St. Johnsbury Academy

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St. Johnsbury Academy
Location
St. Johnsbury, VT, U.S.
Information
Religion non-sectarian
Headmaster Thomas J. Lovett
Faculty 112
Average class size 15 students
Student:teacher ratio 8 to 1
Average SAT scores (2005) 1072
Type Private, Boarding
Campus 150 acres (0.6 km²)
Athletics 19 Interscholastic Sports
Mascot Hilltopper
Color(s) Green/White
Established 1842
Enrollment Approx. 1000[1]
Homepage www.stjacademy.org

St. Johnsbury Academy is a private, coeducational,[2] nonprofit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, U.S., enrolling students in grades 9-12. It was founded in 1842 by Thaddeus Fairbanks, and accepts the majority of its students through one of the nations oldest voucher systems.[3]

Contents

[edit] Tuition and vouchers

St. Johnsbury Academy is the center of one of the nations oldest voucher systems. The academy was established in 1842 at a time when public schooling had yet to become common.[4] When many local governments began establishing public schools, towns and regions with established and quality private institutions in some cases relied on these schools rather than build public facilities.[3] Vermont law requires towns not operating schools to pay tuition to other approved schools for students in the grades not provided up to the Average Announced Tuition for union schools.[5]

Tuition for day students is $11,415 per year. Boarders pay $33,500. The resident program encompasses almost 200 resident students from over 30 countries.

[edit] History

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St. Johnsbury Academy was founded in 1842 by Erastus, Thaddeus, and Joseph Fairbanks, to provide "intellectual, moral, and religious training for their own children and the children of the community." The school was reincorporated in 1873 in order to accomplish the founders' goal of providing educational opportunities to a wider range for students beyond those destined for the liberal arts colleges and universities.

By creating a comprehensive school, offering technical training as well as college preparatory studies, the founders created a school that was unique among New England academies. This action greatly changed the character of the school enabling it to serve the educational needs of St. Johnsbury and the surrounding communities. A long standing voucher system, providing area students with educational choice, continues to allow the Academy to enroll the majority of students from the St. Johnsbury area while maintaining its own independence.

One of the original buildings contributed by the Fairbanks in 1873, North Hall, burned on March 6, 1956. Work began promptly on its replacement, Ranger Hall.[6]

John Negroponte delivered the commencement address in 2006. He was then the first Director of National Intelligence of the United States. His son was a graduate that year. [7]

[edit] Academics

St. Johnsbury is a comprehensive high school serving students of both sexes in grades 9-12. In describing itself as comprehensive, the Academy intends that its curriculum will make a serious attempt to meet the needs of all students including those of limited ability, those of superior ability, and those of average ability.

All courses at St. Johnsbury Academy are semester courses with credit being awarded at the end of each semester. Prerequisites are listed for all courses with such requirements.

[edit] We the People Competition

In 1999 a team from St. Johnsbury Academy competed for the first time at the state and national level in the We the People competition.[8] The team was the state champion, defeating perennial champion Vermont Academy, and was honored as the Northeast Regional Champion at the national competition in Washington, D.C. The school fielded a team for the second time in 2000 and were honored as third place competitors overall.[9][10] The We The People Competition typically has 55 competitors at the national level (from each Congressional District) and many teams compete in many local, regional and state-level rounds before ascending to the national event. The competition tests the knowledge of juniors and seniors in high school on subjects related to the constitution, constitutional law and civic history.

[edit] Accreditation

The Academy is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and approved by the Vermont State Department of Education. It is a member of the National Association of lndependent Schools, the Independent School Association of Northern New England, and the Vermont lndependent Schools Association. In addition, the Academy is a member of the College Board.

[edit] Athletics

St. Johnsbury's athletics programs cover a wide range of seasonal sports.

Fall sports programs include football (Division 1 Varsity, JV and frosh teams), men's and women's soccer (Division 1 Varsity, JV, and frosh), field hockey (Varsity and JV), men's and women's cross-country, and cheerleading.

Winter sports programs include men's and women's basketball (Metro Division 1 Varsity, JV, frosh), wrestling (Varsity and JV), women's gymnastics, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, hockey (Division 2 Varsity), and cheerleading.

Spring sports include men's and women's track and field (Division 1), baseball (Division 1 Varsity, JV), softball, golf, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's lacrosse (Division 2 Varsity, JV), and men's and women's ultimate frisbee (Division A Varsity, JV).

The boys' baseball team won the Vermont state championship for Division I in 1993 and 2006[11]

The football team won the Vermont state championship for Division I in 1966 and 1968.[12]

The football team won the Vermont state championship for Division II in 1961, 1982 and 1994.[13]

[edit] Campus and facilities

Mayo Center- Completed in 2003. Is the newest addition to the St. Johnsbury Academy Campus. Built to house the Grace Stuart Orcott Library, a student center, two computer labs, a multimedia classroom, and private study rooms. A lounge was also constructed into the library with couches, a fireplace and a variety of updated periodicals. Another feature of the Mayo Library is the outdoor patio where cultural and student events take place during warm months of the school year. Also included in the Mayo Library is the Colwell Center.

