Germantown Academy

Germantown Academy
original Old Germantown Academy and Headmasters' Houses "By persevering we shall see the fruits."
Address
340 Morris Road Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, 19034-0287 United States
Coordinates	40.137514°N 75.220106°W / 40.137514; -75.220106
Information
Religious affiliation(s)	Nonsectarian
Established	December 6, 1759
CEEB Code	393321
Head of school	Mr. James Connor
Teaching staff	250
Grades	Pre-kindergarten to 12th
Gender	Coeducational
Houses	7 (Alcott, Galloway, Kershaw, Osbourn, Roberts, Truesdell, Washington)
Fight song	Alma Mater
Athletics conference	Inter-Academic League
Sports	Football,Swimming, Baseball and Soccer
Mascot	Patriot
Team name	Patriots
Rival	William Penn Charter School
Newspaper	The Edition (Sarah Armstrong, William Black, Ian Tice, Carin Jin Xie)
Yearbook	Ye Primer
Communities served	Suburban
Website	Link

Germantown Academy is America's oldest nonsectarian day school, founded on December 6, 1759 (originally named the "Germantown Union School"). Germantown Academy is now a K-12 school in the Philadelphia suburb of Fort Washington, having moved from its original Germantown campus in 1965. The original campus, known as the Old Germantown Academy and Headmasters' Houses, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school shares the oldest continuous football rivalry with the William Penn Charter School, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2006. For the 2008-2009 school year 1,122 students are registered as matriculating (592 male students and 530 female students) with 250 faculty and staff employed by the institution. The Academy plans to undergo a complete reconstruction during the 2010-2011 school year, the year after its 250th anniversary.

Lower School

The Lower School consists of three main buildings: Leas Hall, McLean Hall (constructed in 1964), and the Abramson Lower School (constructed in 1999). Leas Hall comprises the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classrooms, while McLean Hall contains 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms. The Abramson Lower School has two 3rd grade classrooms, science rooms, and music classrooms.

The Lower School program strives for a school environment wherein children are respected as individuals, while also learning to be a part of a team. A progression of classroom expectations and curricular demands has been developed to address the varying needs of children who cover a broad span of ages and abilities.^{[citation needed]}

While the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are the principal work in all of the classrooms, teaching in the Lower School requires that children are active learners. Opportunities for social interaction are of paramount importance in the classrooms.^{[citation needed]} There are currently 376 students in the Lower School, and a student-to-teacher ratio of 14:1.

Middle school

The Alter Middle School was established in 1997. There are currently 261 students in the Middle School, and a student-to-teacher ratio of 8:1. The Middle School will be demolished and rebuilt in the summer of 2010 as part of Phase 1 of GA's New Campus Plan. The second phase being athletics. GA is doing all of these renovations, while staying "green" and eco-friendly.

Upper School

The Upper School curriculum, according to the mission statement of the school, promotes curiosity, reasoning and questioning, imagination and aesthetics, understanding of others and oneself, clear communications, broad applications of knowledge, and satisfaction in learning. Students are required at minimum, five credits per year and at least four years of English, three years of Math, Science, History, two years of Language, and one year of Art. Classrooms are generally characterized by a significant degree of informality, and the school prides itself on the close relationship between the teachers and the students. There are currently 485 students in the Upper School. The student to teacher ratio is currently 8:1 in the Upper School.

The upper school runs on a house system. Each student is placed into one of seven houses. These houses include, Alcott, Washington, Galloway, Osbourn, Kershaw, Truesdell, and Roberts. Each house is named after an important figure with a Germantown Academy connection. A student will stay with their house for all four years of upper school life. Each house has a house head, these teachers include, Theodore Haynie, Rebecca Pizzino, Reed Skoug, David Martin, David Samson, Jason Straub, and Marcia Wexler. Over the course of a year, each house will meet twice a week, and for special events, they will compete against each other.

