Wayland Academy

2025 Spring School Visit, Stop 9: Wayland Academy

Our FAM Trip brought us to another century-old prestigious school in Wisconsin – Wayland Academy. Founded in 1855, this traditional private boarding school, with its understated yet firm educational philosophy, warm and orderly campus environment, and sincere and enthusiastic reception, offered us an immersive American education experience.

☕ The Head of School and the Director of Admissions personally welcomed the GE visiting group and even specially prepared an exquisite afternoon tea! We delved into classes like English literature, science, and art, gaining firsthand insight into the curriculum design and students' learning outcomes. We also listened to student representatives share their genuine enrollment experiences, allowing us to truly feel Wayland's campus atmosphere and teaching achievements.

?️ The school also thoughtfully prepared dinner and travel snacks for us; every detail showed immense care and warmth.

? Wayland's campus environment is quiet and pleasant, and the community atmosphere is very warm and safe. Dormitory facilities are modern and comfortable, and the living environment is orderly. What's noteworthy is that many teachers are Wayland alumni themselves, holding deep affection and a sense of belonging for the school, and they pass this love and responsibility on to every student.

Love it here!

Love it here!

Love it here!

A school full of love! I started studying abroad when I was 11. The safety at my previous schools wasn't very good, and teachers didn't truly care about students. However, Wayland Academy checks students' locations daily and supervises to confirm they are on campus every day. After coming to Wayland Academy, I found that the relationship between teachers and students here is like friends. Teachers genuinely put effort into caring for students. At the same time, Wayland Academy offers a chance to experience many diverse cultures because its students come from all over the world! Most importantly, the school sends buses to pick up and drop off students every time they return for a new term! All of the above comes from the bottom of my heart! I truly love it here!

Wayland Academy data: 165 students, student-to-faculty ratio of 1:7, international student percentage of 30%, boarding student percentage of 85%, and 35% of teachers hold advanced degrees. Wayland Academy, founded in 1855, is an independent, co-educational high school offering both boarding and day programs. It is located in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, a town with a population of 15,000, is situated 40 miles northeast of Madison and 60 miles southwest of Milwaukee. All of our students strive to gain admission to college, and in fact, every single student does go on to college. We are proud of the balance we achieve between academic pursuits and cross-curricular experiential learning. On our campus, it's cool to be smart and achieve excellent results, while our students also engage in other aspects of campus life. Wayland is a small school, so teachers and students know each other well, and students don't have to be just one of many or feel like they can just blend in. They can fully enjoy various campus activities. The academy's academic, residential, guidance, and coordinated extracurricular programs are guided by five core values: care, gratitude, integrity, passion, and respect. Students maintain a balance between academic and cross-curricular learning while also participating in other campus life. The college acceptance rate for graduates is 100%.

Wayland Academy is located in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 160 miles from Chicago, approximately a 2.5-hour drive. The school's arts and STEAM programs are excellent, with an 80% advanced degree faculty ratio. However, the proportion of international students is relatively high. All international students are required to board on campus. 80% of teachers and 75% of students live on campus.

School Features:
1) Rich arts curriculum, offering visual arts, drama, digital filmmaking, jazz, vocal music, fall musicals, spring plays, student-directed one-act plays, and more.
2) Abundant extracurricular activities: such as film clubs, bands, modeling clubs, art clubs, etc., and students are encouraged to create their own clubs. Won national debate championship in 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015; Math team ranked first in Wisconsin.
3) STEAM program: Students will have more opportunities through STEAM courses such as structure and design, manufacturing, graphic design. The school also features top-notch facilities like a STEAM lab, 3D scanner, 3D printer, underwater robot tools, and a fully equipped manufacturing space.
4) The school has an observatory with a 12-inch reflecting telescope and a rotating dome.

Former graduates, please comment. Graduated in 2016 from a top 50 US university. With these details, true insiders should be able to guess who I am. Some comments about this school are true, for example, all the good teachers have left. Within two years of my graduation, the most highly-regarded teachers at the school – Lauff, Keller, Shoop, Lake – indeed all left. There are other good teachers, for example, Cleary and an AP Bio teacher whose name I forgot. But I have to say, most teachers' quality is quite average. Some teachers are very nice, like Tallman, Thompson, Bird, Walter; these teachers are all very good people and very helpful. As for life here, the cafeteria is just okay; don't expect any American school to have a good cafeteria. I have to say, the tacos are really bad, but the Sake House next door is pretty good. The two most unforgettable things about this school are the incident with chemistry teacher Russell, and the matter of little Peter. The matter of little Peter is very disgusting.