Forman School

Forman School is located in quintessential New England town of Litchfield, Connecticut, a two-hour drive from New York City, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Boston, and an hour drive from Hartford. Dedicated to bright students who learn differently, Forman provides a college-prep educational environment where students are encouraged to explore all academic disciplines, as well as extracurricular, athletic, arts, and community service opportunities.

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Mitchell Block, Academy Award winning producer (Big Mama) and Academy Award nominated filmmaker (Poster Girl)
Toni Fishman, owner of Telefunken
Eli Morgan Gesner, designer and creative genius behind Baby Phat, Zoo York, and HBO's "How to make it in America"
Richard Henkels, award-winning cinematographer
Annette Jenner, Ph.D. Harvard University, neuroscientist and researcher, professor at Syracuse University
John Seward Johnson II, bronze sculptor
Nick Kraus, co-founder of Soldier Ride and Wounded Warrior Project
Shawn Lerner, owner of Zip-Flyer, LLC, creator of largest zipline in the world, Las Vegas Slotzilla
Blake Miller, professional lacrosse player
David Rublin, bass player of American Authors
Leslie Rudes, co-founder and owner of Not Your Daughter’s Jeans
Doran Smith, Emmy nominated film editor
William Stahl, Vice Chairman at Southeby's, North and South America
David Walter, inventor of Aldus PageMaker, the first desktop publishing program, as well as Visio, drawing software

Yes

Formal Monday, business casual

The preferred method of application is through the online Forman Application. In addition we support the SSATB Common Application and paper copies of the application are available by downloading the form links at www.formanschool.org/apply.

Along with the application form, please submit educational testing given within the last three years. The School requires testing prior to scheduling a campus visit and interview. Testing must include measures of cognitive ability such as a WISC/WAIS test as well as measures of achievement such as WJ-III or WIAT-II.

Forman School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for boarding and day students with identified learning differences. Forman develops the whole student, based on his or her unique learning profile, so that every graduate becomes an educated, confident, self-advocate throughout life.

John and Julie Forman were newlyweds with a vision when they founded a small school in Litchfield in 1930 that would give individual attention to young boys. Opening the school with just three students, Forman grew quickly and added a separate school for girls in 1942. The two schools formally merged in 1971.

As a graduate of Princeton University, one of John Forman's contacts was Professor Albert Einstein, who also faced reading challenges of his own as a student. This relationship led to Dr. Einstein joining The Forman School's Academic Board of Advisors and his input to the school's groundbreaking curriculum.

The Formans were committed to utilizing the best available resources and latest research-driven techniques to address the specific learning disabilities of their students, a tradition that has continued throughout the school's history. They turned to Dr. Samuel T. Orton, a pioneer in reading methodologies and a mentor of John Forman, in determining how to teach the fundamentals of reading. The Formans established the Remedial English Department and employed the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching reading phonics. They were also awarded a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to conduct research in teaching reading.

The Formans also believed physical exercise played an important role in students' well-being. A strong athletic program was established with participation in local independent school athletic leagues. The school successfully competed in securing grants from the Ford Foundation to fund the cost of athletic domes that existed on campus for decades until they were replaced by more permanent facilities.