About Emma Willard School | Private All-Girls High School

Academics

Emma Willard School's curriculum focuses on three pillars: Intellectual Flexibility, Purpose & Community, and Equity & Justice. Our academic program offers more than 140 courses, including Emma's own unique Advanced Studies options. Personalized study programs enable students to dive deep into a topic or field of their choosing, and gain hands-on experience.

School Life

Education at Emma isn’t limited to the classroom—it’s woven into the fabric of our community. With students from around the world and across the United States, and faculty and staff with a wide breadth of life experiences, you will broaden your perspective the moment you walk onto campus.

Bonds created in the residence and dining halls, while practicing for an athletics match or arts performance, at one of our many cherished traditions, and all the little moments in between, define the Emma experience.

A History of Empowerment

At the age of 23, Emma Hart Willard opened the doors of her home in Middlebury, Vermont, to girls seeking a rich educational experience comparable with their brothers.

She pioneered girls’ education, taking it from focusing on “the charms of youth and beauty” to intellectually stimulating and rigorous courses in mathematics, geography, history, science, and philosophy.

More than 200 years later, Emma Willard School continues to proudly foster in each of our girls a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life; and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world.