Welcome to the 2025–2026 School Year

Dear WHPS Families,

Welcome (or welcome back!) to what promises to be one of our most exciting and enriching years yet. As we begin the 2025–2026 school year, I’m filled with gratitude—for your partnership and for the incredible momentum we’re building together.

We’re entering this year with record-setting student achievement, beautiful campus enhancements, and innovations that continue preparing our students for the world ahead.

• 📣 What You Told Us: What Families Value Most

  According to our year-end Parent Survey, here are the top areas families most appreciated about the WHPS program and staff—along with just a few examples from your comments:

  Balanced, Rigorous Learning
  Families described remarkable growth—especially in 2nd–5th grade—where students become passionate readers, writers, mathematicians, and creators, often advancing well beyond grade level.

  • “Our child has been given a safe, amazing environment to grow and learn—this balance of care and challenge is rare.”

  • “The individualized attention in academics has supported growth in ways we hadn’t seen elsewhere.”

  • “Teachers really know each child, which makes academic rigor feel encouraging, not stressful.”

  • “The academic bar is high, but our children genuinely enjoy learning here.”

  • “We are thrilled that WHPS challenges children to think critically, yet still keeps school joyful.”

  SEL & Belonging
  Parents noted how their children feel truly seen, supported, and celebrated through social-emotional learning, inclusive programming, and affinity groups.

  • “Teachers took the time to know our child deeply, which supported her growth in powerful ways.”

  • “Our child’s ability to articulate and navigate social experiences is a direct result of WHPS’s values.”

  • “We see children who are kind, articulate, and confident—social-emotional learning is clearly prioritized here.”

  • “The staff’s patience and understanding helped our child feel valued and supported.”

  • “This school is not just about academics—it’s about growing the whole child.”

  Community & Connection
  Families highlighted the warm, inclusive environment where they feel grounded and down to earth. Many said they had never before experienced a school where they felt so safe bringing their children or so connected with like-minded families.

  • “The friendships and parent connections make this school feel like home.”

  • “Our years at WHPS feel like such an important part of our family’s life.”

  • “We love this school so much and feel incredibly grateful to be part of such a wonderful community.”

  • “This is a place where parents and children alike feel they belong.”

  • “Movie nights, picnics, and events give us a chance to feel part of something bigger.”

  Teachers & Staff
  Families praised our faculty and staff, noting that they can tell every member of our team is truly focused on what’s best for their child.

  • “We are grateful for the warmth and enthusiasm of the staff—they set the tone for the whole school.”

  • “The teachers are always quick to point out a positive attribute about my child when discussing areas in which she needs to improve.”

  • “Teachers communicate, understand, and partner with families—it feels like a team effort.”

  • “Teachers here are caring, patient, and dedicated. That’s not something you find everywhere.”

  • “The leadership team is approachable and responsive—they make us feel like true partners in our child’s education.”

  • “We are SO glad we are at WHPS—the amount of genuine care from the staff is evident every day.”

  Middle School Prep
  Parents appreciated our hands-on guidance, mock interviews, and strong acceptances into best-fit schools.

  • “My child is very well prepared academically and emotionally for middle school—far more than I expected.”

  • “The transition process is incredibly supportive, and the mock interviews made a real difference.”

  • “We appreciate the guidance through middle school acceptances—it felt like a personalized process.”

  • “Our child is ready not only with academics, but also the social skills needed to thrive.”

  • “The balance of rigor and SEL made the middle school process smooth.”

  Excellence with Accessibility
  Families expressed gratitude for WHPS’s ability to deliver a rigorous, individualized education while maintaining an accessible tuition model and a down-to-earth, family feel.

  • “It’s rare to find a school that is both rigorous and family-centered.”

  • “The program is high-level but never pretentious—it feels authentic and grounded.”

  • “This is excellence without rigidity, which is exactly what families need.”

  • “We value that this school is rigorous yet welcoming—elite in quality but not elitist in feel.”

  • “The balance of accessibility and excellence is what makes this place unique.”

• 🌱 What You Told Us: Where Families Would Love to See Us to Grow

  Families also shared thoughtful ideas about areas they’d love to see WHPS continue to build upon. We see these as opportunities to strengthen what you already value:

  • Continuity & Stability: Parents treasure the bonds children form with their teachers and shared that consistency matters deeply. In recent years, we’ve enhanced staff compensation and benefits, added mid-year bonuses to recognize strong contributions, and—new last year—introduced childcare subsidies to make it easier for teachers with young children to return to work when ready. These steps are part of our long-term commitment to retaining the exceptional educators who make WHPS so special.

  • Expanded Enrichment & Challenge: Families voiced excitement about more enrichment in STEM, advanced academics, and creative pursuits. This year we are piloting after-school maker programming that will be gradually and intentionally integrated into the school day. We are also launching our own theater program, housed on campus and designed to take advantage of the new Performance Pavilion breaking ground next month.

  • Communication & Connection: Parents value the warm community and asked for even more consistency in communication. We’ve transitioned to Google Classroom as the primary platform for teacher updates, and introduced a Parent Code of Conduct to help keep parent-to-parent communication focused on what matters most—supporting children and strengthening our school community.

  Your feedback is a gift, and it helps us grow stronger every year.

• 📈 Student Achievement: ERB Results - MUST READ!

  This year’s ERB results were nothing short of remarkable. Our Upper Elementary students didn’t just keep pace with peers at other independent schools—they often surged well past them.

  In reading, writing, vocabulary, and math, many of our students landed far to the right-hand side of the bell curve, placing them among the very top performers nationwide. Nearly one-third reached the highest percentiles, with many excelling across multiple subject areas.

  What makes this so meaningful is how it happened. WHPS doesn’t drill to the test. Instead, our teachers cultivate curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity—skills that transfer across subjects and show up on assessments as extraordinary achievement. The ERB results simply confirm what we see every day in classrooms: children thriving when they’re challenged as individuals and inspired to love learning.

  ➡️ [Read more about our ERB results]

• 🤖 AI & the Future of Learning

  At WHPS, we believe the best preparation for a future shaped by artificial intelligence is not rushing more technology into children’s hands—but teaching them to think deeply, ask better questions, and build something real.

  This year, students will explore how AI works, how it uses data, and how to distinguish machine-generated content from human ideas. They’ll also wrestle with deeper questions: Where does AI enhance learning, and where might it limit creativity or critical thinking?

  📖 [Read more in our recent article: AI in the Classroom]

  At the same time, emerging research is raising important cautions. A recent MIT Media Lab study suggested that over-reliance on ChatGPT led to lower brain engagement and weaker critical thinking in young adults. While small and still under peer review, it highlights a real concern: children’s developing brains need practice with original thought, memory, and problem-solving—not just shortcuts.

  That’s why our approach is intentional. Schools must find the right balance. AI is clearly here to stay, with the power to improve lives and expand possibilities. But children also need careful, thoughtful guidance in how they use it—so their creativity, resilience, and critical thinking continue to grow alongside their digital skills.

Thank you for being part of our WHPS community. Together, we’re building something extraordinary—where every child is known, challenged, and celebrated.

— Seth Pozzi, Head of School