For the past four years, each spring, Grade 6 students step into the role of urban planners through the Future Cities Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience, an immersive, inquiry-driven journey that challenges them to answer a powerful question: How might we design a sustainable city of the future? This signature Grade 6 experience has evolved into…
What happens when students are given not a prompt, but a problem? In Mount Vernon’s Innovation Diploma (iD), that question is not theoretical. It’s the foundation of learning. And in Mod 3, through a first-of-its-kind partnership with Inspire Brands, students stepped into the role of brand strategists, navigating ambiguity, uncovering insights, and delivering solutions that…
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More than 100 pieces of donated soccer equipment. Cross-divisional collaboration. A student-designed experience that connected Lower School learners with Upper School athletes through a shared sense of purpose; this is what’s possible when students are empowered to lead. For Finn Douglas, a Grade 5 learner, the inspiration for his Summit experience began with a simple…
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The Mount Vernon experience is intentionally designed around choice. Choices increase as students move through each division. In Upper School, students choose their pathway: Inquiry, Innovation, or Impact, each offering opportunities to explore passions, solve real-world problems, and design their journey of purpose. Yet, some experiences transcend pathways altogether. The Global Exchange Program is one…
Read More from More Than Travel: A Fully Immersive Exchange Experience
What does it mean to truly understand a cell? In Grade 7 Science, it means being able to redesign it. Through a transdisciplinary unit that blends science, humanities, and design, students move beyond memorization and into mastery, applying complex biological concepts through inventive, real-world analogies they create themselves. For Grade 7 Science Teacher, Chelsea Kennedy,…
Read More from Learning That Sticks: How Real-World Connections Deepen Scientific Understanding
This year’s Interim program demonstrated what is possible when students connect across divisions, bringing Lower and Upper School learners into shared experiences that are both purposeful and deeply engaging. At the center of this work was Helen Hudgens, Lower School Floating Faculty member and Mount Vernon alumna (Class of 2016), who, in partnership with Molly…
Read More from Interim 2026 Expanding Possibilities Across Campuses
In every gym, on every field, and across every stage of life, athletics shape leaders. This Women’s History Month, as the Mount Vernon community rallies toward the finish line of the Let’s Do This Capital Campaign, we pause to celebrate the women who have defined what it means to compete with purpose. From Olympians and…
Read More from Her Game, Her Grit, Her Impact: Celebrating MV Women in Athletics
The intentional integration of technology begins long before students receive their first personal devices. In the Lower School, digital learning is carefully sequenced to align with developmental readiness, blending hands-on, tactile learning with thoughtful digital exposure. “Since COVID, we’ve been very intentional with how students use screens in the classroom,” says Katie Cain, Head of…
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Third graders and kindergarteners teamed to spread some cheer to the Class of 2025 alumni, creating care packages filled with letters, treats, and thoughtful keepsakes. “G3 students wrote personal letters and notes of encouragement to the Class of 2025 alumni,” said Stuart Haddow, Director of Annual Giving and Alumni, who coordinated the project. “The students…
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How Middle School French Connects Language, Inquiry, and Global Learning In Mount Vernon’s Middle School, world language learning is designed to do more than build vocabulary, it cultivates curiosity, cultural proficiency, and global perspective. Through an inquiry-driven French Food Unit, Grade 8 students explore how language, history, and culture intersect, reflecting Mount Vernon’s commitment to…