Westtown School

LEADERSHIP and EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ● LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Westtown has many leadership positions including the Student Body Presidents, Work Program heads, chief prefects, prefects, proctors, peer tutors, writing fellows, class officers, Weekend Program heads, and sports team captains. In all of these positions, students work closely with adults and their peers to actively consider what it means to lead at Westtown and in the rest of society. These experiential positions afford students the opportunity to learn about their own leadership styles and to hone effective leadership skills, skills that not only serve them Westtown, but also far beyond high school. ● QUAKER LEADERSHIP PROGRAM: The Quaker Leadership Program seeks to deepen students' spiritual lives, develop friendships, and teach effective Quaker leadership skills. Seminars teach students how to clerk a business meeting, how to provide effective vocal ministry, and how to lead social justice activities such as fair trade practices. This program has developed a strong sense of community and identity for our Quaker students, and has enhanced the leadership skills of all students who attend. ● ORGANIC FARM: Students participate in planting and harvesting vegetables from our on-campus organic farm, helping to provide fresh food for our community in the fall and spring terms. Class gardening projects and harvest celebrations bring the community together at the farm. There are student leadership opportunities as Farm Managers as well. ● SERVICE LEARNING: Service learning integrates community service work with academic learning, both inside and outside the classroom. Students engage in community service in a variety of ways: in afternoon and weekend programs and in individual classes. ● WORK PROGRAM: Work Program reaffirms the value of service to others and the dignity of all work. All Upper School students complete a variety of work experiences, including janitorial and kitchen jobs. Students exhibiting excellent leadership skills may also be selected as a captain of a work crew for at least one work cycle, gaining valuable experience in leadership and management of a team working toward a common goal. Deep Dive Certificate Program Westtown puts action at the center of each student’s experience. We empower students to dig deep, think big, and make an impact. The Deep Dive Certificate Program honors Upper School students who are engaged in an intentional, organized, and well-documented arc of immersive learning and focused scholarship. Students create the path from initial interest to successful capstone projects. Upon completion of the program, students receive a certificate celebrating their sustained concentration and thoughtful synthesizing of a broad array of experiences and academic work. The designation is noted on the student’s transcript, providing our students with yet another way of standing out from the crowd. Students may pursue more than one Deep Dive. The Deep Dive Designations promote an interdisciplinary lens through which students design and experience their education. Deep Dive Certificates are offered in these areas: Sustainability Leadership; Global Leadership; Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice; Data-Driven Change; and Multidisciplinary Arts. Program Framework While each program area has a different focus, all share a common framework. Each one has a set of academic requirements. All of these may be met as students fulfill course requirements for graduation. Students must complete four projects over their junior and senior year from within other courses in their individual academic programs. For instance, a student in Latin American History may focus a research assignment on land use and degradation in the Caribbean as a part of the Deep Dive in Leadership for Sustainability. The Deep Dives include an off-campus immersion experience. Students may satisfy this part of the program in a variety of ways: through a school-sponsored trip, a service project, an internship, or other means of immersion. Students must participate in one of Westtown’s many on-campus extra-curricular or co-curricular offerings. A student involved in the Global Leadership Deep Dive might serve as the club head for the International Student organization or the Students of Color Association. Over their junior and senior years, students will build a portfolio of work. In collaboration with the program director, students will create and complete a Capstone Project that demonstrates authentic action-based learning, ties all of the certificate experiences into a cogent, reflective whole, and connects to Westtown’s Global Competencies.

Westtown’s Wellness Center is dedicated to the physical and emotional health of the school’s students and is staffed by a pediatric nurse practitioner, registered nurses, psychologists, a school counselor, and counseling externs. Nursing services are available 24/7, and mental health services are available during school hours and on call after hours. Additionally, the Wellness Center staff includes several doctoral-level psychology students who work primarily with Upper School students. The Wellness Center maintains close contact with the Chester County Department of Health in matters of public health. The Wellness Center also offers flu shots to Upper School students and all faculty and staff.

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