The Gunston School

1911 - 1950s. In response to the effects of their daughter's polio, Sam and Mary Middleton founded The Gunston Farm School in 1911 on their family farm on the Corsica River. The school's traditional curriculum focused on reading, writing, geography, and arithmetic. Athletics were almost exclusively focused on horseback riding as this was considered a crucial activity in developing important character traits. When Samuel Middleton died in 1929, Mary Middleton took over as the sole headmistress of the school. For the next thirty-five years, "Aunt Mary" developed Gunston from a small tutorial school into a renowned East Coast girls boarding school.[1]

1950s - 1995. Gunston became and all-girls school in the 1950s. When Mary Middleton retired in 1964, the headship of the school briefly passed to Mrs. Okie before she was succeeded by long-serving Headmaster Paul Long. Under Long's nearly two decades of leadership, Gunston experienced significant growth in terms of enrollment, physical plant, and academic reputation. Headmaster Long is also responsible for starting many of Gunston's longstanding traditions such as Green & White Day and Yearbook Day.[1]

1995 - 2011. Under Headmaster Peter "Stick" Sturtevant Jr. Gunston was reincorporated as a co-educational day school in response to the national decline in single-sex education. During Sturtevant's time at Gunston, the school began its Bay Studies program devoted to hands-on learning within the surrounding Chesapeake Bay area. The school was led by Jeffrey Wordworth in the early 2000s until his tragic death in 2009. During his time as Headmaster Woodworth oversaw the addition of a crew team, the renovation of Middleton House, and the implementation of an international recruitment effort. His assistant headmaster, Christie Grabis, served as Interim Headmaster from 2009-2010. In July 2010 John Lewis IV was installed as The Gunston School's 8th Headmaster.[2]

2011 - present. As of August 16, 2011, Gunston Day School was formally reincorporated as The Gunston School.[1]

The Gunston School offers an intellectually rigorous, highly personalized, and nurturing college preparatory educational experience. Valuing a healthy balance between mind and body, a strong sense of community, the creative process, and our connection to the Chesapeake Bay, Gunston strives to educate ethically and environmentally minded scholars, citizens, and leaders for our globalized society.[3]