Welcome
One hundred years since its founding, The Madeira School continues to affirm the wisdom and convictions of Lucy Madeira.
She firmly believed that girls deserved a rigorous education, and that such a curriculum, delivered in a residential setting, would produce young women who have the skills and confidence to use their individual talents.
Each student brings unique gifts that, when discovered and cultivated, offer the promise of great success. Miss Madeira was convinced that were she to bring curious, capable girls together with the strongest faculty she could recruit, a certain chemistry would occur and something special would result. It did, and it still does. We see Lucy Madeira's vision realized every day in the classroom, on the playing field, at All School Meeting, and in our student Co-Curriculum placements.
While Miss Madeira would be enormously proud of the education today’s students receive, as well as gratified by the subsequent success of Madeira graduates, she would encourage us all not to be complacent about the future of our school. As an all girls’ boarding school, Madeira occupies a unique position in a world with strong public schools, charter schools, local independent schools, and well-funded co-ed boarding schools. While we compete for mission appropriate girls, we also confront the high cost of an extensive, older physical plant, need for financial aid to keep the School affordable, and the challenge of paying faculty and staff well. It is imperative that we strengthen and broaden our financial foundation if we intend to sustain Miss Madeira’s vision.
The Way Ahead, a $60 million campaign, marks the first step of our journey into Madeira’s second century. As we move forward, it is fitting that we pause to applaud all that our school has achieved. The people featured on the following pages do just that. They reflect on their Madeira experiences and with a perspective sharpened by both time and distance, they articulate how their Madeira educations have shaped their individual characters.
Miss Madeira’s vision is as relevant today as it was when she opened the doors to her school on DuPont Circle in 1906. Important core values remain: retaining and rewarding stellar faculty, recruiting girls with firm character and inquisitive spirit, providing facilities that enhance our community of learning. Yet our future will be full of challenges very different from those our founder and her successors have faced. With financial support from alumnae, families, and friends who want to invest in the education of young women, we can continue to graduate "Madeira girls" - smart, vibrant, engaged, ethical women who will make a difference.
Please join us on The Way Ahead.
