Maharishi School is an independent preparatory school in Fairfield, Iowa, for students from preschool through Grade 12 — day and boarding. Since 1985, we’ve taught a little differently, through an approach we call Consciousness-Based Education: we develop the whole student, not just the transcript.
Welcome to Maharishi School.
Accredited · Preschool through Grade 12 · Fairfield, Iowa
The Home of Consciousness-Based Education
The Maharishi School Experience
Every student arrives with something they're already good at. Here, that's the starting point, not a distraction from the curriculum. We build the rest of their education around it.
Why Maharishi School?We believe in 200% of life: full outer development through rigorous academics, full inner development to carry it.
1 in 3
graduates attend a top-50 university
Classes of 2020-2026, U.S. News & World Report
~10
average students per class
30+
countries in our boarding community
45+
years of Consciousness-Based Education
Founded 1981
Accredited by ISACS · Member, National Association of Independent Schools · Iowa Department of Education College Preparatory accreditation · since 1981 — full accreditations & memberships →
Who We Are
We’re an independent preparatory school with an average of about ten students to a class, preschool through Grade 12. Since 1981, families have come to us from across Iowa — and, for our boarding program, from more than 30 countries. It’s a close-knit, global community in the calm of Fairfield: small enough that every student is known, serious enough to send graduates to the country’s best universities. More about who we are →
Our Core Values
Respect
Respect is the foundation — we treat others the way we want to be treated.
Responsibility
Responsibility means owning our own thoughts, words, and actions.
Service
Service is looking for ways to help others and steward our environment.
Solutions
Solutions over stress — faced with a problem, we look for a creative way through.
Transcendence
Transcendence is the daily practice that builds the depth of mind everything else rests on.
More about our mission & values →
“The best schools aren’t the ones with the highest test scores or the largest endowment. They’re the ones that march boldly toward a clear, singular mission.”
Brett Potash · Head of School — Read his full welcome →
An Education for Every Stage
From a child’s first classroom to their last, one idea runs through every grade: prepare them fully for what comes next.
Strong fundamentals, and the freedom to move ahead the moment they’re ready.
More Than College
An education should prepare a young person for more than an application. Starting in the early years, we build what lasts: strong academics, yes — and focus, creativity, resilience, and character, the full developmental profile. It adds up to students who are ready for whatever comes next. And, for the record: one in three of our graduates goes on to a top-50 university.¹
Recent graduating classes have sent students to Princeton, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, and Duke, among others. One recent graduate earned a full scholarship to Princeton — the top-ranked university in the country.
¹ Classes of 2020–2026 (U.S. News & World Report). See where our graduates go →
A Global Community
Students come to us from across Iowa, around the country, and more than 30 countries — a genuinely global community, together in the calm of Fairfield, a small Iowa town recognized as one of the world’s most intelligent communities. Explore Boarding → · Discover Fairfield →
Explore the School
Academics →
How we teach, preschool through Grade 12.
Admissions →
How to apply, and what to expect.
Student Life →
The arts, athletics, clubs, and the day-to-day.
Boarding →
Day and residential life, grades 9–12.
Tuition & Financial Aid → · About Us → · Visit →
Accreditations & Memberships
Our program is independently reviewed, and we hold ourselves to the standards these organizations set.
ASCD
A professional association supporting educators in curriculum, instruction, and school leadership.
IACD
An Iowa nonprofit advocating for school choice, including the Education Savings Account many of our families use.
ISACS
The regional accrediting body for independent schools across the central United States.
NACAC
The professional association setting ethical standards for college admission counseling.
NAIS
The national association representing independent schools across the country.
NCTM
The leading professional organization for math educators nationwide.
The best way to know a school is to walk through it. We’d love to show you ours.
We believe in 200% of life. The academics are the first hundred percent. Who they become is the other one.
Every school can list its course catalogue. What a family actually notices, a year or two in, is everything alongside it.
distracted
focused
uncertain
self-aware
dependent
independent
overwhelmed
resilient
capable
confidently capable
Ask us anything
Still deciding? Start with a question.
You don't have to be ready to apply — or ready to visit. Tell us who you are and what you're wondering about, and we'll answer it.