Edith Lesley Wolfard began the
Lesley School in September, 1909, for the professional instruction for
kindergarten teachers. Those first students gathered in the living room of her
family home at 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, at a time when the kindergarten
movement was an emerging idea and the preparation of women for careers outside
the home a radical notion.
"Kindergarten education in
America will soon become established as a permanent unit in our national
educational philosophy," she said at the time, and her vision extended far
beyond training teachers. "I plan not merely to set up just another
training school; I plan for us to be different; to consider the individual of
basic importance; to inculcate the ideal of gracious living; and to foster the
traditions of American democracy."
Her prophetic views on early
education proved a foundation for Lesley's early growth, and the Lesley School
prepared women for careers in kindergarten and early education classrooms
throughout the century -- growing into Lesley College in 1945, and Lesley
University in 2000.
Edith Lesley's larger vision - the
belief in the power of individuals and the role of education in an effective
democracy - remained a central component of Lesley University's mission as the
school expanded not only in size, but in academic offerings that, like
education, play key roles in improving the lives of others and sustaining
healthy communities.
Counseling psychology, expressive
therapies - a field invented at Lesley - environmental studies, and the arts:
students in a range of disciplines and fields are guided by the founding
educational principal of integrating theory and practice.
Lesley University today offers
programs in 23 states and online, and is among the largest providers of teacher
education in the nation, focusing on the educational needs not just in early
education, but the preparation of quality teachers in math, science, special
education and literacy.
Location:
Cambridge, MA
School
Type: Private school located within a large city.Enrollment: 1,838
Number
of MHS students that applied:
2009: 5
Applied 3 Admitted2010: 2 Applied 2 Admitted
2011: 3 Applied 2 Admitted
2012: 3 Applied N/A Admitted
This
university accepts the Common Application.
SAT or
ACT’s are required.Average combined SAT: 1587
Average combined ACT: 24
Tuition: $30,170
Room & Board: $13,250
