We Love Our Shadows
"Everyone was so nice."
That’s what visiting students almost always say after spending a shadow day at Stone.
It’s the thing they’re most surprised by—not the classes, not the schedule, not the building (though they usually like all of those, too). What they notice first is how genuinely kind and welcoming everyone is.
At Stone, we believe the best way to understand what makes us different is to see us in action. To witness the way our students connect with their teachers and each other. To feel the energy of our campus. To see how much we laugh—because we believe that’s just as important as the work.
That’s why we host shadow days all year long. Visiting students are paired with a host student who shares similar interests, and they spend the day experiencing life at Stone exactly as our students do.
Humanities instructor Horst Rosenberg, working the parking lot.
In a matter of minutes, they see why we’re different: our school is driven by our students' work, the relationships Stone students have with their faculty are rooted in collaboration and mentorship, our culture is creative and driven by an inveterate community-wide interest in problem solving.
In a single day, an Upper School shadow student might dive into a debate in Race and Resistance, join a House Competition during break, help polish a Junior Workshop project, tackle a tricky problem set in Linear Algebra, grab lunch off-campus, and finish the day designing in the Art Studio.
In the Middle School, a shadow student might kick things off with a creative exercise in Chinese, take part in that same House Competition, collaborate on data sets tracking migration in STEAM 8, puzzle through Algebraic equations, enjoy a full hour outside for lunch, and wrap up with improv games in Theatre 8.
Welcoming visiting students is just a natural part of our Mission.
No two days at Stone are exactly alike—our schedule is flexible, and our students have a wide range of courses to choose from. So while we can't predict exactly what classes a shadow student might visit, we can guarantee this: they’ll notice right away how excited our students are to welcome them, how engaged their teachers are, and how collaborative, creative, and—yes—nice our community really is.
We’re loud, we’re curious, we’re serious about designing meaningful work. And we’d love to show you what makes Stone so special.
Ready to schedule a shadow day?
Visit our Admissions Page and click on the “Schedule a Shadow” button.
Prefer to meet with us privately instead? Email us at admissions@stoneindependent.org or click here to set up a private tour.
We can’t wait to welcome you to campus,
Mike Simpson & Sarah Clarke
The Admissions Team