Welcome From Our Head of School
On behalf of our entire community, I want to offer you a very warm welcome — we are excited that you’ve taken this first step to learn more about Bosque School and the wonderful opportunities we offer our students.
Since 1994 Bosque School has been manifesting our core value of inspiring academic excellence through a commitment to challenging education in two distinct ways:
- We provide a robust and rigorous college preparatory curriculum that prepares our students with the content and skills critical to thriving as highly competent and confident learners and leaders who are not afraid to take risks and who are deeply engaged in their education.
- We don’t blindly replicate educational models of the past but reinforce the most relevant research on teaching, learning, neuroscience, adolescent development, and social-emotional health. We seek to ensure that our curriculum, our program, and our school is best serving the needs of today’s students to thrive in tomorrow’s world. Our students are distinguished from their peers through an education that teaches them not only core skills and content but how to deepen and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.
Through our value of cultivating community, we very intentionally curate a joyful campus culture in which students flourish as they are well-known and valued, meaningfully connected to their peers, teachers, and advisors, and feel part of something bigger than themselves.
Visitors always remark how poised, confident, dynamic, and engaged our students are. We value integrity in our community and intentionally foster it. Our students develop a strong sense of self as well as an understanding of their connection and contribution to their school, city, and world.
Our stunning 43-acre campus, along the banks of the Rio Grande, provides a beautiful and inspiring place of learning and growth. We lean into the research regarding the academic benefits of outdoor and hands-on learning, movement, and service-learning and consistently manifest our value of learning from place.
Because of our values and commitments, our students are exceptionally well prepared to navigate the opportunities and challenges of adolescence, are highly competitive in their college admissions process, and our alumni are thriving in rich and diverse careers.
Providing your child with an independent school education is one of the most significant investments you can make in their future. The skills, knowledge, and confidence they gain through an outstanding middle and high school experience will pay dividends not only throughout their college admissions process but also in the development of the self-assured
and intrinsically motivated individuals they will become. At Bosque School, your child won’t just survive their middle and high school journey, they will thrive throughout it.
Bosque School is an exceptional school that will very warmly and intentionally support your child’s growth through their middle and high school years while providing them with outstanding academic preparation for their future. Words don’t do us justice — to truly understand Bosque School, you must visit and experience it.
I look forward to sharing the magic of Bosque School with you in person very soon.
All the best,
Jessie Barrie, Ph.D.
Head of School
Meet Dr. Jessie Barrie
Jessie grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where she attended St. Clement’s School. She completed her undergraduate education at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Organizations at the University of Santa Barbara.
Jessie began her lifelong independent school career at The Dunn School outside of Santa Barbara, CA. She then worked for Albuquerque Academy for fourteen years as the chair of the experiential education department and a member of the academic leadership team before becoming Bosque School’s fourth head of school on July 1, 2019. She is also the chair of the New Mexico Association of Independent Schools (NMAIS) and was the founding executive director of the Independent Schools Experiential Education Network.
Jessie adores living in Albuquerque’s North Valley, has three children, is an avid horseback rider, and is a mediocre tennis and pickleball player and skier. Jessie maintains an active Instagram account, sharing daily experiences at Bosque School.
Follow Dr. Barrie on Instagram at jess_bosqueheadofschool
