Thornton Academy in Saco offers one of the most comprehensive high school programs in northern New England with more than 24 sports teams, 30 plus art programs, and 7 foreign languages. The independent institution, founded in 1811, is able to provide all of this because it exports education.
A dozen years ago, Thornton Academy made a deliberate decision to develop a robust international program as a way to stem the declining student population in Maine. Admissions staff began making trips to China to recruit tuition paying students to Maine. The school has now welcomed students from more than 40 different countries including Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Vietnam.