Upper Commons Fund

The study of the humanities allows young people to take part in a grand conversation that humankind has been having with itself for centuries, an attempt to understand ourselves and the world in which we live. 

At Thomas MacLaren School, all high school students take a daily two-hour Socratic seminar we call "Humane Letters." This rigorous humanities course is one of the hallmarks of a MacLaren education, where the study of literature, history, philosophy, political theory, and economics all come together. 

Such a rich conversation deserves a dignified venue.  The recent approval of our Lower School (K-5) charter, and a robust lottery, have allowed us to invite 422 new students to join our community of learners in the fall of 2018!  This is the time to reimagine our campus and provide Humane Letters its own home. 

To accommodate the expansion of our school, the east wing of our 84,000 square foot main building will dedicated to our elementary students.  We are excited to begin transforming the old Industrial Arts building into the Upper Commons, a center dedicated to the study of Humane Letters.

We invite you to be part of revitalizing this 10,000 square foot space: from defunct home ec kitchens and metal shops to seven seminar rooms and a large multimedia gathering space for our high school.  The Upper Commons will host the rich conversations that begin in the seminar rooms, spill out into the corridors, and into a splendid area filled with good books, state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, and comfortable seating areas, with plenty of room for the building of community. 

While you may rest assured we have budgeted funds to put up the walls and make this building habitable again for our uses, now we need you as we endeavor to raise $150,000 to transform this space into an elegant wing worthy of our humanities program and the conversations that develop great MacLaren students: young men and women who are fully human and fully awake to the world.  

Will you be an active and useful participant in the ongoing and enduring conversation that is a vibrant civilization? 

Click the "Donate" button below, or contact Kari Coleman at [email protected], to join us in this exciting next phase!


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