Upper School
The Power of Possibility
At King, our students bring a unique blend of interests and talents to the educational experience. No two journeys are the same. Our schedule allows the flexibility for students to pursue passions and explore new interests. King students have access to a wide range of offerings that allow them customize their studies while deepening their identities as scholars.
King offers a four-year college counseling program. Starting in Grade 9, students are paired with an experienced counselor who guides the college preparatory journey. Students work with their counselors, teachers, and families to shape their curricular and co-curricular strategies, prepare for standardized tests, identify the right list of colleges, complete applications and make the right selection.
King's Upper School emphasizes self-knowledge, expansive learning, and courageous thinking — the very qualities that lead to happy and healthy lives filled with possibility.
Upper School Students Emphasize Courageous Learning
At King, we emphasize that an excellent education takes students where they want to go. We also believe that courage and compassion are essential components in the search for purpose, a key element of a King education. Our students support one another as they begin to bring their ambitions into sharper focus and work to achieve their goals, cheered on by the whole community.Marnie Sadlowsky, Head of Upper School
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Upper School in Action
Parsing economic trends takes time and skill, making the King Economic Research: Weekly Market Report and King Cast podcast valuable for the community. Produced by King School economics students, each product calls for research, analysis, and reporting that cultivates excellent fluency in economics for the students creating them.
King School is proud to share that two students, Ben Persily ’23 and Gouri Krishnan ’23, have been selected as Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) Top Scholars for their research work in King’s Advanced Science Program for Independent Research and Engineering (ASPIRE).
The prestigious nature of this scholarship can not be overstated: previous recipients of this award have gone on to collect 14 Nobel Prizes and 19 MacArthur Fellows, among other extraordinary accolades.
A yearly tradition continued prior to break as upper school French 201 students were welcomed in Grade 5 to discuss the francophile world. The student-led lessons highlighted language, cuisine, sports, and culture in fun and engaging ways.
A delegation of students, faculty, and staff proudly represented King School at the NAIS’ People of Color Conference and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Peals of laughter and applause echoed through the Performing Arts Center during showings of the Upper School Fall Play, “Clue: On Stage.” Directed by performing arts teacher Mark Silence, the cast and crew showcased their hard work and talent, entertaining audiences in all three performances.
In mid-November, six King students attended the Girls Advancing In STEM (GAINS) conference in what was the first in-person gathering for the community since the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which took place at Yale University, spanned three days during which high school girls interested in STEM connected with role models working in STEM fields.
Students in King School’s Model UN club traveled to Brown University to compete in BUSUN, the university's Model UN simulation, for the first time in-person since 2021. The experience reinforced students’ strong academic lessons and helped them better understand their individual responsibilities as global citizens.
Throughout his time in the King Upper School, Tommy Heaton ’23 developed an interest in credit cycles, the recurring economic phases of borrowing and lending. After parsing decades of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meetings and finding patterns in recessions, he distilled his findings into a research paper that is garnering attention.
King School congratulates James Raidt ’23, who has committed to Duke Baseball after officially signing his NCAA Division I National Letter of Intent. The early signing took place in the upper school gymnasium on Wednesday in a ceremony held before family, coaches, and friends. James has attended King his entire academic career and fully embodies the school’s virtues and commitment to excellence.