The Tome School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school founded in 1889 by Port Deposit philanthropist Jacob Tome. The school's curriculum provides a broad liberal arts education for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade in an environment emphasizing academic success, high standards of personal behavior, and full participation in school life. For a student to be successful at Tome, parents must hold similar expectations and standards. The curriculum differs in important respects, and in rigor, from that of typical American elementary and secondary education. Tome is organized into three divisions: the Lower School, comprised of Kindergarten and the first four grades, the Middle School, grades five through eight, and the Upper School with grades nine through twelve.