Meet the Upper School Head

Welcome to the Upper School at Manlius Pebble Hill!

Here at MPH, students develop ideas into worldviews, classmates become lifelong friends, and teachers inspire passion and commitment. I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes an educational experience transformative. Having looked at learning through the eyes of hundreds of students, I find  that children need at least three key elements from their education-all of which you find here at MPH, because  they are hard-wired  into our program  and our community:

Enthusiastic and innovative teachers
Students learn to love ideas when they learn alongside teachers who are passionate, knowledgeable, committed, and creative. Our faculty love their subjects and they come to school every day thinking up new ways to get students excited about learning. Kids carry their in-class discussions out into the hallways and home to the dinner table because their teachers’ passion  is  contagious.

Supportive expectation
Students learn the most when they are pushed to the limits of their ability while receiving consistent support. At MPH, we couple the highest performance standards with warmth, reassurance, and acceptance, so students know it is safe to aim high, even if that sometimes means falling short. Here, students learn from their failures and return  to try again and   achieve.

Freedom to choose
Our program is designed to engage and empower students to take ownership of their education, their lives, and the future. We start with a broad, liberal arts foundation in freshman and sophomore years. Then juniors and seniors have increasing freedom to tailor their courses and independent projects toward their own interests and ambitions. Students grow as question-askers- and emerge as thinkers, makers, and doers-when they have a voice in their education.

At MPH we teach students to value partnership, to collaborate, and to innovate. We balance high standards with concern for every aspect of every child’s well-being. We help students develop awareness of themselves  and others as they grow into healthy, balanced  and happy young  adults.

If that sounds like something you want for your child, I would love to talk with you more about how we do it.

Warm regards,

Fred Montas, Jr.
Head of Middle and Upper School