Programs
Academics

Experiential Learning

Everything we do is curriculum.
At Foxcroft, learning takes place in many different places and in many different ways. We don’t believe that the classroom and traditional subjects have a monopoly on helping you develop the skills and understanding that will help you succeed in life. Caring for yourself and others, exploring the world beyond our boarding prep school for girls in Virginia, and engaging in a variety of intellectual, practical, and social endeavors in different settings offer you many essential — and exciting! — educational opportunities as well.

News

  • Claire H. ’21 collected four water samples from Goose Creek to analyze as Foxcroft works toward certification as an official National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat.

    Students and Faculty Work to have Campus Certified as National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat

    From STEAM Concentration Student Claire H. ’21

    Last weekend a group of students joined Ms. O’Quinn and Dr. Tuttle for a second time as we completed our efforts to have the Foxcroft campus certified as a National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Wildlife Habitat. Supplied with a checklist provided by the NWF, students hiked all over campus, through the fields, and down to Goose Creek, identifying all of the elements necessary to certify the campus. The checklist required us to identify sources of food, water, shelter, and places to raise young as well as to confirm the use of sustainable practices on campus. Students who helped to complete the checklist earned hours that will go toward earning a WeekendMission badge or certificate in environmental stewardship.
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  • For their final project, Physics M students were asked to make a video demonstrating a static electricity

    The Great Foxcroft Physics Show!

    For their final project, Physics M students were asked to demonstrate their understanding of static electricity as part of the Great Foxcroft Magic Physics Show! Using their knowledge of physics, students were asked to make a video demonstrating a static electricity magic trick then explain to the viewers both how to do the trick at home as well as the physics behind it. The videos were then shared with Banneker Elementary students so that they could try the tricks at home!
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  • Elsie R. ’21 became a pen pal with a resident of Spring Arbor Assisted Living.

    Foxcroft Girls Hold On to the Value of Service

    From Experiential Learning & Service Learning Coordinator Beth O’Quinn

    Although our ability to physically get out into the community has been curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, Foxcroft girls have continued to reach out to our neighbors with helping hands in new and creative ways.
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  • London H. ’23, along with her mom and their horses, Silver and Charlie, visited Fahrney-Keedy Home & Village last week.

    Using the Power of Horses to Spark Joy at Local Senior Living Facility

    By London H. ’23

    Last Monday, my mom and I were muddling through our daily COVID-19 routine, trying to occupy our hours with school, work, exercise, and family time. As my mom took a break and started scrolling through Instagram, she saw a post from the United States Equestrian Federation about horses visiting nursing homes. The pictures of the residents looking through windows at the horses were truly heart-warming. Touched by those photos and remembering Foxcroft’s recent Day of Service, my mom and I knew what to do. We were inspired and set out to replicate the wonderful act of service with two of our horses, Silver and Charlie.
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  • The junior class visited the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Woodend Sanctuary in Chevy Chase, Maryland and the Rust Sanctuary in Leesburg, Virginia.

    Junior Class Carries on Tradition of Philanthropy

    by Julia G. ’21

    Foxcroft has a long history of fostering leadership and a commitment to giving through student-organized service projects. The Junior Class Philanthropy Project, in particular, has been a long-standing part of the Foxcroft experience and began in 1986. Each year the Junior Class selects a non-profit organization and undertakes the responsibility of raising funds in support of the work they do. This year, the Class of 2021 selected the Audubon Naturalist Society.
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Service Learning

Giving back to the community is a fundamental part of a Foxcroft education – and has been since the all girls boarding school in Virginia was founded. Today, we use the service learning model, in which students engage in activities with intentional learning goals and dedicated time for reflection to undergird programs from curricular-based initiatives such as EPICS and on-going partnerships with non-profit to regular, occasional, and ad hoc service opportunities coordinated by our full-time Service Learning Coordinator — and learn to care about and make a difference in the world around them.

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  • Banneker Elementary School

    Banneker Buddies brings girls to nearby Banneker Elementary School to help in many ways. They assist teachers in the classroom, work with students on various assignments, and are a positive presence at special events. The volunteer opportunity is successful because our girls genuinely care about the children they work with and have developed authentic relationships with them.

  • Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation

    Foxcroft girls "think pink" all year, actively helping to spread breast cancer awareness and raising money to support the Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation (CBBCF) in a number of ways.  Foxcroft's support has been so significant and consistent that the CBBCF Board of Directors has established two permanent seats on the Board for Foxcroft students, a rare opportunity for high school students. 

    Each fall, Foxcroft students are a large and enthusiastic presence at Nanette's Walk (aka the Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Walk, Run and Pooch Prance), which is hosted on campus. In January, Foxcroft conducts the Think Pink Basketball Tournament for high school, junior varsity and middle school girls teams.  The donations from both events and other fundraising activities throughout the year benefit the Cherry Blossom Breast Cancer Foundation. Over the past nine years, Foxcroft has raised more than $50,000 for the organization.

  • EPICS: Engineering Projects in CommunityService

    EPICS -- Engineering Projects in Community Service -- is a design-based service learning program through which student teams provide engineering solution for local non-profits. Foxcroft is the first girls' school in Virginia to become part of Purdue University’s EPICS High Program and has completed more than a dozen projects for local schools, foundations, centers for individuals with special needs and other organizations. Read more about Foxcroft's other STEM activities and view a gallery of EPICS projects here.

  • Foxcroft Humane Foundation

    Volunteers help to organize and clean the Middleburg Humane Foundation shelter and grounds in Marshall, VA. They also socialize with the animals, most of whom are rescue and abused, neglected or 'at risk' animals and hold campus drives for blankets and pet supplies periodically.

  • Goose Creek Association

    Students volunteer to plant trees in the riparian buffer of Goose Creek, which runs through campus and learn the skills necessary to become certified stream water monitors.

  • Junior Class Walk

    This annual fundraiser is organized by the Junior Class each year to benefit a non-profit of the class members' choice. Girls educate the community about the organization and its work and stage an all-school walk (or run) each Spring. Recent beneficiaries of the walkathon include the Heifer International, the Polaris Project, Juvenile Diabetes, Room to Read, and Less Cancer.

  • Marker Miller Orchard Gleaning

    Annually student volunteers glean fresh fruits from the Marker Mill Orchards in Winchester, VA., so that the produce can be donated to area food banks.

  • Mobile Hope Loudoun

    Students began working with Mobile Hope Loudoun in 2015. Volunteers work at the organization's Leesburg facility, doing a variety of tasks to support its mission of trying to improve the lives of children 24 years of age or younger who are at-risk, precariously housed or homeless in Loudoun County.  

  • NW Works

    This Winchester, VA-based organization, works to enable adults with disabilities and significant barriers to employment to gain and sustain employment and training. Foxcroft students help by working with the individuals to plant vegetable and flower gardens. In addition, through the EPICS program, engineering students have designed and built planting boxes, sorting tables, and other items to assist NW Works in establishing an on-going produce business.

  • Red Cross Blood Drives

    Foxcroft hosts Red Cross Blood Drives on campus each year. Students support this effort by helping to promote the drives, greeting and caring for donors when they come to give, and, if qualified and given permission by parents, donating blood.

  • Recycling Collection

    Faculty, staff, and students have embraced the on-campus recycling program, due to the enthusiasm and drive of the students. Stream-lined systems have reduced waste and introduced more efficient ways of doing things, and everyone supports these changes.

  • Seven Loaves Food Bank

    Student volunteers aid in food drives and assist the local food bank in sorting donations and stocking shelves.

  • Spring Arbor of Leesburg

    An assisted living community, Spring Arbor of Leesburg has many elderly residents who enjoy visits from Foxcroft girls, who provide companionship and entertainment several times a year.

  • Sprout Therapeutic Riding & Education Center

    Located in nearby Aldie, VA, Sprout Therapeutic Riding and Education Center provides equine assisted activities and therapies to individuals with special needs. Foxcroft students get trained as volunteers and assist with lessons on a weekly basis.

