Welcome to The Gregory School
People matter at The Gregory School. Students beginning their journey as fifth graders, seniors setting a path for their future, faculty and staff honing their craft, and parents engaged in the adventures of school and family life embody a mission focused community. We care about others, believe that character is important, know that hard work is expected and understand that as individuals and collectively, we can make a difference in the world.
You will likely find that the learning environment at The Gregory School looks different than the schools you attended in your academic career. The creative process and challenges of problem solving don’t just happen on paper at TGS. Our classrooms, studios, FabLab (Fabrication Lab), stage, fields, courts and broader community expand the opportunities, experiences and boundaries of our learning spaces.
Visitors to our campus see students and faculty working together on meaningful and relevant projects: immersed in scientific research for publication, caring for animals in our farmyard, earning college credit in our dual-enrollment classes, choreographing the finale for the all-school musical, and pitching ideas to alumni mentors in the Entrepreneurial Institute.
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.
Fridays look different at TGS. In our project-focused Friday Explorations program, you may find students engaged in peer tutoring in our Writing Center, designing a hydroponic filtration system for the duck pond, helping senior citizens learn to use their technology, creating a podcast to be aired on community radio, contributing to a group mural to beautify campus, exploring a 10-mile stretch of the Tucson bike path adjacent to school, or harvesting produce in our garden-to-table garden.
Students at all grade levels participate in Interim Week– a deep immersion into our guiding principles of the 6 C’s (collaboration, critical thinking, community, communication, compassion, and creativity) through campus projects and travel experiences that include topics such as outdoor adventures in northern Arizona, culture and history in New Mexico, Earth and space, and building community in Tucson. Interim Week allows students to learn more about themselves, their peers, their community and beyond.
College counseling at The Gregory School is special. We recognize that no two students and no two families are the same, and our College Counseling Center works in partnership with students and families to find and pursue the pathway that is right for them.
I hope you’ll explore our website to learn more about the rich opportunities our students experience in our academic, athletic, arts and Signature Programs each day at The Gregory School. If you’re exploring school choices for your student, we would love to talk with you and give you a tour.
Thank you for considering The Gregory School.
My best,
Amy Seger
Interim Head of School
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.
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
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 who begins engaging students as early as 8th grade. While our student-counselor ratio is 45:1, 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.