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Head of School
Welcome

We’re pleased to welcome you to our school website, but even more importantly we encourage you to visit this special learning community. In your first few steps on campus you’ll experience the beauty of the 35-acre property and the towering trees that provide safe harbor to our real life school mascot, the Harris's hawk. The sight and sounds of our riparian area, created by students and a beloved former faculty member, as well as the community garden, farm animal enclosure, campus bicycling routes, and extensive athletic fields are indicative of how the school community embraces our sense of place and translates this resource into real and experiential learning opportunities for the students we serve.

Julie A. Sherrill, Ph.D.
Head of School


Fast Facts

The Gregory School is the only school in Southern Arizona accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS).  We are also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). The Gregory School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit school.

15 students

Average Class Size


More opportunities for classroom participation, more leadership opportunities, and greater comfort and security in class.

57 students

Average Teacher Load


More personal attention, more mentoring, and more feedback on student work.

1-to-9

Teacher-to-student Ratio


Students know their teachers personally and have ready access for individual help and for enrichment opportunities.

1-to-30

College Counselor Ratio


With a small student caseload, our college counselor is able to establish a close working relationship with each student and family.

98% College

Application and Acceptance


Nearly all of our students go directly to college, and graduating classes secure millions of dollars in scholarships. 
Some students choose specially selected gap-year or training programs. 

160+

Classes Offered


Students can choose from a catalog of 160+ classes. Each student has a personalized schedule. We are not a one-size-fits-all school. 

365

Enrolled Students


Our beautiful 35-acre campus in central Tucson ensures that our students are surrounded with opportunities to bring out their unique gifts as individuals and scholars.

50%

Athletics Participation


Our interscholastic athletic programs are both competitive and inclusive. Multiple team levels are offered, providing opportunities to all interested students.

98%

Arts Program Participation


Students participate in a well rounded arts curriculum, with opportunities from music and dance to visual arts and theater productions. 

17+

Community Events


Art shows, workshops, music and dance concerts, theater productions, college fairs, and festivals every year.

65+

Faculty and Staff

We are proud of the proven experience and academic credentials of our teachers, most of whom hold advanced degrees in the fields in which they teach.

40%

Racial and Ethnic Minorities

The diversity of our students, who come from a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, religious and educational backgrounds, is critical to the health of our school.

"I love that The Gregory School allows students to share their passions with one another and develop new interests."

.

6Cs - Our Guiding Principles

The 6 Cs

Our faculty, coaches, counselors, and librarians incorporate the guiding principles of the 6 Cs (critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, compassion, communication, and community) throughout a student’s time here, providing an educational experience of the whole child.

There’s just so much more you can do in a class of 15 students —  The Gregory School average — than in a class with 30 or more. Fifteen students means more participation and more attention to each student. It means more time actively involved in learning and less time sitting in the back of the room listening.

About The Gregory School

The Gregory School is an independent, coeducational school in Tucson, Arizona serving students in grades 5 - 12. Founded in 1980 as St. Gregory High School, we changed our name to The Gregory School in 2014; we are proud that the essence and spirit of our school remain the same.

Every day, the mission of the faculty and staff at The Gregory School is to challenge and support students to achieve excellence in character, scholarship, leadership, and innovation, preparing them to make a positive impact in the world through pursuing their passions, solving problems, and appreciating and creating beauty. The Gregory School experience is both global and closely personalized. 

We value a sense of community and benefit from the diversity of that community.

At The Gregory School, we want students, parents, and faculty to know one another, support each other, and work together to create a nurturing community. The diversity of our students, who come from a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, religious and educational backgrounds, enriches the educational opportunities for all of our students and is critical to the health of the school. Our community is the foundation for a high quality academic and social experience for all of our students.

What it means that The Gregory School is an independent school

We are able to provide our extraordinary educational experience because we embrace the structure and philosophy of being an independent school. An independent school is governed by a Board of Trustees and thus is independent in governance and finance from any public or religious entity.

The Gregory School is the only school in Southern Arizona accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS). We are also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

The Gregory School is a 501(c)(3) non-profit school.

Our Mission

The Gregory School, as a diverse learning community, challenges and supports students to achieve excellence in character, scholarship, leadership, and innovation and prepares them to make a positive impact in the world through pursuing their passions, appreciating and creating beauty, and solving problems.

Character
The Gregory School honors the development of student character built on personal integrity, compassion, and respect. We promote the dignity, self-worth, and potential of each individual within a supportive, connected, and caring community that embraces a diversity of students, families, faculty, administrators, staff, trustees, and others.

Scholarship
The Gregory School learning community is committed to educating the whole child intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, artistically, and ethically. Our students' disciplined scholarship is instilled and developed in an environment that values the rigors and joys of learning. This scholarship is grounded in intellectual curiosity, critical and creative thinking, and effective communication.

