Upper School at Wheeler
Students in Wheeler’s Upper School of Grades 9-12 embrace academic challenges, take risks, work hard and find joy while doing all of the above! Our students are high achievers who know how to collaborate. They are confident public speakers who are also good listeners. They know relationships matter while they are finding their own voice. Each is prepared to take the next steps to college and life.
Our Philosophy
It is our belief that giving students (that’s you!) the opportunities to take risks, embrace challenges, and find great joy in the learning process is as important as what each student learns. We hope that you, with the support of teachers who are experts in their fields, will not only graduate with a strong foundation of skills for college but that you will develop interests that will sustain you throughout your life. You can take a traditional path through a rigorous curriculum that is expansive and inspired. You can also take a road less traveled through our Design Shop seminars and follow a studio approach to learning with project teams and critiques that mirror the world of innovative design thinking.
Our Program
The Wheeler Upper School is academically rigorous, artistically rich and athletically competitive. Curricular disciplines are not so much crossed as melded — 11th graders in a short story elective create a three-part fictional podcast in Wheeler’s Digital Production Studio, for example. An intentional curriculum focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion, health and wellness, metacognition and social-emotional learning. We build the ‘muscles’ of empathy and resilience. We share, listen and laugh together. We disagree with respect and we learn with purpose.
Our Co-Curriculum
Upper School students participate in a variety of co-curricular experiences. Through Wheeler’s signature Aerie Approach, we connect students with passionate interests (from quantum physics to learning Turkish) with academic mentors from the surrounding colleges and the Providence community. Community Service Learning (CSL) is an important part of the Upper School experience at Wheeler and a graduation requirement. The program is designed to broaden horizons, foster individual responsibility, and strengthen leadership skills through a commitment to service. Through structured reflection, students assess the impact of their service on the organization, the community it serves, and themselves. Opportunities exist to assume leadership roles as members of clubs, class officers, and participants on one of our many academic and athletic teams.
Contact Neeltje Henneman (neeltjehenneman@wheelerschool.org), Upper School Head, for more information.
Upper School Administration
See Our Stories
As you may remember from a previous post, the 18 Wheelers a cappella group performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last spring, surrounded not only by world-renowned artwork, but also by Wheeler alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends.
Now, you can relive this memorable experience through the lens of our talented student filmmakers 📽️. This video features the performance and reflections from the 18 Wheelers and was produced by Communications and Performing Arts Teacher Jesse Yip ’08 and his Video Broadcasting II students Lizzie C. ’28, Adit M. ’28, and Taka U. ’28. It also marked Wheeler Broadcasting`s first field trip to film and document their classmates` experiences.
"It was a fantastic collaboration between the two classes!" says Director of Vocal Music Emily Serotta P’38, P’41. "The Met invited us back next year, and we can`t wait!"
We`re excited to build on collaborations like this and look forward to sharing more student-produced stories throughout the new school year. ✨
Aug 6
We are excited to share that composer Sara Barone ’13 has been nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the television program, “The Beast in Me”!
“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by our peers in the Television Academy,” Sara says of her nomination for Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special. “It’s especially meaningful to see ‘The Beast in Me’ recognized across so many different categories.”
When we last posted about Sara’s career, we highlighted her score for “Planet Earth III,” which scored Sara her first Emmy nod in 2024. While that was a documentary, “the emotional core of the process is often quite similar [when composing for a fictional series like ‘The Beast in Me.’],” Sara says. “With a fictional project, I’m usually thinking very closely about character psychology, subtext, and what the music can reveal that may not be expressed on screen.
“With a project like ‘Planet Earth III,’ the storytelling comes from real behavior and real environments, so the music has to remain sensitive to that authenticity. But on a show like ‘Planet Earth III,’ the sequences are incredibly cinematic and have their own dramatic arcs, so I still approached them as stories, with tension, wonder, intimacy, and emotional weight. In both cases, the goal is ultimately the same: to deepen the audience’s connection to the story being told.”
When it comes to her own story arc, Sara says, “My time at Wheeler played an important role in shaping me as a young musician and composer. From being introduced to musical traditions from around the world through the Music Department, to studying music theory and composition through Aerie, to performing with the 18 Wheelers, I could not have imagined a more enriching foundation.”
From that foundation at Wheeler to the Sept. 14 Emmy Awards ceremony, Sara adds that she’s looking forward “to celebrating with the team, seeing friends and colleagues, and enjoying the rare opportunity for composers to emerge from our studios and socialize in formalwear.”
Please join us in congratulating Sara on her Emmy nomination!
📷 credit: Anna Azarov
Aug 5
This summer, Gryer A. ’28, Angela D. ’28, Adit M. ’28, Sarae S. ’28, and Sienna T. ’27 stepped into a leadership experience focused on creating meaningful social change.
Offered through a partnership with Wheeler’s Student Support Program, Tufts University’s Leadership for Social Change (LSC) program empowers students to examine complex social issues, strengthen their leadership skills, collaborate with others, and explore how they can make a difference. Over two weeks, students participated in interactive lectures with Tufts faculty, connected with local leaders and community organizations, and explored strategies for advancing equity, inclusion, and civic engagement.
“One of the greatest joys of my work is watching students grow into confident, compassionate leaders,” shared Equity, Community, and Belonging Student Support Coordinator and College Counseling Liaison Rose Phildor P’28, P’35. “When young people are given the opportunity to learn, lead, and serve, they don’t just imagine change, they become it.”
Congratulations to Gryer, Angela, Adit, Sarae, and Sienna on completing the 2026 Tufts University Leadership for Social Change program! We’re excited to see how they continue to apply what they learned as leaders at Wheeler and beyond. 💫
Aug 4
Students in our Hamilton Summer Program welcomed a very special guest today: Chip, the harbor seal mascot of @rhodeislandfc ⚽️! They asked Chip questions, exchanged high fives, shared interesting facts about harbor seals, and even got Chip to sign a few autographs (which is a very impressive feat for someone with flippers)! 🦭
The only thing missing from the experience was our own animal mascots, the Gold Lion and Purple Cow, who are currently enjoying summer vacation by the new pool at Wheeler Farm. We’ll need to arrange for a mascot meet up during the school year! 🐮 🦁
Jul 29
