Schoolhouse Tour

Our iconic blue doors are far more than a physical entrance—they are the gateway to a lifelong community. Every September, the Nightingale journey begins right here with a beloved tradition: Mr. Burke warmly greets each incoming Kindergartner with a handshake and a smile, and a senior takes her hand to guide her into the Schoolhouse for her very first day. This passing of the torch perfectly illustrates how our community supports and celebrates one another from a student’s first day to her last. By the time our graduating seniors step out through these doors one final time, they carry with them a profound sense of belonging.

Our lobby is the heart of the daily transition into the Schoolhouse. Every morning is defined by a personal touch, as our dedicated security team greets students and professional community members by name. This level of care is matched by the building's layout: an intentional single entry/exit point ensures a secure environment. Whether students are arriving eager for the day ahead or pouring back through the lobby at the end of the school day waving goodbye, this space provides a safe, welcoming anchor for our entire community.

Nightingale’s Lower School homerooms are located entirely on the fourth floor to encourage student interactivity, teacher collaboration, and faculty supervision. Connected classrooms emphasize our commitment to the Schoolhouse unity, with movable walls that adapt to all-grade programming as easily as small-group work. It is in these classrooms that new interests will blossom, teachers will collaborate, and students will begin to know everyone in their grade, initiating what for so many become lifelong friendships.

At Nightingale, we believe that Middle School is not just a transition between the lower and upper grades, but an essential destination unto itself. That is why the sixth floor is specifically designed to embrace the social-emotional learning that occurs in these integral years. Classrooms are built with space dividers that literally reconfigure with each lesson, while movable furniture assures that every student is seen and heard. Each day, students utilize an enrichment period where they can seek subject-specific tutoring from teachers, connect with peers, visit labs, and more. After school, room 601—an extra large classroom space—transforms into the Thinkery, an afterschool program for Class IV–Class VII. There, students engage in academic enrichment, creative play, and peer tutoring.

Nightingale's Upper School celebrates our students’ growing independence, reminding them at every turn that they are the drivers of their education. A university-caliber amphitheater-style classroom designed for public speaking invites lively discussion and advocating for oneself, while Harkness-style seminar rooms foster a stimulating, open-minded learning environment. The design of the Upper School rooms allows each student to find her unique voice and have it be heard, both within the blue doors and outside them.

Nightingale’s science labs are built entirely for hands-on, group experimentation—a powerful learning method for young women. Students gather around custom-designed laboratory islands engineered so that everyone has a perfect line of sight for chemical reactions or intricate dissections, while mobile stools allow girls to easily wheel over to a classmate to collaborate. Just down the hall, the Makerspace is packed with every tool a curious mind could want, from micro-controllers to 3D printers. It is here that art, science, and technology merge into a single creative discipline that is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Our music spaces are designed to give students of all ages and levels an ideal environment to explore space, sound, and self-expression. For musicians, dedicated practice rooms and instrument storage give every student space best suited to her ability. Some rooms even contain banked seating, creating a stage-like ambiance where artists can practice their craft before performing.

Nightingale’s art rooms are vibrant hubs of self-expression where every student is welcomed as an artist. Designed to optimize creativity, our studios are filled with natural light from expansive windows and skylights. The curriculum offers students of all ages room to grow—featuring two specialized Lower School studios to inspire our youngest creators and an expanded ceramics studio for deeper tactical exploration. It is a community where artistic curiosity is celebrated at every grade level.

Nightingale’s gymnasium is a space where students can exercise, play, and act their age. Located within the Schoolhouse, the regulation-sized gym transforms with each class and event. The space can be divided to make room for more than one class at a time, basketball hoops can be raised or lowered for different age groups, and bleachers can be pulled out of the walls to accommodate seating for rowdy home games, pep rallies, extra-large assemblies, and Convocation. There is also a PT room where students can receive therapy from trainers. Nighthawk athletes also utilize a state of the art fitness room on the Lobby Level, complete with stationary bikes, a bench press, kettlebells, and more. The dance studio, on the Lower Level, features hardwood flooring for safety and comfort, and mirrored walls help students perfect their form and better integrate their surroundings. The studio also includes a rock climbing wall for Lower School PE classes.

The Lower School Library is a young reader’s literary dream brought to life—the perfect space for students to fall in love with books. Whether they are gathering for a community read-in or escaping the bustle of recess to lose themselves in a story, our youngest students treat this space as their own quiet haven. Just a few floors away, the Middle/Upper School Library is flooded with light from the school’s original arched windows. Featuring thousands of physical and electronic volumes, alongside specially designed rooms for independent study and group collaboration, it serves as an intellectual crossroads for our older students.

The daily hum of lunchtime conversation and laughter in the student center is one of the most recognizable signs of Nightingale’s communal spirit. Lower School students eat family-style in small groups so that everyone gets a chance to know each other more, and these younger students are encouraged to expand their palettes by trying a little bit of each of the day’s many lunch options. Tables-for-two are filled with older students and teachers who have lively discussions over lunch, and larger diamond-shaped tables are designed to make everyone feel included.

The Nightingale auditorium hosts audiences of excited students, professional community membersy, and parents for everything from assemblies and lectures to large-scale theatrical productions complete with professional lighting and set design. Like so much of the school, the space is flexible in its design, as seats fold to the back of the room to create an additional open area for more interactive school-wide activities. The auditorium is also home to some of the cherished memories in a Nightingale student’s career, including the Class IV Daisy Ceremony, the Class VIII Moving Up Ceremony, and so much more.

Our Black Box Theater is an intentional, multi-use space designed to support artistic expression in all its forms. On any given day, you might walk in to find the room filled with the harmony of choral rehearsals, the movement of a dance class, or the joy of a Lower School sing-along. Because the layout can be completely customized, it serves as a wonderful, intimate venue for various school events. It is a room built to adapt beautifully to the creative, collaborative, and social needs of our entire community.

The Commons is an essential anchor for Upper School life, intentionally positioned on the 3rd floor. This glass-enclosed space functions as a vibrant crossroads where students gather to study, collaborate, or recharge. Because it serves as the hub of the division, faculty, deans, and advisors are always easily accessible, allowing for mentorship and guidance to happen organically in a casual setting. Seamlessly connected to the outdoor terrace, the Commons provides a perfect balance of academic focus, community connection, and fresh air.