Leadership
Leadership at The Gregory School affirms the civic responsibility of students and encourages using skillful facilitation and collaboration to positively influence the action of others. We recognize our school's public purpose to use our resources to serve our own students and others in our region and beyond.

Innovation
At The Gregory School, we cultivate a mindset of innovation, open-minded inquiry, divergent thinking, and purposeful action. As innovators, our students develop the creativity, ingenuity, inventiveness, and originality of thought to tackle and resolve the challenges facing our world.

Environmental Sustainability

The Gregory School recognizes the importance of sustainable living both for now and for our students' futures. Among our sustainability practices we:

  • Generate 141kW from 608 locally manufactured solar panels, which is fed directly to the power grid in collaboration with Tucson Electric Power Company
  • Use only reclaimed water for our fields
  • Participate in a paper-recycling program
  • Designed and built campus water collection basins as part of a student project with hydrologist and former Upper School teacher Dr. Erika Gallo
  • Offer a garden to table class, which provides food to our dining hall and maintains a compost system. Our campus also hosts a Tucson Community Garden
  • Participate in a student-initiated plastic recycling program in conjunction with the City of Tucson.

Our Campus

Situated on the Rillito River where the city meets the foothills, the 35-acre Gregory School campus showcases breathtaking views of the Catalina Mountains. Our campus includes a farm yard and vegetable garden, a student-created riparian area, gorgeous vegetation, plentiful shade, and countless areas to meet, study, relax, and play. A delicious, healthful lunch made on-site from scratch using seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients comes with a Gregory School education. Daily lunch offers several hot options, soups, salad and sandwich bars, and fresh spa waters. Students and faculty may choose to eat in our attractive lunchroom or at a variety of seating areas around campus.

 

The Gregory School Difference

Our class sizes average under 15, and our teachers have average student "loads" of fewer than 60.

Our teacher-to-student ratio is 1:9. This results in more personal attention, more mentoring, and more feedback on student work. Students also benefit from more opportunities for classroom participation, more leadership opportunities, and greater comfort and security in class. You cannot get lost in a place like The Gregory School.

Better Preparation

To succeed in college and beyond, students require mastery of subject content, and they need skills in analysis, critical and creative thinking, self advocacy, collaboration, and written and oral communication. The Gregory School graduates thrive in college and beyond with the benefit of our preparation. Graduates of The Gregory School have settled into productive and highly accomplished careers across Tucson and far away from home.

Greater Leadership Education

Leadership education has been part of The Gregory School program for over three decades. Through opportunities in the classroom, on the athletic fields, and in club, advisory, and service activities, students experience all aspects of leadership. In addition, our dedicated leadership classes allow students to tackle projects on campus as well as in the community.

Stronger Education for Innovation

If the proficiencies most necessary for success in today's world can be reduced to one word, "innovation" is that word. With a long history of excellence in the fine and performing arts, science laboratory facilities rivaling those of many colleges, and a deep commitment to expressive writing, we have the programs necessary to instill in our students the skills of creativity, ingenuity, and innovation.

Smaller Classes

The Gregory School class sizes average fifteen, and our teachers have average student "loads" of fewer than sixty. This results in more personal attention, more mentoring, and more feedback on student work. Students also benefit from more opportunities for classroom participation, more leadership opportunities, and greater comfort and security in class. Research has demonstrated repeatedly that small class sizes provide better learning for all students.

More Inspiring Teaching

The faculty is the cornerstone of any school. At The Gregory School, we are proud of the proven experience and academic credentials of our teachers, most of whom hold advanced degrees in the fields in which they teach. But more than mastery of their fields, our teachers have a genuine love of teaching and a commitment to being mentors and role models for students in close, trusting relationships.

Educating the Whole Child

The Gregory School believes in educating the whole child (intellectual, physical, emotional, social, spiritual, aesthetic). To this end, students can and do play multiple sports, perform in musical theater or write for the school paper, participate in community service, and take a full academic load to boot. This is a well-rounded education. Some schools may offer excellent academics, but few programs for athletics and arts; other schools offer great extra-curricular programs, but not small classes and academic culture. Even at a large school with a big sports program, it is hard to have a well-rounded program when only a select few students make varsity, or where students must choose to concentrate on one sport, or select sports but not theater. We believe that the well-rounded nature of The Gregory School programs helps develop creativity, enrich the mind and body, encourage expression, and allow students the opportunity to take risks and try new things in a safe setting.

Personalized College Counseling

Our personalized college counseling offers a full-time, highly trained, professional college counselor. While our student-counselor ratio is 30:1, the Arizona average is 903:1. Nearly all of our students go directly to college after graduation and our graduating classes secure millions of dollars in scholarships each year. Gregory School students attend colleges that meet their passions and aspirations, from the Ivy League, to large state universities; from small liberal arts colleges to top technology, visual arts and performing arts schools. Some students choose specially selected gap year or other programs. 

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