Colwell Center for Global Understanding- Host to cultural events and guest speakers who often give lectures throughout the day. The Colwell Center also handles foreign travel and exchange programs.

Morse Center for the Arts- Constructed in 2001, The Morse Center is the new home for the Academy's arts and theater program. Morse hosts five fully equipped art studios each with their own specialized function ranging from sculpture to Drafting and Fashion design. Morse also contains a theater called the Black Box and a control room that is used by organizations to put on performances and teach classes.

Newell Hall- Named after a teacher and former state senator Graham S. Newell,[14] 91, who still teaches Latin classes from his home. Newell Hall is the home of the Language department and two computer labs used for language learning purposes.

South Church- Where freshman chapel is currently located, which is run by the class dean and class student president. In 2004 students were relocated to Alumni Gym as renovations were taking place. During large assemblies that cannot fit the entire students population freshman watch events from Fuller hall on closed circuit television.

Ranger Hall- Home to the English Department. Also home to "the beaches" where students can often be found working on projects.

Colby Hall- Home to most administrative offices, visitors office, guidance department, alumni department on the first floor. Social Science and some elective classes are located on the top two floors.

Fuller Hall- Where students assemble almost every morning for chapel. Most large plays, concerts, and other performances are held here. The basement is host of dressing rooms and storage for the drama department. There is also one multipurpose room where Student Government meetings have been held since 2003. Any classes taught by the headmaster are typically in this room due to its proximity to chapel and his office.

Severance Hall- Home to the Math Department and Resident Student Office and lounge where resident students can be found.

Headmaster's House and Assistant Headmaster's Houses- Headmaster Lovett and Director of Admissions John Cummings and their families live there.

Fairbanks Cottage- Accounting, payroll, and other offices.

Streeter Hall- 1st floor hosts the dining hall, kitchens where culinary classes are held, and banquet hall. Technical courses are located further back. The 2nd floor has the School Store, Science department, A/V office, Business, Electricity, STeM and Computer Science Classrooms.

[edit] Athletic facilities

Alumni Memorial Gym- has a basketball court and trophy rooms. In addition to games, all school assemblies, pep rallies, some dances, and some performances are held here.

Field House- The field house contains an Olympic-size swimming pool where students become lifeguard certified, basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, an inside track, weight and cardio rooms, and a trainers office.

A softball field is located behind Waterman dorm. Down a small hill from the Field House is Fairbanks (Football) Field and Track and Field Facilities. Cary field is home to soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, Other clubs also have access to these facilities. Burlingame field is further down the hill across a river accessible by foot and home to soccer and baseball.

The Academy uses tennis courts maintained by the Kiwanis Club.

[edit] Dormitories

Four buildings are used for girls dormitories, and two for boys. One of the boys dormitories, known as Brantview is the former mansion of Horace Fairbanks, a notable resident of the town of St. Johnsbury. A room in the mansion is maintained as a display with original furniture and art.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notable attendees

  • Josiah Grout, Governor of Vermont 1896-1898. Was attending Academy when the Civil War broke out and he enlisted.
  • Linda Richards, attended 1856-7, America's first trained nurse[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://stjacademy.org/newssports/407.html accessed September 26, 2007
  2. ^ An 1844 roll shows that the number of girl students nearly equaling the number of boys
  3. ^ a b [1]"School Choice Isn’t a New Idea" reprinted from Wall Street Journal by Hoover Institution, October 1999
  4. ^ [2]"Lessons from Vermont" Libby Steinberg, Cato Institute, 2001
  5. ^ http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_finance_data.html - Retrieved: May 32, 2007
  6. ^ Clair Dunne Johnson,St. Johnsbury,Arcadia Publishing 1996, page 30
  7. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/05/AR2006060500523.html
  8. ^ Lois Lawaccessed December 6, 2007
  9. ^ [3]retrieved from Loislaw
  10. ^ Resolution of the Legislature accessed December 6, 2007
  11. ^ Vermont Principals Association accessed January 5, 2008
  12. ^ Vermont Principal's Association accessed January 5, 2008
  13. ^ Vermont Principal's Association accessed January 5, 2008
  14. ^ Bio of Graham Newell accessed December 6, 2007
  15. ^ Bio of Calvin Coolidge accessed December 6, 2007
  16. ^ Vermont Biography accessed December 6, 2007
  17. ^ Bio of Linda Richards accessed December 6, 2007

[edit] External links


Private High Schools and Prep Schools in Vermont
King George School | Mount Saint Joseph Academy | The Putney School | Rice Memorial High School |
St. Johnsbury Academy | The Mountain School
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