In J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher In the Rye,” main character Holden Caulfield created memorable images of the challenges inherent to adolescence. These include the constantly evolving expectations brought to bear by parents and teachers, the often
overwhelming influence of peers and the performance pressures that adolescents place upon themselves to fit in and feel successful.

It was easy for me to identify with Caulfield’s character as an anxious independent school student in the 1970s and equally easy now, as an educator thirty years later. While the core values of adolescence haven’t changed as much as many adults claim, the world in which they are living, learning and working has. New millennium teens are faced with more of everything, faster, than any generation before them; yet fitting in and feeling successful remains as important to them now as it did to their parents and their grandparents.

Creating an environment that reflects an understanding of these challenges and preparing students to thrive within it are high priorities at Wyoming Seminary. With an enrollment that consists of students hailing from twenty-three different nations and more
than ten different states, we are a microcosm of larger communities everywhere. Poets, athletes and Rocket Club members; musicians, debaters and world travelers; young men and women of talent, ambition and idealism fill our ranks.

These circumstances create a climate primed for growth since people least like us often teach us the most about ourselves. Our academic program parallels the school environment; it is diverse, challenging and highly individualized. Complimenting a rigorous liberal arts curriculum that includes traditional course offerings in English, foreign language, history, math and science, we engage Academics at Wyoming Seminary our students in the study of fine and performing arts, Bible, forensics, art history and an extraordinary
offering of elective courses. Advanced placement tests are administered to our students in twenty-six different areas of interest.

While all of our students are here for both college and life preparation, I feel confident in saying that no two Wyoming Seminary students experience the same school day. What will be similar, however, is that all of our students are asked to do a significant amount of reading, writing and public speaking as well as participate actively in the life of each class.

Each of our students works with his/her advisor and Class Dean to develop a schedule that includes a full course load of four or five
classes. Sem has taken great pride over the years in individualizing schedules in a manner that matches unique student profiles, finding
an appropriate balance between rigor and ease. We want the schedule to fit, and we want our students to feel confident that they can be successful, presuming that they fulfill their
responsibility in the relationship.

The nature of Wyoming Seminary’s academic program is a source of pride for all associated with the school. Our students and faculty challenge and support one another in ways that members of healthy communities do. While we are more diverse and as rigorous as any academic institution in Northeast Pennsylvania, I am confident that our students, like Holden Caulfield, are prepared for the struggle and are benefiting from the transformative values of a Wyoming Seminary education.

John Gordon
Dean of the Upper School