We empower students to
School Profile 2020-21 own their learning.
BANCROFT SCHOOL AT A GLANCE ancroft students have shaped their education in a supportive Bcommunity that encourages intellectual risk and puts a • PreK–12 independent, co-ed day school premium on strong personal relationships. Our graduates stand on their own two feet because they have been allowed to stumble, • Located in Worcester, MA make mistakes, learn, grow, and succeed. You will never find • Students from Central MA, MetroWest Boston, Northern CT a Bancroft alum on the sidelines, waiting for others to create solutions. You will find them engaging, leading, collaborating, • 395 students in three divisions and taking thoughtful action. Bancroft School is designed as a • 209 students in Upper School (9–12) learning laboratory where students ask questions, share ideas, and solve problems through research, experimentation, and • 15 international students in Upper School reflection. Students leave Bancroft ready to make independent • 5:1 average student/teacher ratio decisions and manage multiple priorities because they have had plenty of practice. • 12 students average class size STUDENT LEADERSHIP & • 71% of faculty hold advanced degrees COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT • 31% students of color Bancroft School is located in Worcester, MA, New England’s second-largest city, which boasts a socioeconomically and • $4 million in financial aid annually ethnically diverse population of 185,000 and a broad array of • 40% of students receive financial aid cultural and academic opportunities. You may find our students working in a medical research lab, developing materials for the • 100% college acceptance rate Worcester Historical Society, partnering with artists creating • Founded in 1900 murals throughout the city, or teaching fellow students how to engage in the political process. Students also lead 29 different CLASS OF 2021 ACADEMIC STATISTICS clubs within the school.
• 43 Students Students are also heavily involved in community service. Notable examples include Bancroft’s popular CARE & Horizons Program • Average GPA: 3.37 after junior year in which students volunteer their Saturday mornings to mentor • SAT Scores (Middle 50%): 1300 local children with significant special needs. The student-led Worcester Refugee Assistance Program (WRAP) Soccer Project • Math: 640 was initially designed by a Bancroft senior during her Co-Op in 2016 as a sports program to serve Burmese refugee children in our • Evidence-Based Reading & Writing: 660 community. Recent student-leaders have expanded the program to include arts and academics.
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP & COLLEGE COUNSELORS
Trey Cassidy HEAD OF SCHOOL Rebecca Gratz HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL Tim Townley DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING Phyllis Barra ASSISTANT COLLEGE COUNSELOR CEEB Code: 222480
Bancroft School | 110 Shore Drive, Worcester, MA 01605 | Tel: 508.854.9228 | Fax: 508.853.7824 | [email protected] GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
• English: 4 years • History: 3 years • Foreign Language: 3 levels of one language, or 2 levels of two languages • Math: 3 years (through Algebra II) • Lab Science: 3 years (Chemistry, Biology, and a third lab science; Physics strongly recommended) • Arts: 1 year of Performing or Visual Arts • Physical Education: 4 semesters • Freshman Seminar • Senior Thesis • Senior Cooperative • CPR Certification • Community Service: 30 hours
GRADING & CLASS RANK SCHEDULE Bancroft does not rank its students. We use a uniform, unweighted marking system ranging from A to F; we do not use A+. Students Bancroft’s Upper School operates on a semester with an overall average of A- achieve High Honors, and those with system. Courses run on a seven-day rotating schedule a B+ average achieve Honors. Bancroft is a member of the national comprising 28 blocks of 75 minutes. Students typically Cum Laude Society, which inducts a maximum of 10% of the junior schedule 22-24 blocks of course time per rotation. and 10% of the senior class every spring. Benefits of this schedule include: • Greater flexibility and choice in how each student HONORS & ADVANCED COURSES meets the graduation requirements Classes designated as “Honors” are positioning students to engage • Fewer classes each day with more time for in-depth in college-level work before they leave high school. Most of these work students will go on to take “Advanced” courses. Students who • Focused time for collaboration with project partners do well in our “Advanced” courses are prepared for upper-level or faculty, independent research, or homework college courses in these and related departments. Over 62% of students who take AP exams score 4 or higher. • Development of time management skills and intrinsic self motivation that will serve students We have various special programs that enhance the Bancroft beyond high school academic experience. At all levels, we offer strong art and music • Greater opportunity for students to discover new courses which are fully credited academic courses. interests and explore areas of passion Students can select junior/senior courses representing a broad range of disciplines, and all graduating seniors write the Senior Thesis, a capstone research paper. Additional advanced and individual work is offered whenever appropriate. For example, in Science and Engineering Inquiry (SEI) and Research and Historical Inquiry (RHI) advanced students choose a specific topic of interest, conduct year-long experimentation and/or research, and present their deep mastery and research findings at regional, state, and national competitions. Advanced foreign language students take immersive, field-oriented courses such as Spanish in a Global Context or Contemporary French Culture. Computer Science and Math students also have the opportunity to take courses beyond the traditional AP curriculum including Algorithms and Data Structures and Multivariable Calculus. UPPER SCHOOL COURSE OFFERINGS 2020-21
