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A
Short History of The Wyndcroft School
The year nineteen-eighteen reflected a growing
concern within the educational community to provide not only for academic
excellence, but also to provide for the healthful wellbeing of a child.
In the midst of nationwide epidemics of measles, mumps,
Within four years the school had changed its name to "The Wyndcroft School" and gained such popularity within the community that the parents purchased a "delightfully situated" rural property on which to expand. Here they constructed "scientifically designed buildings built for the comfort and convenience of the children," in which to hold their school. At this new Rosedale Drive address, (the present site of Wyndcroft), The Wyndcroft School flourished and by 1925 consisted of 50 pupils and 5 teachers. The buildings soon expanded to include "five outdoor bungalows, a school building with a large assembly room, office, classroom, [and] well-equipped kitchen and dining-room where the children have their noon meal."
In the first year of Mr. Carlisle Snively's
tenure, (Headmaster from 1948 to1980), he enhanced Wyndcroft's reputation
by bringing it into the fold of the Pennsylvania Association of Private Academic
Schools and
The modernization of the Wyndcroft facilities was not Mr. Snively's only contribution to Wyndcroft. He also ushered in the modern spirit of education based on freedom of inquiry and freedom of faith. In a non-sectarian environment, he sought to guide the mental, moral and religious growth of pupils. Through small classes and individual attention he encouraged students to learn through both independence and discipline, by freedom and responsibility, and by teaching each child to discover a balance between regard for self and respect for the rights of others and the common welfare. These two Heads of School, Mrs. Mabel Day Steele and Mr. Carlisle Snively, through their many years of dedicated service, have exercised great influence over the shape and character of The Wyndcroft School. Each succeeding Head of School, taking her (or his) place at Wyndcroft, builds on the hard work and visions of those who have come before. Each helps to prepare new generations of children to compete actively within and to contribute to the world in which they will be taking part. The evolving history and tradition of the Wyndcroft School echoes through the generations. Their legacy is seen in each successive generation of students--from the Jazz Age to the Nuclear Age--whose voices still resonate in Wyndcroft's evolving tradition and vision for its future. |
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Head of School: Kathleen E. Wunner, Ph.D. Copyright © 2007 The Wyndcroft School The Wyndcroft School Page hosted by
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flu
and tuberculosis, a few parents in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, members of
the prestigious Hill School faculty, chose to provide a superior
education for their younger children by founding a progressive
"open-air" school. So began Wyndcroft's first incarnation in
the sunlit porches and an open garage of a residence on the Hill School
campus under the name of "The Pottstown Open Air
School." 
For
23 years, from 1925 to1948, Mrs. Mabel Day Steele focused her considerable
talent and energy on the development of the small school from a
curriculum based on fresh air and physical activity to one that
emphasized sound academic training. Her goal? To prepare students for the best
secondary schools and colleges through highly individualized instruction
in small classes and a flexible curriculum. Plenty of physical activity,
the stimulus of team sports, and the creativity
of plays and pageants written by the students offered a diverse schedule
for blossoming minds and bodies. The tradition of
concluding the academic year with a May Fete including a May
pole
dance and other festivities flourished under her watch. 
by
expanding the facilities with a new building to house offices and 4
additional classrooms. A year later, athletic fields were designed and
landscaped. In 1959, he oversaw the building of an addition including
the first indoor area for athletics, and in 1969 he provided the upper
school with 8 new classrooms. One of these rooms was a state-of-the-art
laboratory, which he used as a springboard to introduce an innovative
science program for kindergarten through upper school grades centered
upon hands-on experimentation by individual students.