The Key to Self-Discovery
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about The Key to Self-Discovery
Welcome to the Upper School
An Expansive Adventure
Schools that urge high school students to follow the expected path, check only the right boxes, and polish their resumes are failing our students -- and breeding stress and anxiety.
At King School, we set a better standard by encouraging students to see learning as a personal adventure; one without a defined beginning, middle, or end. Our students engage deeply with the experience of education -- not just mastering material, but also inviting collaboration, applying knowledge, and making unexpected discoveries.
A Better Standard for Upper School
When young adults are cheered on as they begin to take ownership of their ambitions and achievements, they feel like stars of a team designed and built for their drive for excellence. As a private high school located in Stamford, CT, King school empowers students to unleash their greatness by emphasizing self-knowledge, expansive learning, and courageous thinking -- the very qualities that lead to happy, healthy, and purposeful lives.
LEARN HOW KING SETS BETTER STANDARDS
Learn more about Upper School: Grades 9-12
The Tools for Greatness
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“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, Associate Head of School for Program and Head of Upper School
“Conducting my own scientific research in the Advanced Science Program for Research and Engineering (ASPIRE) is an incomparable experience.”
— Ashley X., Upper School student
"It’s fascinating to learn the stories of others, and how aspects of people's experiences have come to formulate what they believe. To me, there's always something to be learned from every person and their experiences."
— Will H., Upper School student
Meet our Community
Upper School in Action
Currently in its third season, King Cast is a lively, weekly, podcast/videocast produced by students in King's Upper School Economics Division. "When I first joined the King Cast, I was worried I wasn't going to be able to keep up, but I have learned so much about not just economics, but also about working with a team to produce an entire show," says Jake Murphy '21, the show's video editor.
When the Upper School's newly formed human rights cohort was asked if they would like the opportunity to create community programming for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the answer was a resounding "yes." Together, students worked to create an interactive board game style activity designed to uncover unsung Civil Rights heroes and stories.
Sammy Hillenmeyer and Joe Winterlich have been recognized among the top 300 scholars in the 80th Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS), the nation's oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition for high school seniors. As scholars, they are in the running to make the top 40 finalists list (to be announced on January 21).
As students in King's Advanced Science Program for Independent Research and Engineering (ASPIRE), Sammy and Joe are both conducting original, impressive research as interns in a R01-level research laboratory.
A group of Upper School students met with representatives from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Organization in mid-December to be trained in human rights advocacy, forming the first Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights cohort at King. They are already using their training to create meaningful community programming.
JC Fredette '21, Ronnie Harvey '22, Sammy Hillenmeyer '21, Nick Jiang '22, Nadia Kucher '21, and Joaquin Silvani '21 are all studying multivariable calculus with Mathematics Faculty Dr. Laura Toniolo. Recently, these six students had an opportunity to collaborate together to transform the theoretical material they learned in class into an actual product, a Quadrics Mobile. Nadia describes the hands-on project, sharing, "Graphing quadrics in 3D is much more challenging than you would think, so by printing them, we were able to visualize what we had learned. Not only were we able to visualize our quadrics in a physical object, but we had to overcome several obstacles to ultimately balance our quadrics and create a functional mobile."
Congratulations to the 42 seniors who have been accepted and have already committed to attend their first choice college or university!
A group of King Upper School students and staffulty attended the 2020 National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC), and its student counterpart, the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), and found it to be a meaningful and productive experience, despite the virtual format. "I personally enjoyed SDLC just as much as I did in person," says Sarah Cepeda '22, who attended the in-person conference in Seattle last year. "I wasn't expecting to have such a powerful experience." For King students, SDLC's affinity groups were the highlight of the conference. "The Latinx affinity group was amazing," says Sofia Izurieta '23. "Sometimes I've wondered if I really do belong here. Seeing and talking to other people who look like me and have the same background as me made me realize that I'm not alone. I do belong here. I do deserve to be here."
Adam Boaz, English Faculty and Grade Dean Grade 11, teaches a senior elective "Understanding, Appreciating, and Creating Poetry." The students and Mr. Boaz invite you to watch the video they produced of their poetry reading. Mr. Boaz describes the class, sharing "it is thrilling to read and discuss the works of contemporary poets with [my students], watch them learn the craft and techniques that professional poets use, and then apply what they have learned to their own creative process." Sydney Fishkin '21 reflects, "I really liked the poetry process. It allows you to express yourself without directly telling people what you are really talking about. It was very freeing.” Classmate Ian Marsh '21 adds, “I really enjoyed making poems in this class, and I was always satisfied with the results. It was a way to be open about myself in a way I never thought I could.”
A unique co-curricular STEM project geared toward life-science is taking place in the Upper School. Students, guided by Acting Chair of the Science Department Nick DeFelice, are constructing a living, biologically cycling ecosystem – a vivarium. Ian Marsh '21 describes his enthusiasm in addressing this challenge, saying, "To be able to help make a habitat for a species that is near endangerment is a great experience that I am so happy to be a part of."