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Different.

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We invest in students — in their ideas, their ambitions, their wholeness, their possibilities.

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Matteo C. ’19, Freshman at Yale University
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Suzanne Pinkes, Alumni Parent, West Hartford
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“I have two Watkinson graduates in one of my college courses right now. The way they speak up, the way they question, the way they can analyze and synthesize complex information… this is what we want for our seniors. And the Watkinson students are coming in as freshmen already demonstrating this.” 

Stefanie Chambers, Professor of Political Science at Trinity College
Watkinson at a glance
Authentic, student-centered learning

A small school isn’t limiting.
It’s liberating.

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Kate C., Eighth Grade
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Ryheem M. ’19, Freshman at NYU
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“When you are in engineering classes, your creativity has to flow more than your test-taking abilities… you need to be able to think with other people, be productive when missing a group member, deliver quality work under a close deadline. Watkinson prepares you well for that. Most other students are used to, ‘I have a test’ and that’s it. At Watkinson you learn how to think in all aspects of academia.” 

Aneesh K. ’18, Aerospace Engineering major at Purdue University
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Like many unique experiences, Watkinson’s differences are hard to describe but easy to feel.

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Four to Present at National Conference

Schrader and French, Bernbach and Reese to lead workshops at the 2020 NAIS Annual Conference. Four members of Watkinson’s leadership have been selected to lead hour-long workshops at the prestigious independent school conference presented annually by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Head of School Teri Schrader and Director of Communication Jenni French will…
  • October 7, 2019 12:38 pm·

Watkinson Sending 10th-Anniversary Service Trip to Dominican Republic

Team is comprised of 33 travelers from Watkinson School, the University High School of Engineering, and UConn Health. Myriad sponsorship opportunities available to support our 2019 Dominican Republic Service Team. Watkinson School will send 33 travelers to spend a week in La Romana, Dominican Republic from November 23-30, 2019. Working alongside their hosts from the Good…
  • September 26, 2019 3:00 pm·

Senior Recognized by National Merit Scholarship Program

Watkinson congratulates Clare C. ’20 for being named a Commended Student in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. A letter of commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by Ms. Schrader to Clare for her scholastic talents. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are…
  • September 24, 2019 8:50 am·

Senior Wins Yale Debate Competition

Patrick H. ’20, one of Watkinson’s Global Studies Program diploma students, won the Yale Invitational High School Parliamentary Debate Competition Sunday!! Over 20 hours, Patrick and members of the Watkinson/Westfield Debate Team debated 9 rounds, each with a different resolution and had just 15 minutes to prep each without sources or internet. Patrick give the…
  • September 19, 2019 9:33 am·

Head of School Featured on Podcast

Head of School Teri Schrader had the privilege of being an invited guest on “Parenting Beyond the Headlines”, a podcast hosted by author, educational leader, and current Watkinson trustee Amy Alamar. The most current podcast episode, released on September 10, focuses on the importance of the middle school years, see a trailer here. Alamar describes,…
  • September 10, 2019 2:11 pm·

Watkinson Presents Panel on Middle School Years

Watkinson School is pleased to present “Middle School Years: Myths, Realities, and What a Parent Can Do” on October 16 at the Children’s Museum in West Hartford. The centerpiece of the evening is a forum about how to navigate the special opportunities, challenges and joy of middle schoolers. Learn why the middle school years are…
  • August 27, 2019 1:50 pm·

Back to School Day

We look forward to welcoming ALL middle school and upper school students and parents for Back to School Day on Friday, August 30th.  Registration begins at 7:45 am in the Gym. Please note: all medical, athletic, parent consent, and retreat forms must be returned prior to this date. Parents are encouraged to stay until approximately…
  • August 26, 2019 2:27 pm·

Upper School Head Selected by Anti-Defamation League

Watkinson School is pleased to announce that Upper School Head Ryan Reese was selected by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to be one of nine educators nationally to pilot ADL’s new Civics Education Program. ADL announced that this new program stems from the belief that, “…enabling students to explore their civic engagement and identities through an anti-bias and social justice…
  • August 22, 2019 9:40 am·

New Boys Varsity Soccer Coach

Watkinson School announces Donald Hathorn as the new boys varsity soccer coach. Hathorn comes to Watkinson with extensive coaching experience at the NCAA Division I and II levels, including University of New Haven, Iona College, Niagara University, Valparasio University and Regis University.  Active on the local youth soccer scene, Hathorn has also coached at Farmington…
  • August 21, 2019 11:41 am·

Forms and Information for Current Parents

With the launch of our new website, the location of forms and information for parents has changed. Now, parents can access all back-to-school athletic, nurse, registrar, retreats, and consent and release forms and information from Watkinson’s Start Page, for which the URL is start.watkinson.org. You will also find the 2019-20 Family Handbook here. Simply click…
  • August 21, 2019 11:33 am·

