Worcester Academy
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| Worcester Academy | |
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Έφικνού τών Καλών
(Achieve the Honorable) |
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| Location | |
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| Worcester, MA, United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, day and boarding |
| Religious affiliation | None |
| Established | 1834 |
| Headmaster | Dexter P. Morse |
| Faculty | 80 |
| Enrollment | 501 upper school 154 middle school |
| Average class size | 13 |
| Student:teacher ratio | 8:1 |
| Campus | Urban, 67 acres (270,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Maroon |
| Athletics | 24 Interscholastic sports 54 Interscholastic teams |
| Athletics conference | NEPSAC |
| Mascot | Hilltoppers (rams) |
| Average SAT scores | 600 Verbal 629 Math 611 Writing (2006) |
| Website | worcesteracademy.org |
Worcester Academy is an independent coeducational preparatory school spread over 67 acres (270,000 m2) in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in grades nine and above, including some postgraduates. Approximately one-third of students in the upper school participate in the school's five- and seven-day boarding programs. Currently there are approximately 80 international students enrolled from 10 different nations.
Worcester Academy is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.
Its motto is the Greek phrase "Έφικνού τών Καλών," which translates to "Achieve the Honorable."
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[edit] History
Founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School, it did not change its name until 1847. The school moved to its current location on Union Hill in Worcester in 1869. Worcester Academy was all-male from its founding until 1856, and again from 1890 to 1974. It has been coeducational since.
[edit] Campus
Worcester Academy's campus is currently spread over four main parcels: the main campus, which contains approximately 12 acres (49,000 m2); Francis A. Gaskill Field, a 12-acre (49,000 m2) parcel two blocks from the main campus; and the New Balance Fields on Stafford Street, comprising about 30 acres (120,000 m2). Worcester Academy also recently relocated some of its offices and alumni facilities to a renovated Victorian home two blocks from the main campus. In 2006, Worcester Academy signed a purchase and sale agreement to purchase an additional 13 acres (53,000 m2) between Gaskill Field and the main campus, with the intent of creating a new indoor athletic complex.
On the main campus, several brick buildings are listed on the national historic register, including Chester W. Kingsley Laboratories, Joseph H. Walker Hall, Reverend Robert J. Adams Hall, and William H. Dexter Hall. The headmaster lives in the Daniel W. Abercrombie House, named for the principal of Worcester Academy from 1882 to 1918[1]. A new addition to the Worcester Academy campus is Harold G. "Dutch" Rader Hall, which houses the school's library and is used for middle school classes and activities. Kingsley Lab was recently re-done to increase the learning of the students while revitalizing its historic appearance.
One of the most notable architectural buildings on the campus is the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater, a gift from Warner Brothers Studio President Harry Warner. He donated the building in memory of his son Lewis Warner '28, who died shortly after graduating from the academy. The Academy's formal student assemblies are held in Hervey S. Ross Auditorium, Warner Theater to this day, though the theater is no longer able to seat the entire middle and upper school student bodies at once.
[edit] Athletics
Worcester is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. Its main athletic rivals include Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Academy Andover, Deerfield Academy, Cushing Academy, Northfield Mt. Hermon School, Lawrence Academy, The Governor's Academy, Loomis Chaffee and Milton Academy.
In 2005-2006 the girls varsity basketball team had an undefeated season, winning the NEPSAC championship.[citation needed]
Since 2000, the year the hockey team was re-instated, it has grown into a powerhouse in the NEPSAC Division 2 ranks. Having sent students onto a variety of Division 1, 2, and 3 college teams. Notable Alumni include Pat Brosnihan(Yale), Adam Sinewitz (AIC and pro in Holland), Billy Kasper (Norwich), Mike Mortimer and Ryan Crapser (Trinity), Mike Dwyer (Assumption).
In 2008 the Worcester Academy Girls Varsity soccer team won the NEPSAC Class B Final. The final finished off their 15-0-2 undefeated season, which saw the team only allowed 6 goals all season, with 11 shutouts.[citation needed]
The Varsity Baseball team has seen great success since Peter Kostacopolous was hired as head coach in 2003. The team has consistently made post season play including a NEPSAC Class A Championship appearance in 2004. In 2008 Dana Forsberg took over the program and led the team to a second place finish. Each year the varsity team makes a week long spring training trip to Fort Pierce, Florida, practicing and playing teams from around the country.
[edit] Basketball Powerhouse
Worcester Academy has enjoyed tremendous success with its storied basketball program. Since its inception in 1917, the Hilltoppers have traditionally been one of the regions premier programs.
Competing against the top Prep School and College programs in New England, Worcester Academy proudly displays eighteen (18) New England Prep School Class A championship banners.
