Concord Academy

"Concord Academy" redirects here. For the special needs school in Memphis, Tennessee, see Concord Academy (Memphis).

Concord Academy
Main Gate
Location
Concord , Massachusetts United States
Coordinates	42°27′33″N 71°21′17″W
Information
School type	Private
Religious affiliation(s)	None
Established	1922
Status	Open
Faculty	61
Gender	Co-ed
Enrollment	373 (60% Day, 40% Boarding)
Average class size	12
Student to teacher ratio	6:1
Campus size	39 acres (160,000 m2)
Color(s)	Green
Mascot	Chameleon
Endowment	$40 million
Graduates	5,051+
Students of Color	23%
Acceptance rate (2008)	32%
Website	www.concordacademy.org

Concord Academy is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory school for grades nine through twelve, located in Concord, Massachusetts. Founded in 1922, the school currently enrolls 373 boarding and day students from eight countries and twenty states.

Mission statement

Concord Academy's mission statement is as follows:

Concord Academy engages its students in a community animated by a love of learning, enriched by a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives, and guided by a covenant of common trust.

Academics

Concord Academy’s curriculum includes classes such as :

• Applied Chemistry: Neurochemistry
• Applied Physics: Meteorology
• Advanced Physics: Electromagnetism
• Creative Nonfiction and the Art of the Essay
• The "Hidden Luminous": Writing and Reading Poetry
• Latin American Literature: Magical Realities
• All Under Heaven: Early Chinese History

Athletics

Concord Academy students play on twenty-eight teams in twenty-three sports; about 75 percent of students play on at least one team each year. Teams compete in the Eastern Independent League (EIL).

Athletic offerings are as follows:

Fall

• Girls and Boys Cross Country
• Cross Country
• Girls Varsity Field Hockey
• Girls and Boys Golf
• Girls and Boys JV Soccer
• Girls and Boys Varsity Soccer

Winter

• Girls JV Volleyball
• Girls Varsity Volleyball
• Girls and Boys JV Basketball
• Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball
• Girls Squash
• Boys Club Squash
• Boys Wrestling
• Girls and Boys Alpine Skiing

Spring

• Boys Baseball
• Girls and Boys Varsity Tennis
• Girls and Boys Varsity Lacrosse
• Girls and Boys Sailing
• Girls and Boys Ultimate Frisbee
• Girls and Boys Club Track

Boarding/day hybrid

In the 2009-2010 school year, Concord Academy's student population consists of 217 day students and 156 boarding students.

Campus

Concord Academy's primary campus is located on 39 acres (160,000 m²) between Main Street and the Sudbury River in the center of Concord, Massachusetts.

Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel This nineteenth-century meetinghouse is considered a landmark on campus. It was transported to Concord from Barnstead, New Hampshire in 1956. Today it serves as a meeting place used three times a week to house the entire Concord Academy Community.

School mascot

Concord Academy's mascot is the chameleon, chosen for the adaptability it implies. Excerpted from “Leapin’ Lizards,” Winter 2008 Concord Academy magazine:

“It’s unclear how or why the chameleon was chosen, or exactly when that happened, but “the critter” has been associated with the school for more than eighty years. When Philip McFarland was researching A History of Concord Academy: The First Half-Century and A History of Concord Academy: The Wilcox Years, alumnae told him that the chameleon dates from the era of Elsie Garland Hobson, who was headmistress from 1922 to 1937, and that it was used as a symbol before becoming the title of the school’s literary magazine, first published in December 1927 . . . Over the years, the chameleon has been used in a variety of ways—most notably on the school ring, but also on the cover of the literary magazine, in recognition of contributions to Annual Giving, on stationery, pillows, bags, pens, mugs, and clothing . . . True to its nature, the chameleon has adjusted with the times. It remains an important part of CA—an enduring legacy and a symbol of how adaptable the school’s graduates can be while still maintaining their individuality.”

Publications

• The Centipede, Concord Academy’s student newspaper, is published approximately eight times a year.

• The Chameleon, a literary and artistic magazine, is published annually.

• The Scallion, a satirical newspaper playing on the title of The Onion (a scallion is also called a green onion, alluding to Concord's school color), has published as frequently as six times a year and as infrequently as never. Its slogan: “Yeah. We Said It.”

• The Gentleman's Standard, a satirical journal on world events and politics written from the exaggerated perspectives of highly conservative and traditional intellectuals.

• Concord Academy magazine, the school’s alumnae/i magazine, is published three times a year and is sent to more than 8,000 graduates, parents, and friends of CA.