Summer Reading Lists

A reminder to all students and parents: please access Watkinson’s summer reading list and/or the book list by grade in order to be fully ready for your classes on the first day of school.
  • August 19, 2019 4:01 pm·

First-ever SPHERE Community Day

Members of the greater Hartford community visited Watkinson yesterday for the school’s first ever SPHERE Community Day. SPHERE is Watkinson’s nearly 50-year-old summer enrichment program for Hartford elementary students. SPHERE helps students to make academic gains and avoid summer learning loss, focusing on reading, writing, math and technology skills. In addition, over the course of the…
  • July 18, 2019 8:52 am·

Rashawn Dally ’15 Scores His First MLS Goal

Former Watkinson soccer standout Rashawn Dally ’15 scored his first career MLS goal for FC Cincinnati on Saturday night at Nippert Stadium, helping lead his club past Houston by the final score of 3-2. Dally scored in the 38th minute of the contest, giving FC Cincinnati a 2-0 lead just before the end of the first half…
  • July 10, 2019 11:24 am·

Shamarla K. ’20 in Top 100 Nationally

Watkinson School senior and six-foot guard Shamarla K. has been ranked by Don Olson’s ESPN Collegiate Girls Basketball Report as the 70th prospect nationally. She is the only player from CT in the top 100. Shamarla, who came to Watkinson in 9th grade, is a 4-year varsity starter and was a captain her junior year.…
  • July 1, 2019 11:30 am·

Proceeds from 7th Season of Freshly Squeezed Presented

Watkinson School completed its seventh season of Freshly Squeezed with Colin McEnroe by presenting the program’s community partners — Billings Forge, Hartford Stage, and the Mark Twain House and Museum — with checks from the proceeds to benefit their education departments. Watkinson’s Head of School Teri Schrader presented the profits from the 2018-19 Freshly Squeezed season ($2,341 was gifted…
  • June 10, 2019 11:49 pm·

Watkinson Class of 2019 College Matriculations

Watkinson School congratulates all 42 students from the class of 2019 who will graduate on Friday, June 7th. We are proud of their accomplishments and celebrate them attending the following Colleges and Universities:Bard CollegeBentley UniversityBoston University (3)Brandeis UniversityBryn Mawr CollegeCentral CT State UniversityClark University (2)Connecticut CollegeEckerd CollegeFairfield UniversityHigh Point UniversityHofstra UniversityLynn University (2)Manhattanville CollegeMarist CollegeNew…
  • June 5, 2019 10:36 am·
Ryan Reese

Upper School Head Published

Watkinson’s Head of Upper School Ryan Reese was recently published in the University of Chicago’s Journal of Education, Schools. He coauthored an article called, “School’s the Right Place for Love, or Why We Keep Teaching” with Charles Logan from Ohio State University and April Peet Vos from the Maple School in Northbrook, Illinois.” In the article,…
  • May 28, 2019 10:40 am·

City Scholar Program Receives Support from United Bank Foundation

Watkinson School is pleased to announce it has received $2,500 from United Bank Foundation to support the school’s City Scholar Program. Watkinson’s City Scholar Program provides scholarship funding for Hartford students who are college bound but not yet college ready to attend The Academy. An extension of Watkinson’s unique approach to education, The Academy is…
  • May 17, 2019 10:43 am·

Jess Testani Named Athletic Trainer of the Year

Our incredible trainer, Jess Testani was recognized today by the Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA) as the secondary school Athletic Trainer of the Year! The award, given annually since 1994, is given to one trainer in all of Connecticut for outstanding contributions to the Athletic Training profession in Connecticut. The Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA)…
  • May 16, 2019 10:53 am·

Joe Kotler ’85 Visits

Joe Kotler ’85 had a wonderful visit at Watkinson and reunited with his favorite Watkinson teacher, Chip Apfelbaum. Joe owns his own business, Independent Restaurant Solutions, which provides web-based solutions to family-owned restaurants.
  • May 5, 2019 11:23 am·

Social Justice Day 2019

by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern Wednesday April 10th wasn’t just another Wednesday at Watkinson, but rather Watkinson’s second annual Social Justice Day. Once a year, a mixture of students and special guests run socially conscious workshops to bring awareness to issues or subjects that they find important. These topics are discussed in…
  • April 22, 2019 10:55 am·

Watkinson Baseball Is Back!