Countless players and coaches have contributed significantly to this legacy of success. Harold Bockoven, the first coach in Worcester Academy history to record 100 wins, set the tone from the 1920's through the 1940's and paved the way for Andy Laska and Dee Rowe to establish Worcester Academy as a Prep School Power in the 1950's and 1960's. Coach Rowe's teams won an unprecedented nine (9) New England Prep School Championships in a 12-year run propelling Coach Rowe into the head coaching position at the University of Connecticut where he continues today as a member of the UConn athletic staff.
Tom Blackburn, the winningest coach in Worcester Academy history with over 360 victories, coached the Hilltoppers for 26 seasons. His legacy includes seven (7) New England Prep School Championships and 20 trips to the semi-final level of this prestigious event.
Team members over the years included former Boston Celtic and current Head Coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Rick Carlisle, Jeff Cross, former LA Clipper and Obina Ekezie, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks.
Luke Bianchi, John Drosos, Wayne Embry, Michael Malone (current Assistant Coach for the New York Knicks), Donnie Nelson (current General Manager of the Dallas Mavericks), Paul Seymour, and Brendan Winters (formerly of Davidson College and now with Bayer Giants of the German League) represent several NBA coach's sons, present and former, who have graduated form Worcester Academy.
The college coaching world is also filled with Worcester Academy Alumni including Tim Welsh '80, Head Basketball Coach at Providence College, Brian Baptiste '72, Head Basketball Coach at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and recently named Head Basketball Coach at Clark University, Mo Casarra, '93, who led the 2003 Worcester Academy quintet to the New England Prep School Championship.
Current Head Basketball Coach, Ed Reilly, brings 20 plus years of collegiate experience to Worcester Academy and the rich tradition of basketball success will continue to be a benchmark for generations to come.[2]
[edit] Other
In September 2006, Boston Magazine rated Worcester Academy the sixteenth best private school in the Boston Area, and the best in Worcester County. In an article entitled "The Right Private School for Your Kid," Boston Magazine rated Worcester Academy the best private school in the Boston area for students to exercise their mathematical talents. In 2008-2009 it was Worcester Academy's 175 anniversary.
[edit] Trivia
- Parts of the 1992 movie School Ties were filmed in Worcester Academy's gymnasium.
- Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan was a member of the faculty from 1903 to 1908, when he joined Robert Peary in his effort to reach the North Pole. He donated a kayak from the expedition to the Academy, which now rests in the Megaron.
- A rafter in the Megaron has Greek writing on it, which translates to "Let no evil enter here."
- The Andes Pit Theatre used to be the gym.
[edit] Notable alumni
Notable faculty and alumni of Worcester Academy include:
- John Barrett 1883, American Diplomat
- George B. Boomer 1847, Civil War General
- General Norman D. Cota 1915, portrayed by actor Robert Mitchum in the 1962 movie classic "The Longest Day"
- William Stearns Davis 1896, historian and educator
- Clarence Dillon 1904, co-founder of investment bank Dillon, Read and Company, father of C. Douglas Dillon
- Arthur Duffey 1899, Olympic Sprinter, 1900 Paris
- Harry B. Ellis 1940, Correspondent, Author of books on the Middle East
- General Hugh J. Gaffey 1916, Patton's Chief of Staff
- Willis Goldbeck, 1910, movie producer and writer
- Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor 1893, founder and first editor of National Geographic magazine
- Herman Gundlach 1931, Harvard football captain, Boston Brave lineman, NFL
- Ned Harkness 1939, college and professional hockey coach
- Abbie Hoffman 1955, social and political activist in the 1960s
- Tom Holland 1962, film director
- John Hope 1890, educator and founder of Atlanta University
- Ernest Manley Hopkins 1896, President of Dartmouth College
- Frank Reed Horton 1914, founder Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity
- Tony Hulman 1920, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner
- Edward Davis Jones 1873, co-founder of Dow Jones
- Arthur Kennedy 1930, stage and screen actor
- Stefan Lano 1970, conductor
- Arnold L. Lehman 1962, Director Brooklyn Museum
- Lou Little 1912, college football coach
- Michael LoPresti Jr 1967, former Massachusetts State Senator
- John W. Mayhew 1904, All American football player and coach
- Rep. Jim McGovern 1977, U.S. Congressman
- Charles E. Merrill 1904, co-founder of Merrill Lynch
- Wesley Piermarini 2000, rower, mens double skull, 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China
- Arthur Pope 1899, Persian Art Scholar and Administrator
- Cole Porter 1909, Broadway composer
- Naomi Schaefer Riley 1994, Wall Street Journal Editor
- Frank Rooney 1940, business executive
- Hervey S. Ross 1946, insurance executive, Academy benefactor
- John Edward Sawyer 1937, President Williams College
- Dennis Shulman 1968, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, rabbi, and Democratic Party nominee for the United States Congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District
- Mark Slade 1957, TV actor
- Charles Starrett 1922, the "Durango Kid"
- Ira Stoll 1990 VP and Author and Former Managing Editor of the New York Sun
- Jacob Stroyer 1872, Ex-slave, minister, and author
- Henry A. Sullivan 1917, composer
- Prince Nandiyavat Svasti 1927, member of the Thai Royal Family and grandson to King Rama IV (1851-1868), a.k.a. Mongkut, the king of Siam depicted in the musical, The King and I
- Royal C. Taft 1872, Governor of Rhode Island
- Eli Thayer 1840, founder of the Oread Institute and the New England Emigrant Aid Society
- Webster Thayer 1876, Massachusetts judge, presided over the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1920.
