Trivium School

Trivium School
Location
Lancaster , Massachusetts United States
Coordinates	42°27′44″N71°41′21″W / 42.462174°N 71.689304°W / 42.462174; -71.689304
Information
Type	Private Independent Catholic
Motto	Sed nomini tuo da gloriam (unofficial) ("But to thy name give glory")
Patron saint	Sedes Sapientiae
Established	1979
Headmaster	William M. Schmitt
Grades	7-12
Enrollment	100 students
Student to teacher ratio	7:1
Colors	Red and Gold
Song	Trivium nostrum
Athletics	Basketball, Soccer, Baseball
Athletics conference	Worcester County Athletic Conference (WCAC)
Website	http://triviumschool.com/

Trivium School is an independent Catholic college-preparatory school for boys and girls in grades seven through twelve, located in Lancaster, Massachusetts.

Background

Trivium School was founded in 1979 ^[1] by John S. Schmitt, its establishing headmaster, as the first classical school in America. ^[2] Mr. Schmitt studied education at Harvard University and taught briefly at Colorado Rocky Mountain School and Millbrook School before founding Thomas More School in Harrisville, New Hampshire, in 1959. ^[3] Schmitt then taught at Thomas Aquinas College in California from 1974-1979, ^[4] leaving to establish Trivium School in the same year. The School is named for the Trivium, the first three liberal arts (Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric). The students follow a unified curriculum that includes college preparatory studies with an emphasis on the intellectual virtues. The curriculum is influenced by the ideas of Mortimer J. Adler, Sister Miriam Joseph, and Dorothy L. Sayers by its stated purpose to develop the "tools for learning" instead of simply teaching subjects. ^{[5] [6]} Its stated mission also includes the use of the Socratic method in small classes with a low student-teacher ratio. Students are required to participate in studios of music, visual arts, and drama, and to sing in the School chorus. ^[7]

References

1. Lennon, Heather (2001). Images of America: Lancaster. Arcadia. ISBN   9780738509044 . Retrieved March 16, 2014.
2. Williams, Brian. ""Introducing Principia and Classical Education"". Principia: A Journal of Classical Education. Baylor edu. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
3. "In Memoriam: John Stuart Schmitt 1927-2012". Trivium Scripta, Winter 2012.
4. "John S. Schmitt, RIP". Thomas Aquinas College.
5. Sayers, Dorothy. "The Lost Tools of Learning" . Retrieved March 16, 2014.
6. Leithart, Peter J. (January 29, 2008). "The New Classical Schooling". First Principles. Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
7. "The Trivium Curriculum" . Retrieved March 17, 2014.

External links

• Trivium School Website
• Private School Review of Trivium School