Watkinson Baseball returned to the diamond yesterday. Coach Dietelbaum says, “Playing again was awesome in and of itself, but winning 11-7 at Avon Old Farms was pretty sweet!”. Highlights included Jack N. ’21 spun a gem, pitching a complete game, striking out 10 and allowing only 2 earned runs; 8 different Watkinson players reached base,…
  • April 18, 2019 11:04 am·

Upper School Model UN heads to Dartmouth

Watkinson’s upper school Model United Nations attended Dartmouth Model UN (DartMUN) last weekend (April 5-7) with 8 students. Jackson F. ’21 won an “outstanding delegate” award for his work representing Chief of Staff for the Philippines Navy (PN) – Carlito Galvez Jr.; his committee was the Duterte Administration. DartMUN was comprised of students playing the…
  • April 15, 2019 11:21 am·

Watkinson Senior Manages Successful Eagle Scout Project

by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern Watkinson senior, Oliver A., enacted a large scale service-learning initiative as part of his Eagle Scout project. Oliver decided to partner with Chrysalis Center’s Freshplace Program, which provides healthy, fresh foods to families in need in the North End of Hartford. For those who cannot physically make…
  • April 8, 2019 11:24 am·

Senior Thalia P. Has Original Play Read at Hartford Stage

.Thalia P. ’19 was chosen to participate in Write On, Hartford Stage’s Annual Young Playwrights’ Competition. The competition is open to all Connecticut residents in grades 9-12. From among these applicants, 5-6 are selected to participate in the program. The program is modeled on Hartford Stage’s new play development process, and Write On playwrights have…
  • March 29, 2019 11:29 am·

Global Studies Students Attend UConn Event “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor”

by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern This month, the upperclassmen will have a big opportunity with global impact. A global studies event held at the University of Connecticut will give the students thesocietal tools they need to understand other cultures as they move into the collegiate world. This Global Studies Event will be…
  • March 12, 2019 11:38 am·

The Future Perfect Project at Watkinson

by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern Announcing an extraordinary opportunity for the Watkinson community: the nationwide “Future Perfect Project” brings its LGBTQ initiative to Watkinson. The Future Perfect Project is an ongoing series of workshops, designed to provide LGBTQ high school students and student allies with songwriting and storytelling techniques and the opportunity…
  • February 20, 2019 11:45 am·

Shamarla K. ’20 Scores 1000th point

by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern This time last year, Alexsia R. ’20 was the 10th student in Watkinson’s history to score 1000 points in basketball. Now, almost one year later to the day, Watkinson is proud to add yet another name to that list. Junior Shamarla K. scored her 1000th point against…
  • February 9, 2019 12:52 pm·

Preparations For SPHERE Are Underway

by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern Watkinson’s SPHERE Summer Program is entering its 47th summer with the goal of helping Hartford elementary students discover that learning can be achieved through varied creative and recreational activities. Each summer, Watkinson School enrolls 80-90 Hartford children, grades 1-5, in SPHERE and gives them a chance at…
  • February 6, 2019 1:05 pm·

Sophomores Chosen to Speak at Leadership Greater Hartford’s Common Ground Graduation

by Alexa Miano, University of Hartford Communications Intern On December 11th at 6pm, Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) had graduation proceedings for Common Ground program participants at the Lincoln Financial Group located in Downtown Hartford. Watkinson’s Head of School, Teri Schrader, was represented as a local leader and chosen to be the keynote speaker at the…
  • December 21, 2018 1:08 pm·

Sophomore Represents CT at Facebook Competition

Watkinson sophomore Angelique P. will compete with Girls For Technology, Inc. and represent the State of Connecticut at Facebook headquarters to compete in the final round of the Engineer For The Week Challenge (EFTW) to further develop Artificial Intelligence (AI), EBONI – a Chabot for young Black professionals. During fall of 2018, Facebook announced a national open…
  • December 20, 2018 1:14 pm·

CAP Students in New York for Broadway Workshop

CAP students did a Broadway workshop last Friday in New York City at the Pearl Rehearsal Studios with Hamiltoncast member Thayne Jasperson. Jasperson has been in the Broadway smash hit musical since it opened, playing Samuel Seabury, singing and dancing in the chorus, and understudying the role of King George. Jasperson has also been on Broadway…
  • December 18, 2018 1:17 pm·

6th Grade Watkinson Student Makes a Difference Following Tragedy

by Alexa Miano, University of Hartford Communications Intern 6th grader Julia S. heard about the tragic shooting that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27th. She felt concerned about attending classes at her synagogue the following morning. This motivated her to start thinking about what she could do to…
  • December 4, 2018 1:23 pm·

Watkinson’s mission is to develop in our students the power to shape their lives and the world around them.

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Founded in 1881, Watkinson School is an independent, coeducational day school for students from grades 6–PG with a legacy of leadership in progressive education.

We admit students regardless of race, color, religion, origin, or orientation.

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