Applewild Programs

Founded in 1957 to honor Charles and Fay Bigelow Crocker’s dream, Applewild ever since has retained a palpable sense of family and community. As the school has grown and prospered, it has maintained its emphasis on effective partnership with parents and individual relationships based on mutual trust and respect. These help assure a safe, wholesome environment in which trying hard and doing one’s best are the norm.

We focus on students age 4 – 15, believing that they are enthusiastic learners who prosper in an environment in which adults know them, have high expectations for them and inspire them. Our students explore a wide range of academic and co-curricular endeavors to fully stimulate their brains, discover their talents and celebrate those of their classmates. The arts at Applewild are an essential ingredient in every student’s education, just as physical education and, for our older students, team sports provide valuable learning opportunities.

The core of our program is our challenging curriculum. By the time our students leave our UpperSchool, they are capable of reading for detail and nuance and writing carefully crafted papers in English and history; and most also are prepared for advanced study in mathematics, science, and foreign language. Our graduates are also frequently leaders in their secondary schools as artists, actors, instrumentalists, singers, and/or athletes.

Our students are engaged in our community – our service programs have earned recognition in the state just as our history students and jazz band have – and their experience is further expanded by class trips and opportunities to travel overseas and to host visitors from other countries. Our aim is to prepare students who will not simply succeed and lead in secondary school but who will have internalized the skills needed to meet their futures with confidence, knowing that they can make a difference.

Christopher B. Williamson

Head of School