21st century may bring!
Explore Our Courses
Foxcroft’s comprehensive program also offers 76 courses, including 16 APs — in six disciplines as well as opportunities for independent study, additional courses online through One Schoolhouse, and a distinct humanities track for non-native English speakers. The multi-faceted STEM initiative, which informs all math and science curricula, gives you an advantage in crucial fields typically underrepresented by women and required seminars in Digital Literacy, Wellness, and Financial Literacy address essential personal skills.
More Program Highlights
List of 8 items.
-
AP Courses
Many girls get a leg-up on college by taking Advanced Placement courses, which have a college-level curriculum taught at the high school level. To take these exceptionally challenging courses, which the College Board oversees, you must get permission from the department, do well in the prerequisite courses, and complete significant summer assignments first. In May, students take the AP Exams that match the courses they took; top scores may help you earn college credit In 2016, Foxcroft had an amazing 30 AP Scholars honored for their performance on AP exams. That’s a lot of credits! -
Digital Literacy
Required for freshmen and new sophomores, the Digital Literacy class focuses on three crucial aspects of life in the digital age:- your ability to find, evaluate, utilize, and share information;
- new ways for you to create content using information, technology, and the Internet;
- perhaps most importantly, digital safety so that you better understand the risks associated with putting information online and how to protect what you put there.
-
Educational Technology
Foxcroft strives to make the most effective use of educational technology in all disciplines. The Director of Educational Technology works with faculty to integrate appropriate and innovative technologies in support of student learning. -
Financial Literacy
Offered in conjunction with Invest in Girls, this course consists of four topic-specific workshops each year to prepare you for success, wellness, and a life of leadership and philanthropy. Topics include:- personal finance,
- investing your money,
- financing college,
- taxes and budgets.
-
One Schoolhouse
Foxcroft is a charter affiliate member of the Online School for Girls, which expanded in 2016 to become One Schoolhouse. It presents courses that might not be offered at individual schools. With the approval of the Academic Dean and appropriate Department Chair, a student may take a course for credit during the school year or the summer. One Schoolhouse offers a variety of courses. -
Senior Thesis
An interdisciplinary, multimedia research project, Senior Thesis draws on all the skills students have developed in previous English classes, including literary analysis, public speaking, and expository writing. Foxcusing on topics and literary works of their own choosing, students expand their knowledge and facility with research, ranging from in-house reference sources to search engines, with an emphasis on building a comprehensive bibliography. -
Wellness
Wellness is a four-year, research-based program targeted to the aspects of wellness that most affect our students. Freshmen attend a class that meets regularly during the fall to study topics ranging from nutrition and the female body to the principles of mindfulness, stress, and public speaking, among other things. The program continues with a variety of age-appropriate seminars through the subsequent three years. -
Wintermission
Wintermission is a week-long term in February during which you take one or two intensive courses, generally on a topic very different from your usual classes. These courses encourage students and teachers to examine a subject in great depth and provide opportunities for off-campus travel and service. Students must successfully complete Wintermission term each year they are at Foxcroft. Courses and grades will appear on students’ transcripts.
Faculty
List of 4 items.
-
70%
of faculty have
advanced degrees -
3
teachers have
Ph.D.s -
83%
of faculty and administrators
live on campus -
100%
offer extra help
outside of class
Wellness
List of 1 items.
-
Wellness Program
Foxcroft's motto is mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body), and we help our girls live that through a robust Wellness program. Tailored to their needs and interests, topics change for each grade level and build upon one another, instilling in girls a strong foundation for all-encompassing well-being.
Learn More
Experiential Learning
List of 1 items.
-
Learning is Everywhere
At Foxcroft, everything we do is curriculum — and that means learning occurs in many places and many ways. Foxcroft boasts a variety of unique programs focused on experiences outside the classroom and even beyond the front gate. Explore Experiential Learning at Foxcroft.
Learn More
STEM Initiative
List of 1 items.
-
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
At Foxcroft, these critical fields for the 21st century are compelling, engaging, and fun at Foxcroft. Our landmark STEM Initiative emphasizes inquiry-based labs, using technology with confidence and ease, and hands-on problem-solving — and extends well beyond the classroom. Investigate STEM, one of Foxcroft’s signature programs.
