Principia is an independent educational institution staffed by Christian Scientists, serving Christian Scientists on two campuses in the greater St. Louis, Missouri, area. Principia's 360-acre St. Louis County campus serves infants through high school seniors. A 2,600-acre college campus in Elsah, Illinois, serves four-year bachelor of science and bachelor or arts degree candidates and adults, both on and off campus. Principia students come from more than 40 U.S. states and 20-plus countries. Each year about 600 students attend the St. Louis campus, 550 the undergraduate college program, and 500 the adult summer session and travel-study programs.

A brief history
In the fall of 1897 Mary Kimball Morgan, a Christian Scientist, began home-schooling her two young sons because she believed she could give them a fuller education than what was being offered in the St. Louis public schools. The basis for Mrs. Morgan's educational philosophy came from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. As other Christian Science parents discovered the education the Morgan boys were receiving, many asked to enroll their children. The name "Principia" was chosen in 1898. The first high school graduation was in 1906, the first junior-college graduation in 1917, and the first college graduation in 1934.

Principia's purpose
Principia's primary purpose is to serve the Cause of Christian Science as an educational institution - not through teaching the theology of Christian Science, but through providing programs that allow its students to grow intellectually, athletically, socially, morally, and spiritually with the support and example of fellow students, faculty, and staff.

Educational philosophy
Principia strives to train its students "to think clearly, vigorously, fearlessly, tolerantly, unselfishly." Teaching at Principia also "emphasizes the point of view that education carries with it the obligation to use technical skills and intellectual attainments for the betterment of humanity." And Principia "takes the position that education in its fullest sense cannot be confined to academic subjects but includes the building of character" (from Purpose and Policies of The Principia).

St. Louis campus
Five academic levels are available on the St. Louis campus: the Acorn program (infants, toddlers, and their parents), Pre-School (three-to-five-year-olds), Lower School (grades one through six), Middle School (grades seven and eight), and Upper School (grades nine through twelve). Students can board at Principia starting in seventh grade.

A few facts about Principia's Upper School

• Mutual respect between teachers and students and classes of 12 to 20 provide an ideal environment for academic achievement.
• Beyond classroom work and local field trips, Principia Upper School students can apply for Principia teacher-led off-campus programs, such as pursuing science, art, writing, and cross-country skiing at the Teton Science School in Wyoming; marine biology in the Caribbean; theatre in New York City; and language in Spain, France, or Latin America.
• All Upper School seniors benefit from a two-day leadership workshop early in the school year.
• Four of every five Upper School students take part in interscholastic athletics.
• Students who choose to take on a full-time independent study project in the spring of their senior year have the choice of remaining on campus or pursuing their project elsewhere in the United States or abroad.
• Graduating Upper School seniors receive acceptances from many top colleges and universities, such as: Babson, Berklee College of Music, Bowdoin, Case Western Reserve, Bryn Mawr, Carleton, The Citadel, Colby, Colorado College, Colorado School of Mines, Connecticut College, Dartmouth, Ithaca College, Kenyon, University of Michigan, Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, Pepperdine, Pratt Institute, Principia College, Purdue, Reed College, Rice University, Scripps College, Skidmore, Smith, Stanford, Texas A&M, U.S. Military Academy, Vanderbilt, Vassar, University of Virginia, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Williams.

Elsah, Illinois, campus
In the early 1950s, the United States Air Force - in search of a site for a new Air Force academy that would rival the beauty of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland - selected Principia College's campus, with its mile of bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, as one of two finalists from about 300 sites considered. Principia is grateful that the Air Force opted for the wide open spaces around Colorado Springs, Colorado. In the early 1990s the Principia College campus became a National Historic Landmark because of its design by one of America's most distinguished architects, Bernard Maybeck.

A few facts about Principia College

• Classes at Principia College average just 12 students per class.
• Three of every four students take part in at least one Principia College travel-study abroad.
• One of every three Principia College students gains on-the-job work experience as an intern, and many return to campus with a job offer in hand.
• In the most recent cross-country solar car race from Chicago to Claremont, California, Principia's team finished seventh, ahead of 20 other college and university teams, including MIT, Stanford, Texas A&M, Northwestern, and the University of Virginia.
• More than five of every ten Principia College students take part in intercollegiate athletics.
• Since 1981, Principia College has produced 21 NCAA Division III All-Americans who earned All-America status 66 times in cross country, football, soccer, swimming, diving, track and field, and tennis - including three athletes (cross country, swimming, and track and field) during this past year for six All-America honors.
• Also this past year, in football, a Principia wide receiver set a new NCAA All-Divisions receiving record with 17 catches for 418 yards and four touchdowns in a single game.
• Since 1997, former United States presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter; former British prime minister Lady Margaret Thatcher; associate Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor; present and former U.S. secretaries of state Colin Powell, James Baker, and Henry Kissinger; plus naturalist Jane Goodall, Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, poet Maya Angelou, civil rights attorney Morris Dees, holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, and other world-class speakers have visited Principia to speak to students.
• Principia's Adult Continuing Education program (PACE) offers a two-week summer session on the College campus; a ten-day, on-campus autumn session; a one-week, off-campus December session; and a choice of travel-study options to different parts of the world.

Intended outcome of a Principia education
A Principia education is intended to help each student become an effective Christian Scientist, a public-spirited citizen, an inspired learner, and an individual of refined moral character. More details for each of these four outcomes can be found at: www.prin.edu/about/agenda2010

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This month's feature:

The Principia
A School and College for Christian Scientists

Pre-K thru 12 &
corporation offices
13201 Clayton Road
St. Louis, MO 63131
www.prin.edu
1-800-218-7746

Admissions
Extension 3362
enroll@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/upper/
admissions

Development
Extension 3101
giftplanning@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/giving

Field Activities
Extension 3350
field@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/princlubs

Personnel
Extension 3120
pers-stl@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/jobs

Principia College
Elsah, IL 62028
www.prin.edu/college
1-800-277-4648

Admissions
Extension 2802
collegeadmissions@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/college/
admissions

PACE
(adult continuing education)
Extension 2829
pace@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/

Personnel
Extension 2846
rlf@prin.edu
www.prin.edu/jobs