The ultimate goal of a Waterford liberal arts education is to inspire individuals to lead lives of meaning and purpose. We are laying the foundation for human flourishing. Today, our students inhabit a world saturated with digital distractions and rapidly advancing Artificial Intelligence. While these tools offer incredible capabilities, unexamined reliance on them, especially AI, threatens to bypass the productive struggle necessary for genuine learning and independent thought.
Waterford is committed to providing a technology-reduced learning environment well suited to accomplish the primary goal of cultivating our students’ human capacities, while also offering intentional instruction in the use of technology, including AI, as students are ready for it. We are a phone-free environment, with students locking their phones away in Yondr pouches for the entire school day. We have also reduced our one-to-one laptop environment to just the Upper School grades. All Lower and Middle School students have access to shared carts of Chromebooks when teachers have a specific activity requiring the technology, but they do not have screens with them throughout the day. The technology-reduced environment is informed by the Waterford School Artificial Intelligence Philosophy Statement, which we developed during the 25-26 school year to help us make principled decisions in the years ahead, as we deepen our commitment to liberal arts education in a rapidly changing technology landscape.
Waterford limits technology use in the Lower and Middle School years, because our mission calls upon us to emphasize the human dimensions of learning. But we also require students to engage purposefully with technology at key points in our program. The ultimate goal is for students to graduate with strong digital citizenship skills, as well as the ability to use technology to conduct research and solve problems. At the same time, we want students to develop the wisdom to know when a screen or an algorithm is necessary, and when it is a barrier to authentic human growth.
Our computer programming curriculum ensures students learn the foundational logic of computer code. Classes IV and V learn block-based programming via Scratch. In Middle School students transition to text-based code, writing programs in Python, and also learning about the power and risks of emerging AI tools. Upper School students apply Python skills in data science, and also explore other languages, vibe coding, and advanced courses like AP Computer Science (a Java-based course).
Across the curriculum, we treat technology as a powerful instrument to enhance specific tasks, not as a default environment. Graphing apps, scientific sensors, and spreadsheets are used strategically to visualize concepts and analyze data. Word processing tools are used to facilitate mastery of writing skills. But always the goal is to help students internalize skills and knowledge so that they are not dependent on technological aids.
Artificial intelligence is approached critically. We teach students how to thoughtfully leverage algorithms and generative tools for exploration, while actively guarding against their tendency to outsource critical thinking or undermine the authentic writing process. The most important guardrail is our commitment to holding off on AI-intensive learning activities until later in the developmental learning process. We insist that students learn how to read, think, discuss, problem-solve, write and more without technological assistance, so that when they do begin to use AI tools, they are prepared to do so with appropriate levels of critical thinking. This skeptical approach to AI use has been demonstrated to yield the most productive human/AI collaborations. To be fully prepared, lifelong learners, students must know how to use these tools without losing their own voice.
We view computers as crucial learning tools. However, because connected screens are engineered to distract, they are used strictly when pedagogically appropriate. We intentionally put devices away to make space for deep, focused learning and unmediated, face-to-face connection. We guide our students so that as their technical skills grow, their wisdom grows alongside them. We expect students to graduate from Waterford knowing how to leverage technology to build a better world, and how to close the laptop to participate in the world as fully developed human beings.
Celebrate 5 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2021. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Register for the Class of 2021 Reunion
Celebrate 10 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2016. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Register for the Class of 2016 Reunion
Celebrate 15 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2011. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Register for the Class of 2011 Reunion
Celebrate 20 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2006. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Register for the Class of 2006 Reunion
Celebrate 25 years since graduation with your classmates. Reconnect, reminisce, and enjoy an evening of conversation, shared memories, and celebration with fellow members of the Class of 2001. Hearty appetizers and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
Register for the Class of 2001 Reunion
Come together with Waterford alumni from across the entire 1990s for an evening of reconnecting and reminiscing! This combined reunion is a chance to celebrate the friendships, memories, and moments that made your Waterford years so special. Enjoy hearty appetizers and a variety of drinks, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, while catching up with old friends and sharing laughs about your school days.
Register for the 90’s Reunion
Saturday, May 16 | 7:30 – 11:30 AM | Murray Science Center
We’re bringing back birding! Who remembers the Class IX Bird Project? Don’t miss your chance to join this fun, family-friendly event with Mark Bromley, James Harris, Mike Johnson ‘88, and Bekka Joslin. We will meet at Waterford and take a bus together. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars (we will have extras on hand if you don’t have your own).
Register Here!
Friday, May 15 | 6:30 – 7:30 PM | East Field
We’re excited to see Waterford Alumni at our annual Alumni Soccer Game! This Waterford tradition gives former players the chance to return to the field, reconnect with old teammates, and showcase their skills in a friendly atmosphere. Whether you played with us just a few years ago or several decades ago, we look forward to seeing you back on the field. Make sure to bring friends and family to cheer you on!
Friday, May 15 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM | Main Quad | No Registration Required
Join us for a fun BBQ bash at Waterford with current families and Waterford staff and faculty. It’s a great way to connect with your Waterford classmates and enjoy delicious food before the Alumni Soccer Game!
No registration is needed for the Spring BBQ. Please join us!
Friday, May 15 | 4:00 – 5:00 PM | Haught Visual Arts Gallery at Waterford | No Registration Required
Waterford has always been a place where creativity thrives. Join us for the first-ever Alumni Art Show in the Haught Visual Arts Gallery and reconnect with the creative spirit that shaped your time here. This exhibition features work by 16 Waterford Alumni artists, reflecting a range of disciplines, perspectives, and practices.
Brief Remarks at 4:00 pm will be offered by Gallery Manager and Curator Charlie Tadlock, followed by remarks from some of the Alumni Artists.
Click here for a campus map
Friday, May 15 | 2:15 – 3:30 PM | Miller Student Commons | Registration Highly Recommended
Ever wish you could go back and sit in your favorite class one more time? This Alumni Weekend, you can. We’re bringing you back “Back to Class” where you’ll have the chance to slip into a real, live Upper School classroom and experience Waterford exactly as it exists today. Same teachers, same energy, same magic. Come relive the feeling.
Friday, May 15 | 12:45– 1:00 PM | Miller Student Commons | No Registration Required
Don’t leave lunch just yet. Immediately following the Kick-Off, Head of School Andrew Menke will take a few minutes to share what’s been happening at Waterford; the changes, the milestones, and the exciting things on the horizon. It’s a chance to hear straight from the source about the school you helped shape and where it’s headed next. No sign-up needed, just pull up a seat.
Friday, May 15 | 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Miller Student Commons | No Registration Required
Kick off Alumni Weekend the right way — with good food and even better company. Join us in the new Miller Student Commons for Waterford’s all-inclusive dining experience, and spend the lunch hour reconnecting with the faculty who made your time here unforgettable. Pull up a chair, catch up with old favorites, and let the weekend begin. No registration is required for this event.
Friday, May 15 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Miller Student Commons | No Registration Required
For many of you, Assistant Head of School, Todd Winters, was the first person who ever showed you and your parents around our 41 acre campus. Now he’s back to do it again! Todd will lead you through Waterford’s beautiful newest additions and recent transformations, giving you a firsthand look at what your years here helped build. Whether it’s your first tour with Todd or your second, you won’t want to miss this one.