Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School
Waltham, MA 02452
With a history that goes back more than 175 years, Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School is a small, coeducational day and boarding school for students in grades 9 to 12 and postgraduate. Located on a 37-acre, beautiful suburban campus, we offer small classes and a strong college preparatory curriculum, in addition to arts, athletics, and other exciting opportunities for personal discovery. But if you’re thinking CH-CH sounds just like many of other independent schools, read on. We’re an innovative school offering some distinctly different approaches and experiences so students actively engage in their learning.
CH-CH Facts
- Student body of 180
- Coeducational: 50% male, 50% female
- Faculty/student ratio is 1:5
- Grades: 9-12, Postgraduate
- 60 faculty and staff members
- 35% of faculty live on campus
- Day students: 55%
- Boarding students: 45%
- International students: 25%
- 95% of our graduates attend a four year college
- Academic support program
- 10 miles from Boston
- Weekly online progress reports
We Teach The Way Students Learn
Many schools say they treat students as individuals, but not all schools are committed to teaching them the way they learn. At CH-CH we are. We have built our educational approach on the fundamental belief that students learn in different ways and have different strengths in demonstrating what they have learned. In a CH-CH classroom, you might find students playing a ball-throwing vocabulary game, giving students a way to listen, touch, and see the words.
At CH-CH, our innovative approach affects not just what individual teachers do. It’s also how we’ve structured our class day. Each academic class meets three times a week, and the class periods are 75 minutes long. Don’t worry, you won’t get a teacher lecturing the whole time. Instead you might have a brief presentation by the teacher, followed by a class discussion, and then an activity where students work in small groups.
The Learning Center: A Unique Resource
Our innovative Learning Center develops an Individual Learning Style Profile for each student. A great way to help students understand their strengths, talents, and areas of weakness, the profiles are also useful to teachers seeking to create effective lessons that enhance learning. Many of our students also avail themselves of the Learning Center’s program of skills’ development and subject-specific enrichment. This is not quick-fix tutoring to help you pass that geometry test. This is an integrated, personalized program. It is designed to equip students with self- awareness and the tools for self-advocacy, while also providing the academic knowledge, organization strategies, and time management skills needed to navigate college academics with confidence and independence. Students enrolled in the program have a regularly scheduled Learning Center class and work closely with a Learning Center teacher to pursue a program designed to meet their specific needs.
College Counseling: The Desired Outcome
Our graduates have so many good college options for three main reasons: 1) the strength of their CH-CH education; 2) the reputation created by our alumni who, over the years, have demonstrated to college admissions offices nationwide that our graduates are interesting, talented, capable students; 3) the expert advice and special opportunities presented by our College Counseling Office. Among other things, the office holds a weeklong summer “boot camp,” during which incoming seniors can fully complete their applications; offers guidance sessions on Monday nights throughout the school year; facilitates small gatherings in which our students can forge personal connections with admissions officers; and has a counselor whose focus is working exclusively with student artists to prepare portfolios for art school applications.
Student Involvement
Our students pursue interests, bond with classmates, contribute to the community, and have fun with a variety of activities during the class day, which includes a meeting period for student clubs. Clubs include Drama, Student Government, Amnesty International, International Student Organization, Students of Color Alliance, and the Gay/Straight Alliance.
Opportunities in the Arts
The arts enrich the CH-CH experience both as academic courses and as co-curricular activities. In the visual arts, courses are offered in photography, digital art, ceramics, sculpture, art history, and studio art. Students are encouraged to develop their critical, innovative, and creative thinking skills. As part of the AP Studio Art course, for example, students post images, make blog entries, and write about their own and each other’s work. The most dedicated artists can pursue our concentrated program to earn a Certificate of Distinction in Visual Art.
In the performing arts, students choose from a variety of courses, such as Fundamentals of Theatre Arts, Chorus, and Cultures of Hip Hop and Rock & Roll Music. Through the Drama Program, students have the opportunity to participate in three major shows during the year, including one musical. Recent productions include Romeo and Juliet, Seussical, and The Laramie Project. Whether the chorus is rehearsing a performance piece, or the cast and crew are staging a show, students experience the joys of creation and teamwork.
Everyone Stays Active
Students have several opportunities to participate in mandatory afternoon activities. We offer traditional interscholastic sports, as well as fitness training and less traditional options such as badminton and rock climbing. Other activities may include robotics, newspaper, drama, and tech crew. Seasoned athletes, as well as those trying a sport for the first time, have the opportunity to participate, develop their skills, and enjoy the camaraderie of being on a team.
Interscholastic Athletic Teams
Fall
Cross-Country
Field Hockey
Golf
Soccer
Winter
Basketball
Volleyball
Wrestling
Spring
Baseball
Lacrosse
Softball
Ultimate Frisbee
Weekend Activities for Boarders at CH-CH
Weekends offer opportunities for recreation and relaxation on campus, such as watching a movie with friends, playing a pick-up game of basketball in the gym, or having a cookout. Major school events include Diversity Day and Winter Carnival. Off-campus activities include going to museums and attractions in Boston (10 miles away), shopping, or out to dinner. CH-CH students also take the opportunity to devote some of their free time to community service and charities. Projects include the Charles River cleanup, the Walk for Hunger, and volunteering at the local food pantry.
Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School
You can learn more about our school at: www.chch.org
785 Beaver Street
Waltham, MA 02452
Phone: 781-314-0800
Email: admissions@chch.org
If you would like an individual campus tour and school visit, please contact the Admissions Office to schedule your appointment. Information about applying and admissions events can be found here.