"High Mowing was a home before it was a school —
and
becoming a school, it still stayed a home."
~ Beulah Emmet, Founder of High Mowing School
Mission
High Mowing is a Waldorf high school community for boarding and day students. We aim to educate artistically through dynamic, transformative activity that resonates with the developmental stages of adolescence and the unique development of each individual. Inspired by love and respect for humanity and nature, our mission as a community is to recognize and nurture the highest potential in each young person, to foster the balanced unfolding of physical, social, moral, and intellectual capacities, and ultimately to awaken the will to make life choices with compassion and integrity.
History
For more than 65
years, High Mowing School
has been a place where high school students learn and grow. Nestled in the
Monadnock region of Southern New Hampshire,
our campus was once the family home of Beulah Hepburn Emmet, our founder. Both
the school and our name are rooted to this singular place—a hilltop farm in Wilton, NH.
Inspired by the
writings and educational theories of Rudolf Steiner, Mrs. Emmet opened the
school in 1942. It is the first Waldorf high school to have been founded in North
America. Since that time, the warmth and casual comfort of the old
farm site have welcomed teenagers from around the globe. Here, students
experience a rich Waldorf curriculum, as they live and work in close proximity
to their teachers and classmates. High Mowing is the only Waldorf high school
on this continent to offer a boarding program as well as a day school.
Our name, High Mowing, has its roots in New England’s colonial past. The practice of cutting or
mowing hayfields to feed farm animals was a long-standing tradition here.
According to European custom, these hayfields were often called “mowings” by
the early settlers. A “high mowing” referred to a hilltop field — the perfect
name for a school with high ambitions for its students. It is also the ideal
setting for young adults to grow intellectually, artistically and socially,
while living and learning with students from across town and around the world.