NINTH GRADE TENTH GRADE ELEVENTH GRADE TWELFTH GRADE
English Selective (fall) English Selective (fall) Rebel, Rebel Rebel, Rebel Yourself, Myself: Identity Through Yourself, Myself: Identity Through the Lens of Memoir the Lens of Memoir Not Just for Laughs: Humor & ENGLISH English I English II Four years required Not Just for Laughs: Humor & Satire in Literature Satire in Literature This Just In This Just In Composition & Argumentation (spring) or AP English Language or AP English Literature
AP European History AP European History 1945-Now 1945-Now The Atlantic World Islamic Studies Islamic Studies (no longer offered) HISTORY U.S. History Research and Historical Inquiry (H) Research and Historical Inquiry (H) Civics (no longer offered) Three years required Advanced U.S. History (H) Protest & Revolution Protest & Revolution (H) = Honors The Development of Our Global World This Just In This Just In Native Cultures of the Americas Native Cultures of the Americas Conflicts in World History Conflicts in World History
Precalculus with Modeling Precalculus with Modeling (formerly FST) (formerly FST) Multivariable Calculus (H) MATHEMATICS Geometry Multivariable Calculus (H) Algebra I Precalculus (H) Three years required Geometry (H) Precalculus (H) Geometry Calculus (through Algebra II) Algebra II Statistics Geometry (H) AP Calculus AB Algebra II (H) Calculus (H) = Honors AP Calculus BC AP Calculus AB Algebra II AP Calculus BC Algebra II (H)
LAB SCIENCE Biology Chemistry Three years required Biology AP Chemistry (Chemistry, Biology, and AP Chemistry Integrated Chemistry AP Biology a third lab science) AP Biology Environmental Science Chemistry AP Physics AP Physics Chemistry AP Chemistry* Science & Engineering Inquiry: *Chemistry is a Science & Engineering Inquiry: Biology Research & Proposal (formerly RSI) (H) prerequisite Experimentation II (formerly RSI) (H) Science & Engineering Inquiry: for AP Chemistry Physics of Engineering Experimentation I (formerly RSI) (H) (H) = Honors Physics of Engineering
Marine Science I & II ADDITIONAL Psychology I & II Case Studies in Psychopathology ELECTIVES Anatomy and Physiology Social Psychology
C++ C++ Mobile Apps Mobile Apps Computer Science Principles Computer Science Principles Engineering & Design Engineering & Design Web Design & Programming Web Design & Programming Computer Science Principles Robotics Engineering Robotics Engineering COMPUTER Computer Science Principles Web Design AP Computer Science AP Computer Science Web Design SCIENCE Robotics Engineering Algorithms & Data Structures (H) Algorithms & Data Structures (H) Robotics Engineering (H) = Honors AP Computer Science Science & Engineering Inquiry: Science & Engineering Inquiry: Research & Proposal (H) Research & Proposal (H) Science & Engineering Inquiry: Science & Engineering Inquiry: Experimentation I (H) Experimentation I (H) Science & Engineering Inquiry: Science & Engineering Inquiry: Experimentation II (H) Experimentation II (H)
FOREIGN LANGUAGES ARTS PHYSICAL EDUCATION aligns with their personal and SENIOR THESIS professional interests. Rooted Completion of a 300 level Completion of one year in All students are required to The Senior Thesis is the in the School’s commitment course in one language, or a 200 a Performing or Visual Arts take PE every semester through culminating research project in to project-based learning and level course in two different course. Advanced Visual Junior year. Bancroft’s academic program. serving the greater Worcester languages. Languages offered: Portfolio students create a This 10- to 15-page essay community, the Co-Op combines Latin, French, Mandarin and visual art portfolio in the fall challenges students to choose SENIOR COOPERATIVE elements of an internship, Spanish. Seminar courses are for and a high level research-based, a topic for research, discover a research project, and students who have completed artistic project for a spring Better known as the “Senior Co- relevant facts and opinions community service. Students the 300 level class and desire an exhibition. The result is a solo Op,” this program takes students available in print and online, can design their own Co-Op in-depth thematic study in the exhibition of thesis-level work. out of the classroom during the and synthesize their research to experience, or choose from a target language. final semester of their Senior support a thesis statement, or catalogue of project choices year and places them in a real- guiding argument. world work environment that at approved organizations throughout the area. COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES & MATRICULATIONS, 2016-2020 Bancroft students were accepted at the following institutions over the past five years. Boldface indicates schools where they chose to matriculate.
