Emma Willard School is a place to discover what it means to be your best self. We commend you on taking the initiative to seek out the perfect school for you. By doing so, you already show that you are ready for something more than the high school experience.
Madame Emma Hart Willard founded her school on the basis of providing girls with a first-class education that challenged, inspired, and enabled them to serve and shape their worlds.
More than 200 years later, Emma Willard School proudly continues to carry on this mission.
Emma Willard School's curriculum allows girls to focus their future aspirations, and equips them with the interdisciplinary knowledge competitive colleges are looking for.
Our academic program offers more than 140 courses, including Advanced Placement options, where girls engage in discourse that brings context to high-level concepts and understanding of the world we live in. Personalized study programs enable girls to dive deep into a topic or field of their choosing, and gain hands-on experience.
Education at Emma isn’t limited to the classroom—it’s woven into the fabric of our community. With girls 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 between Emma Girls 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 many girls’ Emma experience.
In the Spring 2022 edition of Emma Willard School’s Signature magazine, we introduce the leadership of our recently-announced capital campaign, Infinite Horizon, and explore some of the early gifts of the campaign.
In “Finding the Connection,” we feature alumnae and students who share special connections through pursuits and interests that tie them across the decades. Although times change, Emma students past and present continue to share mutual passions.
We also explore the concepts of belonging and equity, hearing from inaugural Head of Institutional Equity and Inclusion Christine Gilmore, as well as other members of the Emma community, on how these themes impact life at Emma Willard School.
In her “Leading In” letter, Head of School Jenny Rao looks toward our horizon, saying, “The energy and excitement I feel for Emma Willard School at this moment are indescribable. We have lived through unprecedented times of late. They have challenged us and found us steadfast in our will to persevere. Together we will rise above this moment and, in the words of our founder, now is the time to extend our view to futurity. I encourage you to look within these pages and see beyond. The horizon, our horizon, is infinite.”
We invite you to explore the Spring 2022 edition of Signature and look toward your own horizons. Will they lead you back to Mount Ida?
In support of the launch of Infinite Horizon: The Campaign for Emma Willard School, this edition of the magazine included a special insert section that outlines the priorities of the campaign. We invite you to view that supplemental content here:
Honoring its founder’s vision, Emma Willard School proudly fosters in each young woman 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.
Welcome to Emma Willard School, a private day and boarding high school for girls in Troy, NY, and a leader in girls' education for over 200 years.
PLEASE NOTE: All visitors to campus must check in with Campus Safety, which can be found at the red flag entrance to Sage Hall (Pawling Ave. entrance).