It is no coincidence that the ranch that became this school was named “Casa de Piedra”—house of stone. Rock-solid in its second century, Thacher has carefully maintained Sherman Day Thacher’s original cornerstone values of hard work—both intellectual and physical—and of honesty, selflessness, and concern for others that extends well beyond our campus and beyond even our time here. The foundation is strong; the house built plumb.

Those of us who live, work and study here have willingly and purposefully joined our energies and talents in what is, in a way, an unusual sort of experiment in this day and age: in this shifting world in which principles are sometimes bent to meet particular circumstances, we strive to hold strongly to the solid center that is the School’s inheritance—as one alumnus called it, to be guided by a “moral compass.” Together, we commit to the belief that demands in the academic classroom, when combined with those of mountains and horses, of sports and the arts, produce independent minds, strong bodies and powerful character.

Living here is not always easy. The academic and personal standards we set are high, and certain principles of action and word are non-negotiable. But there are rich and wonderful rewards in this place where students are supported by caring faculty members and by peers from widely varying backgrounds and cultures who share a vision of what true learning is: every challenge you meet enlivens your self-confidence, every perceived limit you exceed sparks your growth.

It takes a special student and family to understand how different Thacher is from other schools even of its own kind. Many of you already know this, because you attended Thacher, or because you are the parent of a Thacher student. Some of you will begin the discovery here in these pages.  In either case, we invite you to visit us virtually here—as a point of return or of beginning—to look closely at what we do in this place called Thacher. Then come spend time with us on campus. We welcome you to see first-hand all the ways in which Thacher is thriving, well over a century after Mr. Thacher said to his first pupil: "Come west. Breathe deep. Let these books and these hills and these horses be your teachers."

Michael K. Mulligan
Head of School