  • Special Friends

    Special Friends visit local senior citizens throughout the year, spending time with the elderly playing games, listening to stories, singing songs, and making friends.

  • Women Giving Back

    Women Giving Back is a community service club which collects, sorts, and distributes recycled women’s clothing to homeless women re-entering the workforce.

Co-Curriculum

A variety of experiences outside the traditional academic setting enriches the Foxcroft learning experience. Some of these are annual events that expose students to topics they might not otherwise explore and different approaches to mastering them. Others bring individuals of diverse talents and expertise to campus to share their real-life experiences.

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  • Goodyear Fellows Program

    The Alison Harrison Goodyear Fellowship Program brings women and men who have achieved renown in the fields of the arts, humanities, science, or public affairs to campus to participate in discussions and seminars with students. 

  • Helen Cudahy Niblack '42 Arts Lecture Series

    Established by Austi Brown ’73 in honor of her mother, Helen Cudahy Niblack, Class of 1942, the Niblack Arts Lecture Series brings a variety of literary, performing and fine artists, artisans, and designers to Foxcroft to share their work and experience while engaging students in the creative process.

  • Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival

    What better way to learn about poetry than by experiencing it in different ways? That’s why our annual includes a poetry reading competition in which every student takes part, a poetry slam of original student spoken-word performances, and open mic opportunities for girls to share poems they’ve written or they love. All this, in addition to readings, workshops, and informal meetings with established poets who are brought to campus for the event! Recent Poets-In-Residence has included: Jennifer Chang, Sandra Beasley, Tina Barr ’73, and Joel Dias Porter, as well as performance poets Clint Smith, George Yamazawa, and Jason LeVasseur.

  • STEM Competitions

    Girls have fun with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics annually at Foxcroft’s wildly-popular interscholastic STEM competition just for girls. About 175 girls, many of them from Foxcroft, come from 20-plus middle and high schools to take on a variety of intriguing challenges, solve problems, and win all kinds of prizes. Read about this year's event, sponsored by K2M Inc, a biomedical company in Leesburg, VA, or watch a student-made video about the day.

  • Wintermission

    Wintermission is a week-long term in February, during which regular classes are suspended so that students can experience a different way of learning. You might choose to examine a subject in great depth from a more hands-on, experiential perspective, or take a class in practical skills such as home repair, handicrafts, or filmmaking. Or you might spend the week as an intern at one of a dozen different local establishments from the bank, art gallery, or elementary school to an organic farm or biomedical lab. Opportunities for off-campus travel and service are often available as well. Take a look at the course catalog and read the students' blog from recent Wintermission terms to see what it’s about

Global Connections

Interacting with and exploring the world beyond our gates is crucial as the global village continues to shrink. Our community is diverse with individuals from a score of states and more than a dozen countries, and national and world events are frequent topics of discussion in and out of the classroom. But nothing beats getting out to see and experience different cultures, so we try to do it often!

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  • Exchange Programs

    Foxcroft has exchange programs with schools in France and Spain, each with its own unique qualities. The exchange with Le Centre Madeleine Danielou, near Paris, features home stays along with sightseeing and school visits and recent exchanges to Spain have focused on learning the language.

  • Local Riches

    There are an amazing number of historical, cultural, and academic resources within a short drive of Foxcroft and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to explore them on course-related field trips, weekend jaunts, and class trips of all kinds. You might visit the National Art Gallery, Holocaust Museum, or the Capitol in Washington, D.C., relive history at Gettysburg or Harper’s Ferry, or go hiking or caving in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Class trips, both cultural and to bond in nature, are annual events as is the junior year visit to a nearby college to kick off the application process.

  • Traveling the Globe

    Foxcroft sponsors a number of major trips, either in conjunction with Wintermission or at vacation times. Recent adventures have taken students to the Galapagos Islands, Senegal, Honduras, and Peru, as well as to Space Camp (Huntsville, AL), New York, and New Mexico. Read about some of our adventures on the “Where’s Foxcroft?” blog.
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.
Foxcroft School, 22407 Foxhound Lane, Middleburg, VA 20117  |  Phone: 540.687.5555