The Nora School is a progressive, college preparatory high school in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

that is intentionally small by design. Grades 9-12. The Nora School's mission is to guide students to identify their talents, understand where their challenges lie, and honor their unique identities. It works toward this goal through a diverse, active curriculum that uses teaching and operational strategies to promote social equity, justice, and environmental stewardship. The Nora School is a nonprofit school with

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

status. Social Education strategies include monthly Community Service projects, a student trip that follows the path of Civil Rights from Atlanta, Georgia to Selma, Alabama, individual College Counseling, and weekly Advisory meetings. Students often attend Leadership Conferences in and out of the state, and internal classes such as Future Issues, Global Communities, and Environmental Science bring focused learning to important topics.

History

Founded in 1964 by

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

educator Leon Eberhard as The Eberhard School,Leon E. Eberhard Dies at 78; Teacher and School Founder
. ''The Washington Post''. April 14, 1994. p. B7. the school has changed names and locations several times. In 1968, Eberhard moved the school from

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW t ...

to the new Washington Ethical Society building at 16th Street and Kalmia Street NW, where it remained until 2000. Eberhard left the school in 1975 to found the Acton School in Northern Virginia. The school was adopted by the Ethical Society and renamed Washington Ethical Society School. Eberhard died in 1994. The school fell on hard times financially, and had only 12 students when Sally Fisher from

Sandy Spring Friends School Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) is a progressive, coeducational, college preparatory Quaker school serving students from preschool (age 3) through 12th grade. SSFS offers an optional 5- and 7- day boarding program in the Middle School and Uppe ...

was hired as

Head of School A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

in 1981. Fisher restored the school to academic and financial health over the next decade. In 1988 the school was renamed Washington Ethical High School, as it no longer had a formal affiliation with the

Ethical Society The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement, Ethical Humanism or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religion, religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler (professor), Felix Adler ...

. David Mullen was hired as Head of School in 1991. The school gained its first accreditation from the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

in 1994. Due to the space and enrollment limitations of the Ethical Society building, the school began searching for property in the mid-1990s, culminating in the purchase of land in

. With a donation from former faculty member Beau Kaplan and his wife Linda, the school built a new building and grew enrollment by 50% in 2000. That same year the school was renamed The Nora School in honor of the Kaplan's late daughter. As of 2015, Beau Kaplan is

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Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. The school expanded again in the fall of 2016, adding a second floor to its building on Sligo Avenue, doubling its size to approximately 1100 square feet and adding a second science lab, a music room, student lounge and seminar room among other spaces.

References

External links

*
Washington Small Schools AssociationNational Coalition of Small SchoolsMiddle States Association of Colleges and SchoolsNational Association of Independent Schools
{{authority control Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland Educational institutions established in 1964 Ethical movement Private high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland Preparatory schools in Maryland 1964 establishments in Maryland