Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) is a coed, independent boarding school of 655 students in grades 9–12 plus a postgraduate year. You’ll find us in the heart of New England, on the banks of the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts.
NMH offers a challenging, innovative college-preparatory curriculum with extensive choices that include study-abroad programs, a social entrepreneurship course, independent study, and community-service work. Supported and guided by expert faculty and staff, students are encouraged to pursue their passions, discover new ones, and make their own unique contributions to the NMH community.
Our faculty devote an extraordinary amount of time and energy to fostering students’ accomplishment and success, both in and out of the classroom. The result is students who think critically, act with humanity, and discover within themselves a sense of purpose.
Our distinctive College-Model Academic Program (CMAP) is centered around 80-minute class periods that are longer than those in a typical high school class. So students explore each subject in greater depth and spend more time with their teachers. Students take three major courses each semester — six per year, which is one more than at schools with traditional schedules. Our average class size is 11 students. Each faculty member teaches on average only two courses a semester, allowing them to spend focused time with a small group of students.
We focus on the whole student, meeting individual needs while integrating students into a diverse, busy community. Our “Partnership of 12” initiative is a network of adults (at least a dozen every semester) who support each student every day. The network includes teachers, coaches, dorm staff, and work supervisors.
NMH has made serious commitments to multiculturalism throughout its long history. Currently, students of color make up 21 percent of the student body, and international students come from 57 countries. The school focuses extensively on racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, and gender diversity in extracurricular workshops and events throughout the year. Our sustainability program empowers students to explore and protect the environment and become active citizens of a changing planet.
In short, NMH helps students develop into people who are down to earth, yet performing up to their potential. Our students are academically challenged, socially engaged, and constantly surprised by both themselves and the world.