Learn More
Schoolhouse News
-
Nine Students Elected to Foxcroft School Chapter of Cum Laude
Read more >>Five seniors and four juniors have been elected to the Foxcroft School Chapter of the Cum Laude Society, President Matthew Mohler announced recently. They join four members of the Senior Class who were named to the national high school scholastic honor society a year ago.Seniors Haley B., Lily F., Chloe G., Anne K., and Jenna T. were elected to Cum Laude, which is modeled on the collegiate Phi Beta Kappa. In addition, Kenzie G., Nell N., Tam L., and Maya Y. were accorded the special distinction of being selected during their junior year. -
Wintermission Forecasted for Next Week
Instead of snowflakes and cold temperatures, next week’s forecast is calling for engaging classes and inspiring internships — it’s Wintermission! In addition to unique learning experiences on or around campus, we have a group of students joining Head of School Cathy McGehee and Director of Institutional Advancement Marion Couzens as they connect with some of our alumnae and travel up the east coast in their Glass Ceilings, Leaning In, and Mentors — How Women Grow as Leaders class. Another group of students and chaperones are headed to Washington, DC, for a week of service with the Youth Services Opportunity Project. You can follow their adventures on our travel blog, Where’s Foxcroft?Read more >> -
Courtney B. ’20 and Shea H. ’21 Highlight an Outstanding Poetry Festival
Two top finishes each by sophomore Shea H. and junior Courtney B. highlighted an outstanding presentation of original and published poems at Foxcroft School’s 2019 Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival.Read more >>
Shea won the Chimera Poetry Contest, conducted by the School’s literary magazine staff, with an original poem and took the 10th grade Recitation Competition title with a piece by Brenda Shaunessy. Courtney placed second in the Chimera contest and won the coveted Poetry Slam championship to cap a daylong celebration of the written and spoken word that began with a morning reading by visiting poet Tina Barr ’73.
Barr, who recently published her third book of poetry, was the judge at the competitive readings. After noting the superior quality of the terrific presentations by the 12 finalists, she presented the laurels (literally) to Shea and to second-time winner Grace C. ’19 and newcomers Joselyn A. ’20 and Maddie J. ’22 for the best performances in the 12th, 11th, and 9th-grade competitions, respectively. -
Compassion, Innovation, and Class
Read more >>Senior Anne K. wins a provisional patent with application written for AP English Lit
Compassion and innovation are Foxcroft hallmarks and both were demonstrated in December when senior Anne K. received a provisional patent from the United States Patent Office for her “Retractable Limited Dexterity Eating Aid." Receiving a patent is an impressive accomplishment, especially for a young woman (females hold about 10 percent of all the patents in the U.S.). Writing the application for the patent as a school assignment is pretty unusual, too, but thanks to an open-minded teacher and Foxcroft’s willingness to help girls reach their individual goals, that’s just what Anne did: the long and complicated application Anne wrote to obtain the patent was her major writing project for AP English Literature.
“Last year I created an assignment in which each student gets to select her own writing project and I help to guide her through the process,” explains teacher Steve McCarty. “We talk about what the end product looks like and the criteria by which I will grade them. The idea is that they get to try writing something other than the typical English essay.”A patent grant application was indeed different and, Steve says, he learned how to write one right along with Anne. The invention worthy of a patent, however, was all Anne’s. -
Soul Food: Schoolhouse Renovation Student Design Series
Read more >>Constructing or renovating a building touches on a huge variety of topics and skills, and Foxcroft’s Schoolhouse Renovation Student Design Series, a five-seminar program being offered this year, reflects that vividly. One week, the 20 participating students are choosing paint chips, fabric swatches, and flooring samples to decorate the apartment from Friends or Big Bang Theory; the next they are calculating their ecological footprint (try it yourself at www.footprintcalculator.org/) and learning about sustainable construction. In February, they will learn cost estimating in construction, and in April, they will form teams to build their own construction projects using Legos.
Contact
List of 3 members.
An all-girls boarding and day school in Northern Virginia, Foxcroft prepares young women in grades 9-12 for success in college and in life. Our outstanding academic program offers challenging courses, including Advanced Placement classes and an innovative STEM program. Our premiere equestrian program is nationally recognized, and our athletic teams have won conference and state championships. Experience the best in girls' boarding schools: visit Foxcroft.