Conduct in the upper school is governed by the Honor Code, a system where students agree to a set of rules, and where, in the case of an infraction, students are judged by an honor council consisting of teachers and peers.^{[citation needed]}

Administration

Mission statement

"Germantown Academy, a coeducational college preparatory school, offers strong academic and extracurricular programs that enable students to acquire the knowledge, confidence and judgment needed to become good citizens and productive leaders in a global society. The school seeks students and teachers from all economic, ethnic, religious and national backgrounds who will challenge themselves and contribute to the life of the school. Germantown Academy is an academic community committed to the following:

• Independent in Thought
• Confident in Expression
• Compassionate in Spirit
• Collaborative in Action
• Honorable in Deed

Alma mater

Notable alumni

• Fran Crippen (Class of 2002), Swimmer
• Caroline Doty basketball player at the University of Connecticut
• Matt Walsh (Class of 2002), NBA basketballer (New Jersey Nets, Florida Gators)
• Jarrod Spector (Class of 1999), Actor, (Jersey Boys Original Broadway Cast)
• Maddy Crippen (Class of 1998), USA 2000 Summer Olympics swim team
• Alvin Williams (Class of 1993), NBA basketball player (Toronto Raptors) and sports commentator (Comcast SportsNet).
• Brian Klugman (Class of 1993), film and TV actor, scriptwriter (Psych, Tron: Legacy)
• Bradley Cooper (Class of 1993), film and TV actor (Sex and the City, Alias, Wedding Crashers, Wet Hot American Summer, and The Hangover)
• Deirdre Quinn (Class of 1989), Actress (Miss Congeniality, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (film), Heroes)
• David Wharton (Class of 1987), Olympic Silver Medalist (Seoul, 1988) in the 200 swimming Individual Medley
• Michael F. Gerber (Class of 1990), Pennsylvania State Representative.
• Mike Richter (Class of 1985), New York Rangers goaltender.
• Robin Bissell (Class of 1986), Film Producer (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit, Pleasantville, The Tale of Despereaux)
• Eric Lipton (Class of 1983), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, currently with the New York Times.
• Brian L. Roberts (Class of 1977), CEO of Comcast
• Timothy Stack (Class of 1974); Actor, Writer and Producer (Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Son of the Beach, My Name is Earl)
• Edward Piszek (Class of 1960), co-founder of Mrs. Paul's Kitchens
• Martin "Cruz" (William) Smith (Class of 1960), novelist (Gorky Park)
• Frederick Crews, literary critic, University of California, Berkeley professor, and noted anti-Freudian scholar.^{[citation needed]}
• Connie Mack, Jr. (Class of 1928), Son of Philadelphia Athletics manager, Connie Mack, and subsequently owner of the team.
• Bill Tilden (Class of 1915), professional tennis player.
• Charles Darrow (Class of 1907), creator of board game Monopoly (game).
• Thomas Sovereign Gates, Sr. (Class of 1891), University of Pennsylvania president.
• Owen Josephus Roberts (Class of 1891), Associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.
• Cornelius Weygandt (Class of 1887) author, professor of English at University of Pennsylvania (The Wissahickon Hills, Philadelphia Folk, The Plenty of Pennsylvania)
• Witmer Stone (Class of 1883) ornithologist, botanist, mammalogist
• Frederick Winslow Taylor (did not graduate), Efficiency expert & inventor of Scientific Management
• Alfred C. Harmer (Class of 1843), U.S. Congressman and shoe manufacturer
• Robert Montgomery Bird (Class of 1824), physician; playwright
• Fernando Bolivar (Attended 1822), Venezuelan diplomat, nephew and adopted son of South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar.
• George Washington Parke Custis (Attended 1790s), Step-grandson and adopted son of President George Washington.

Further reading

• Archivist Edwin N. Probert II. The GA Bell, its Belfry and Their History.
• Archivist Edwin N. Probert II (Winter 1999–2000). Owen Josephus Roberts: A Short Retrospective on a Favorite Son. "The Patriot."
• Head of School James Connor. The GA Flag. Excerpts from a speech delivered at the September 2003 Flag Raising Ceremony.

External links

• Germantown Academy's Website
• Members of the Class of 1760
• Satellite image from Google Maps