Maret School is an independent, non-sectarian, college-preparatory day school in Washington, DC with 650 students in grades K–12.[2] Three immigrant sisters, Marthe, Louise, and Jeanne Maret, left their home in Geneva, Switzerland at the turn of the twentieth century and created the school in 1911.
History
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, three French sisters, Mlles. Marthe, Louise, and Jeanne Maret, left their home in the village of Marignan (Sciez) in France close by Geneva, Switzerland, to teach. Louise taught in Russia, Jeanne in the Philippines, and Marthe (who became blind at age 18), in Washington, D.C.[3]
By 1911, Louise and Jeanne had joined Marthe in Washington, where they were inspired to bring an international flavor to education. They founded the Maret French School, later named Maret School. In 1923, the sisters moved the school to 2118 Kalorama Road with an enrollment of 62 culturally diverse students.[3]
By 1950, Margaret Williams had joined the school, which she led for the next 18 years. In 1952, growing enrollment compelled the school’s board of trustees to secure a larger campus at 3000 Cathedral Avenue, NW. In 1953, boys were admitted to the Upper School. By 1966, enrollment totaled 375 students.[3]
Maret School was led by three headmasters throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s: William Laxner, William Layton, and John Francis. Starting in the mid-1970s, Peter A. Sturtevant Sr. led Maret for two decades. To accommodate a growing enrollment, the school added additional facilities for athletics, arts, and academics.[3]
Marjo Talbott replaced Sturtevant as headmaster in 1994.[4] After serving Maret for 29 years, she retired in 2023 and was succeeded by Dennis Bisgaard.[5]
Current profile
Maret’s student body consists of 650 students.[6] 54% of students and 39% of faculty identify as People of Color.[6] 71% of faculty hold advanced degrees.[6] 26% of students receive financial aid.[6]
Notable alumni
- Peter Matthew Bauer: musician[7]
- Sean Davis: professional football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers[8]
- Anthony Dobbins: professional basketball player and coach
- Luka Garza: professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics[9]
- Catie Lazarus: entertainer, writer
- Sonja Lyubomirsky: professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside; author of The How of Happiness[10]
- J. Lorand Matory: anthropology professor at Duke University[11]
- Christof Putzel: journalist
- Theodore Shapiro: composer best known for film scores, including State and Main, 13 Going on 30, Along Came Polly, The Devil Wears Prada, and Fun with Dick and Jane
- Yeardley Smith: actress best known for voicing Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons[12]
- Josh Stamberg: actor[citation needed]
- Dan van Holst Pellekaan: deputy premier of South Australia[citation needed]
- Rosalind Wiseman: author of the 2002 New York Times best-selling book Queen Bees and Wannabes, the basis of the 2004 film Mean Girls[13]
References
- ^ “Tuition & Financial Aid”. www.maret.org. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
- ^ “About Maret | K-12 Private School | Washington, DC”. www.maret.org. October 3, 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ a b c d “Maret School History”. Maret School. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ “Leadership at Maret School | K-12 College Prep School in Washington, D.C.” www.maret.org. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ “Maret Welcomes Dennis Bisgaard as Tenth Head of School |K-12 College Prep School in Washington, D.C.” www.maret.org. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b c d “Maret School | About Us”. www.maret.org. September 22, 2025. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ “About a Turnabout: The Walkmen”. Express. Washington Post. September 3, 2008.
- ^ Steinberg, Dan (September 10, 2016). “This D.C. private school had 24 players on its football team. One just made the NFL”. Washington Post.
- ^ Leistikow, Chad (July 29, 2021). “NBA Draft 2021: Detroit Pistons select Iowa’s Luka Garza in the second round”. Hawk Central.
- ^ Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “UCR Profiles – Search & Browse”. UC Riverside. University of California. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ “Distinguished Alumni Award, The Maret School, Washington, DC, 2013. The Maret School, Washington, DC”. Scholars@Duke. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
- ^ Brennan, Patricia (November 1, 1992). “Yeardley Smith: First Person, Plural”. Washington Post.
- ^ Strauss, Valerie (October 10, 2019). “Perspective | ‘I am asking you to help hold adults accountable,’ a Maret alum writes to students as the elite private school acknowledges a troubled past”. Washington Post.
