Self-Help

Self-help has been one of the fundamental principles at Wooster since the School's founding in 1926. It is a philosophy that places total responsibility for the physical environment of the school on the students.

Students are not only responsible for cleaning and maintaining the campus, but also for the program's organization and management.

As students in the Lower School (grades K - 5) progress through the grades, they assume more responsibility for their classrooms and the Lower School building. Students in the Middle and Upper Schools (grades 6 - 12) are in charge at all times of the upkeep of the whole school.

For Middle and Upper School students, a specific time period during the school day is set aside for students to do the "jobs related to cleaning and maintaining the campus"

In addition to self-help and volunteering, Upper School students meet the requirement of 100 hours of community service outside the Wooster community, which can be completed between the summer before freshman year and graduation.

Seniors in good standing academically may also participate in the Senior Independent Study (SIS) program the last six weeks of their senior year, at which time they may pursue a community service project or career interest as a job off campus. Upon completion of SIS, each student submits a written report and makes an oral presentation to the faculty and senior classmates about what he or she learned.