[This material is outdated. The school contacted us to inform us this New Perspective is no longer descriptive of the current operations of the school and the school is not likely to admit students who are just out of therapeutic schools.]

Nestled in a picturesque 200 year-old New England village, “the New Hampton School has been chosen as the only private high school in the United States…one of nine schools to be honored in 2002 National School of Character…out of 165 semi-finalists from around the country.” This high school of 320 students and 75 faculty, from over 30 states and 12 foreign countries, was “cited specifically for its innovative Total Human Development Model and extensive school-wide programs which include student government, community service, experiential education, Sports PLUS and GoodSport. New Hampton School is being asked to help schools and school districts across the country to create their own character education programs.”

Their Total Human Development (THD) approach to teaching and learning focuses on the intellectual, emotional, and moral as well as the physical and spiritual lives of their students. All their community members play critical roles in the teaching and learning process while philosophy, psychology and technology are integrated to provide a foundation. They strive to develop the whole person, where learning occurs within the context of relationships within the community, and respect and responsibility are considered as core universal values. These values are taught using educational psychology, which suggests that people learn values in three distinct ways: through modeling and imitation (Social Learning Theory), reinforcing rules through rewards and punishments (Behavioral Learning Theory), and through active dialogue and thinking (Cognitive-developmental Learning Theory).

They approach their students as individuals, which enables them to develop relationships with them instead of imposing a system of external rewards and punishments in order to “force behaviors”. They quote Thomas Lickona (1991) saying “our entire moral community can rest on two universal values: respect (for oneself, other people and for all forms of life and the environment that sustains them) and responsibility (the ability to respond - the action side of respect; accountability). New Hampton School fosters caring relationships, following a distinct developmental sequence that includes listening, understanding, and respecting the adolescent perspective before offering guidance, direction, and consequences. Their program includes: a comprehensive system of adventure education; town, school, and house meetings; community service; and student government.