- Michael Tien 1968, Deputy, National Peoples Congress, China
- William Toomey 1957, gold-medal winning decathlete in the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Howard Trivers 1926, Career diplomat and father of Robert Trivers.
- Benaiah L. Whitman 1883, President of Colby College and George Washington University
- Lewis Wilson 1939, first Batman in the movies
In addition, many student-athletes attend Worcester Academy solely for their senior year, or for a single postgraduate year, to increase their exposure to college coaches or to improve their academic standing. Notable student-athletes include:
- David Ball 2003, New York Jets
- Colt Brennan 2003, quarterback for the University of Hawaii, Quarterback for The Washington Redskins, voted third in 2007 Heisman Voting
- Rick Carlisle 1979, Former NBA player, current coach of the Dallas Mavericks
- Obinna Ekezie 1995, former NBA player
- Mark Fidrych 1974, Former Detroit Tiger
- Jarrett Jack 2002, Indiana Pacers of the NBA
- Donnie Nelson 1982, Former NBA and international basketball coach, current President–GM of Dallas Mavericks basketball operations
- Joe Philbin 1980, Offensive Coordinator for the Green Bay Packers
- Sean Ryan 1998, San Francisco 49ers
- Craig Smith 2002, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Tim Welsh 1980, former Providence College coach and sportscaster
[edit] Headmasters of Worcester Academy
| Number | Name | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Silas Bailey, D.D. | 1834-1838 |
| 2nd | Samuel S. Greene, LL.D. | 1838-1840 |
| 3rd | Nelson Wheeler, A.M. | 1840-1847 |
| 4th | Eli Thayer 1840, A.M. | 1847-1849 |
| 5th | Charles C. Burnett, A.M. | 1849-1852 |
| 6th | Eleazer J. Avery, A.M. | 1852-1854 |
| 7th | William S. Greene, A.M. | 1854-1858 |
| 8th | Werden Reynolds, A.M. | 1858-1860 |
| 9th | James R. Stone, D.D. | 1860-1862 |
| 10th | Ambrose P. S. Stuart, A.M. | 1862-1864 |
| 11th | Charles Ayer, A.B. | 1865-1866 |
| 12th | Albert Prescott Marble, Ph.D. | 1866-1868 |
| 13th | William C. Poland, A.B. | 1868-1870 |
| 14th | Willard T. Leonard, M.A. | 1870 |
| 15th | Rev. David Weston, A.B. | 1870-1871 |
| 16th | John D. Smith, A.B. | 1872-1875 |
| 17th | Nathan Leavenworth, A.M. | 1875-1882 |
| 18th | Daniel Abercrombie, Litt.D., LL.D. | 1882-1918 |
| 19th | Samuel Foss Holmes, A.M. | 1918-1933 |
| 20th | Harold H. Wade | 1933-1942 |
| 21st | LeRoy A. Campbell, Ph.D. | 1942-1950 |
| 22nd | Paul K. Phillips, A.B. | 1950-1954 |
| 23rd | William S. Piper, Jr., Ed.D. | 1954-1968 |
| 24th | Harold G. Rader, Ed.D. | 1968-1969 |
| 25th | David R. Jefferson, B.A., B.D. | 1969-1970 |
| 26th | Robert A. LaBranche 1946, M.S. | 1970-1974 |
| 27th | John A. Bloom, M.A. | 1974-1985 |
| 28th | Ben Williams | 1985-1991 |
| 29th | John Mackenzie | 1991-1997 |
| 30th | Dexter P. Morse | 1997-present |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 42°15′10″N 71°47′27″W / 42.252675°N 71.790703°W
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