Why Thacher?

The Thacher School is anything but typical. Everything we do here is guided by a set of deeply held convictions that add up to the simple truth that high school can and should be a thrilling adventure.

The research is in: Happy kids achieve at a higher level.

Yet, many elite colleges and high schools continue to see high achieving students struggling with anxiety, depression, and burnout. It’s why Thacher works continuously to cultivate and nurture a balance between achievement and excellence and health and happiness.

Promoting and supporting Healthy Living across our programs plays a big part in this. Wellness resources like yoga and meditation, year-by-year programming that connects students with tools and resources for finding and maintaining a healthy balance in their lives, and the availability of professional mental health counselors all help support student well-being.

Many programs that support community health and happiness have long been part of Thacher life. In the Outdoor Program, wilderness trips offer energizing challenges and a chance to connect meaningfully with ourselves, each other, and the natural world. Up at the barns and out on the trails, students in the Horse Program are similarly faced with exciting new challenges, real risks, and real responsibilities, inspiring them to have confidence in their own abilities and draw strength from the support networks around them. Required Arts and Athletics Programs provide constructive and stimulating outlets for student energy and expression.

The result is not only happier students, but students who are inspired, fulfilled, and ready to follow where their sense of purpose and intention takes them.
Notice of nondiscriminatory policy as to students: The Thacher School admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other School-administered programs.