History

From Concord Academy’s Web site, written by Teacher Emeritus Philip McFarland:

Concord Academy, grades 1 through 12, was established in what is now Haines House on Main Street in September 1922. Selected to lead the new school for girls was Elsie Garland Hobson, who in fifteen vigorous years as head would stress academic effort and see that scholarship was rewarded. During the brief tenure of Miss Hobson’s successor, Valerie Knapp (1937–40), a less rule-bound but no less demanding spirit was admitted, a spirit that Josephine Tucker (1940–49) encouraged. It was Miss Tucker who introduced the advisor system and abolished prizes at commencement, innovations that remain central to the school's philosophy.

Classes through those early years were small. The class of 1924 numbered three girls. Fifteen girls were in the class of 1938, twenty in the class of 1948. Not until the administration of Elizabeth Hall (1949–63) did Concord Academy grow markedly in size and achieve national stature. Mrs. Hall shaped the Academy into an independent high school, and the numbers in the boarding department expanded until boarders exceeded day students. Later in her administration and through that of David Aloian (1963–71), Concord Academy was regarded as perhaps the finest independent secondary school for girls in the country.

1981—Thomas E. Wilcox named headmaster

1984—Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel dedicated

2000—Jacob A. Dresden named head of school

2004-05—Renovation and expansion of Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel

2007—Purchase of additional 13.6-acre (55,000 m²) property near main campus

2009—Richard Hardy named head of school; began July 1, 2009

Notable alumni

• Caroline Kennedy (born 1957) - The daughter of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline.
• Queen Noor of Jordan (born 1951) - The fourth wife and widow of the late King Hussein of Jordan.
• Sebastian Junger (born 1962) - The author of The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea.
• Matt Taibbi - Columnist for Rolling Stone.
• Tom First - Co-Creator of Nantucket Nectars Beverage company.
• Nina Rothschild Utne - Chair and CEO of Utne Reader.
• Susan Minot - Author of Monkeys, Evening, and Folly.
• Julia Glass - 2002 National Book Award-Winning author of Three Junes and The Whole World Over.
• Drew Gilpin Faust - 28th President of Harvard University.
• Nate Borofsky - member of the Atlanta-based folk-rock group Girlyman.
• Hilary B. Price - creator of the syndicated comic strip Rhymes with Orange.
• Larry Goldings - jazz pianist, organist, and composer & 2006 Grammy nominee for Best Jazz Instrumental Album Individual or Group for the album, "Trio Beyond - Saudades."
• Claudia Gonson and Sam Davol - members of the indie band the Magnetic Fields.
• Ed Droste - Singer and songwriter for the Brooklyn-based indie band, Grizzly Bear (band)
• Julia Preston - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The New York Times.
• David Michaelis - Writer, biographer, Schultz and Peanuts: A Biography, N.C. Wyeth: A Biography
• Sam Posner - DJ and producer Sammy Bananas and a member of the band Telephoned
• Theo Stockman - Broadway actor
• Charlie Grandy - stand-up comedian, television writer, producer, winner of 2 Emmy Awards.

Trivia

• A previous school named Concord Academy existed in Concord, Massachusetts between 1822 and 1863. Henry David Thoreau attended the school in 1823. In 1838, he helped re-establish it and taught there.

• According to http://boardingschoolreview.com, Concord Academy had the eighth highest mean SAT score (2040) for boarding schools in the United States.

• Concord Academy’s campus includes eleven historic houses on Main Street, all built as family homes between 1780 and 1830.

• Elizabeth B. Hall, the headmistress from 1949 to 1963, often disciplined students by making them saw or chop wood.

• Elizabeth B. Hall, after serving as headmistress from 1949 to 1963, went onto found Bard College at Simon's Rock in 1964, the nation's oldest and most prestigious college early entrance program.

• Kevin Jennings taught at Concord Academy from 1987 to 1995, where he was chair of the history department. In 1988, he and a student founded the nation's first gay-straight alliance at Concord Academy, which is still an active club in the school.

References

Philip McFarland, A History of Concord Academy: The First Half-Century and A History of Concord Academy: The Wilcox Years

External links

• Concord Academy's Web site
• Concord Academy’s philosophy on Advanced Placement courses: “Taking a Hard Look at Advanced Placement,” by Patty Hager, Concord Academy magazine
• “The Science and Art of Teaching” by Head of School Jacob A. Dresden, Independent School magazine
• Boarding School Review
• The Association of Boarding Schools