The Madeira School

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The Madeira School is a private, non-denominational preparatory boarding school for girls located in McLean, Virginia, United States. Originally located on 19th Street near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., it was founded by Lucy Madeira Wing (1873-1959) in 1906 and moved to the Northern Virginia suburb of McLean in 1931.

Annual tuition is $46,160 for boarding students and $35,050 for day students. Tuition does not include additional fees charged by the school for athletics, books, and other expenses. Madeira's endowment is approximately $55 million.

About Madeira

Student body

The Madeira School teaches grades 9–12. Each grade has approximately 75 students. The average class size is approximately 12 students.

International students are also represented on campus. Financial aid is offered to students of lesser means.

Co-curriculum program

The Madeira School requires students to participate in a unique internship program, called the Co-Curriculum Program. Instead of attending regular classes on Wednesdays, the students do the following: Freshmen attend classes on study skills and participate in Outdoor Adventure programs like canoeing, kayaking, and rappeling. Sophomores choose a community service placement, often at a soup kitchen, childcare facility, or hospital. Juniors work as aides to Congressmen and Senators on Capitol Hill. Seniors pursue an internship in the field of their choice.

Motto, colors, and mascot

The Madeira School's motto is festina lente ("make haste slowly," attributed originally to Augustus Caesar).

• Madeira's colors are red and white.

• Madeira's mascot is the Snail.

Campus and facilities

The Madeira School's campus is on 376 acres (1.52 km²) overlooking the Potomac River (McLean, Virginia) and consists of 34 separate buildings.

The Huffington Library

Madeira's Huffington Library collection consists of approximately 23,500 items that includes videos, DVDs, CDs, audiocassettes, microforms, vertical file material and circulating audio-visual equipment.

In addition to being one of the School's most popular meeting places on campus, the Library is also home to one of the School's computer labs, classrooms, and seminar rooms. There are PCs for student access as well as a wireless network in the building allowing students with laptops to use the School's network from tables and study carrels throughout the facility.

The Hurd Sports Center and Gaines Hall

The Hurd Sports Center was opened in September 1992. This facility includes a gym (side-by-side volleyball courts and a basketball court), weight room, competitive swimming pool, dance studio, locker rooms, athletic training room, and offices for the teaching and coaching staff. Outdoor facilities include three full-size playing fields, eight tennis courts, and cross country trails.

Madeira's equestrian facilities include Gaines Hall, a 100' by 200' indoor ring, two outdoor rings with sand footing, bridle trails, and a variety of cross-country obstacles. The stable can house 47 horses. Students may bring and board their own horses or ride one of Madeira's horses.

The Chapel/Auditorium

Madeira's performance facilities are housed in a complex called the Chapel/Auditorium. Working spaces include a 590-seat proscenium arch theater with a covered orchestra pit, an art gallery, a scene shop, a prop shop, a costume loft, a dance studio with a wooden sprung floor, choral and chamber orchestra rehearsal spaces, two classrooms, and three piano practice rooms.

Academic facilities

Academic facilities include the Science Building, Main, Schoolhouse, the new Schoolhouse II, the new Student Center (including dining hall, school store, offices, and meeting rooms). Attached to the Student Center is the art building.

Dormitories and faculty housing

Madeira has six dormitories (named North, South, East, West, Main, and New) and an infirmary. There are several facilities for faculty housing including "The Land" and "The Beeches."

Public Access

Madeira restricts public access to its property. In 2008, the Fairfax County government attempted to obtain from Madeira an easement near the Potomac River to permit the completion of a 100-mile (160 km) loop of walking trails as a condition of approval for the school's proposed expansion plans. A one-mile (1.6 km) long trail section through Madeira's property would connect the County's Scott's Run Park to Great Falls National Park. Madeira refused to grant this easement, citing concerns about safety and environmental impacts.^[1]

Administration, faculty, and staff

The Madeira School is controlled by a board of directors, and the school is administered by a headmistress. The current headmistress Elisabeth Griffith, Ph.D. who was appointed 1988. In 2005, Dr. Griffith won The Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award for private schools.

There are approximately 170 members of Madeia's administration, faculty, and staff. The student to teacher ratio is approximately 6:1.

Former heads of school

• (1906-1957) Lucy Madeira Wing
• (1957-1962) Allegra Maynard
• (1962-1964) Marian W. Smith
• (1964-1965) Allegra Maynard
• (1965-1977) M. Barbara Keyser
• (1977-1980) Jean Struven Harris
• (1980-1981) Kathleen Galvin Johnson '53
• (1981-1988) Charles McKinley Saltzman II
• (1988-2010) Elisabeth Griffith, Ph.D.

The Madeira School is currently seeking a new head of school as Dr. Elisabeth Griffith is due to retire at the end of the current school year.

Notes

External links

• The Madeira School

Coordinates: 38°57′55.7″N 77°14′6.9″W / 38.965472°N 77.23525°W / 38.965472; -77.23525