Acadia University Endicott College Ohio Wesleyan University University of Connecticut Adelphi University Fairfield University Old Dominion University University of Delaware Allegheny College Fashion Institute of Design and Otis College of Art and Design University of Denver American University Merchandising, Los Angeles Pace University, New York City University of Edinburgh, The Amherst College Fisher College Pennsylvania College of Technology University of Georgia Anna Maria College Fitchburg State University Pennsylvania State University University of Hartford Arizona State University Flagler College Pepperdine University University of Illinois, Assumption College Florida Atlantic University Princeton University Urbana-Champaign Auburn University Florida Gulf Coast University Providence College University of Kansas Babson College Florida Institute of Technology Purchase College, State University of NY University of Kentucky Baldwin Wallace University Fordham University Purdue University University of Maine Ball State University Framingham State University Quinnipiac University University of Maine, Farmington Bard College, NY Franciscan University of Steubenville Randolph-Macon College University of Maryland, Baltimore Barnard College Franklin & Marshall College Reed College University of Maryland, College Park Bates College Franklin Pierce University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of Massachusetts, Amherst Becker College Furman University Rhode Island College University of Massachusetts, Bennington College George Mason University Rhode Island School of Design Dartmouth Bentley University George Washington University Rider University University of Massachusetts, Boston Berklee College of Music Georgetown University Rochester Institute of Technology University of Massachusetts, Lowell Binghamton University, SUNY Georgia Institute of Technology Roger Williams University University of Miami Boston College Gettysburg College Rollins College University of Michigan Boston University Gonzaga University Rutgers University-New Brunswick University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Bowdoin College Goucher College Sacred Heart University University of Missouri Columbia Brandeis University Hampshire College Saint Anselm College University of New Hampshire Bridgewater State University Haverford College Saint John’s University (NY) at Durham Brooklyn College of the CUNY High Point University Saint Louis University University of New Haven Brown University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Saint Michael’s College University of North Carolina at Bryant University Hofstra University Salem State University Chapel Hill Bryn Mawr College Indiana University at Bloomington Salisbury University University of North Carolina Bucknell University Ithaca College Salve Regina University at Charlotte Butler University Jacksonville University San Diego State University University of North Carolina California College of the Arts Jefferson University (Philadelphia San Francisco State University at Asheville California Institute of the Arts & Thomas Jefferson University) San Jose State University University of North Carolina California Polytechnic State at San King’s College London Sarah Lawrence College at Wilmington Luis Obispo La Salle University Savannah College of Art and Design University of Oregon Carleton College Lafayette College School of the Art Institute of Chicago University of Oxford (Christ Church) Carnegie Mellon University Lasell University School of Visual Arts University of Pennsylvania Case Western Reserve University Lawrence University Seattle University University of Pittsburgh Catholic University of America, The Lebanon Valley College Seton Hall University University of Rhode Island Cazenovia College Lehigh University Simmons College University of Richmond Central Connecticut State Lesley University Skidmore College University of Rochester Champlain College Lewis & Clark College Smith College University of San Diego Chapman University Liberty University Southern Methodist University University of San Francisco Chatham University LIM College (Laboratory Institute St. Lawrence University University of South Carolina Clark University of Merchadising) Stevens Institute of Technology University of Southern California Clarkson University Loyola Marymount University Stonehill College University of Southern Maine Clemson University Loyola University Chicago Stony Brook University, SUNY University of St Andrews Colby College Loyola University Maryland Suffolk University University of Tampa Colby-Sawyer College Manhattanville College SUNY Albany University of Tennessee, Knoxville Colgate University Marist College SUNY Buffalo University of the Arts, The College of Charleston Marquette University SUNY Maritime College University of Toronto College of the Holy Cross Marymount Manhattan College Susquehanna University University of Vermont College of William and Mary Massachusetts College of Art Syracuse University University of Virginia Colorado College and Design Temple University University of Washington Columbia College Chicago Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Texas State University University of Wisconsin, Madison Columbia University Massachusetts Maritime Academy The New School Ursinus College Columbus College of Art and Design McPherson College Towson University Vassar College Connecticut College MCPHS - Massachusetts College of Trinity College Villanova University Cornell University Pharmacy & Health Sciences Tufts University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Creighton University Merrimack College Tulane University State University Curry College Miami University, Oxford Union College (New York) Wagner College Davidson College Michigan State United States Naval Academy Wake Forest University Dean College Middlebury College Prep School Washington and Jefferson College DePaul University Molloy College University College of Dublin Washington College Dickinson College Mount Holyoke College University of Alabama, The Washington University, St. Louis Drew University Muhlenberg College University of Arizona, The Wellesley College Drexel University National Aviation Academy University of California, Berkeley Wentworth Institute of Technology Duke University New England Institute of Technology University of California, Davis Wesleyan University Durham University New York Institute of Technology University of California, Irvine Western New England University Earlham College New York University University of California, Los Angeles Westfield State University East Carolina University Newbury College University of California, Riverside Wheaton College, MA Eastern Connecticut State University Nichols College University of California, San Diego Whitman College Eckerd College Northeastern University University of California, Santa Barbara Whittier College Elon University Northwestern University University of California, Santa Cruz Williams College Emerson College Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences University of Chicago Worcester Polytechnic Institute Emmanuel College Oberlin Conservatory of Music University of Colorado at Boulder Worcester State University Emory University Ohio State University, The University of Colorado at Denver
110 Shore Drive, Worcester, MA 01605 Tel: 508.854.9228 | Fax: 508.853.7824 [email protected] CEEB Code: 222480