The Westminster Schools
The Westminster Schools | |
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Seal of The Westminster Schools | |
Address | |
1424 West Paces Ferry Road , , 30327 | |
Coordinates | 33°50′39″N 84°26′10″W / 33.84426°N 84.436242°W |
Information | |
School type | Private |
Motto | "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
Denomination | Non-denominational |
Established | 1951; traces origins to 1878 |
President | Dr. William Clarkson IV |
Faculty | 271 |
Enrollment | 1,848 |
Campus | 180 acres (0.73 km2), suburban |
Colour(s) | Forest Green and White |
Song | "Westminster, Love We Thee" |
Mascot | Wildcats |
Rival | The Lovett School |
Accreditation | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools |
Newspaper | The Westminster Bi-Line |
Yearbook | The Westminster Lynx |
Endowment | $239 million ($130,000 per student) |
Tuition | $15,440 (PreK-5) $18,000 (6-12) |
Alumni | 9,927 |
Grades | Pre-1st through 12 |
Website | The Westminster Schools |
The Westminster Schools is a private school (K-12) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1951 and tracing its origins to 1878, Westminster has one of the largest endowments of any non-boarding school in the United States.[1] The school's expressed mission is "to develop the whole person for college and for life through excellent education."[2]
History
Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), an affiliate of the North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Dr. William W. Pressly of Chattanooga, Tennessee's McCallie School served as Westminster's first president. The school moved to its current campus in 1953 as the result of a land grant by trustee Fritz Orr.
That same year, Washington Seminary, another local private school founded by two of George Washington's great-nieces in 1878,[3] merged with Westminster. The resulting school was co-educational until the sixth grade, with separate schools for boys and girls continuing through the twelfth grade, a practice that continued until 1986 and provided the basis of Westminster's plural name.
In the mid-1950s, Westminster became a test site for a new advanced studies program that would later become the College Board's Advanced Placement program. In 1962, the administration building, later named Pressly Hall, was constructed, bringing the number of permanent buildings on campus to four. Three years later, in 1965, Westminster became one of the last southern private schools to integrate, and four African American students graduated in 1973.[4] Until 1978, the school also operated as a boarding school.
The school is currently in the process of raising $100 million to further increase its endowment size. The campaign is the third-largest ever for an independent school in the United States.[5]
Campus
Westminster is situated on 180 acres (0.73 km2) wooded in the Buckhead community of Atlanta. A new campus road, completed in June 2004, rerouted traffic away from central campus. In addition to a new junior high facility, completed in August 2005, Westminster has six main high school academic buildings — Campbell Hall, Askew Hall, and Robinson Hall, Broyles Hall, and Pressly Hall. Pressly Hall houses administrative offices, the Malone Dining Hall, and McCain Chapel. Turner Gymnasium underwent major construction and expansion completed in 2001. Broyles Arts Center houses the orchestra, band, theater, and art programs. The recently renovated Scott Hall now houses the campus bookstore and technology department after the construction of the Junior High School building. Love Hall serves as the elementary school.
The campus hosted the Atlanta Marathon from 1964 until 1980.
Post-Secondary Education
As a college preparatory school, one of Westminster's primary goals for its students is that they are prepared for and able to receive a post-secondary education. The Class of 2009 graduated 191 students, 93 male and 98 female. The universities with the largest matriculation from the class of 2009 were the University of Georgia with 38, the University of Virginia with 15, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with 10, and Vanderbilt University with 8.[6][7] The 2009 matriculations are similar to those of other recent graduating classes. Minority enrollment stands as 23.8%, and financial aid is awarded to 15.6% of the student body.[7]
Traditions
Current school traditions include a student-enforced honor code that forbids lying, cheating, and stealing. In the high school and middle school, the Honor Council oversees honor violation cases, while the Discipline Council oversees cases involving disciplinary actions not in violation of the honor code.
Annual events include Christian Emphasis Week, Homecoming, Senior Mudslide, and Salute to the Arts. Former events include Fieldigras, which was discontinued circa 2000, Westafest, which was discontinued in 1994, and Big Day Off, which was discontinued in 2010.
Westminster maintains a rivalry with the neighboring Lovett School, as well as other area private schools including Woodward Academy, Marist School, Wesleyan School, and Pace Academy.
Athletics
Westminster fields 81 athletic teams, including baseball, basketball—boys and girls, cheerleading—fall and winter, crew, cross country—boys and girls, football, golf—boys and girls, gymnastics, lacrosse—boys and girls, soccer—boys and girls, softball, swimming and diving—boys and girls, tennis—boys and girls, track and field—boys and girls, volleyball, squash, and wrestling.
These teams have won 220 state championships since 1951.[7] Westminster has received the Georgia Athletic Directors' Association Directors Cup in its respective classification nine of the ten years it has been awarded, 2000–2008 and 2010,[8] and the GADA Boys and Girls Cup for best all-around boys and girls athletic programs in its respective classification for five years, 2002–2006.[citation needed] The varsity boys' tennis team has won the Georgia State High School AAA State Championship for the past ten seasons, 1999–2009. The boys' team has yielded many Division 1 NCAA scholarship tennis players over the years, and it has won several regional tournaments as well. Head Coach Wade Boggs has been at the helm of the program for 34 years. Westminster fields the sole varsity squash team south of Woodberry Forest School in Virginia featuring full interscholastic competition; the team placed 16th in the 2004 U.S. National High School Team Championships, held at Yale University. The team is coached by Tom Rumpler, a former hardball tour player and current U.S. #2 in the 55s-age division.
Extracurricular activities
Westminster places a great deal of focus on extracurricular clubs and activities, with students and faculty devoting time before, during, and after school to these activities. Among the academic extracurricular pursuits are an academic quiz team, math team, and math honors society.
Arts classes are required for all students, and many extracurricular opportunities in that field are available to students, including a vocal ensemble and men's and women's a cappella, as well as a symphonic band, orchestra, and theater program.
Student publications include The Westminster Bi-Line, a monthly newspaper publication, Crossroads, a literary magazine in languages other than English, Embryo, an arts, music, and literature magazine, and Evolutions, a poetry and creative writing periodical.
Service has received increased focus at Westminster in recent years, centered around a Community Service Club, and 56% of high school students participated in non-required service projects in 2008-2009.[7]. Notable service clubs include the After School Kids organization for elementary school students and the Campus Conservation Corps, an environmental conservation club focused on educating and affecting environmental change. In addition, the East African Children's Education Fund, which has raised more than $250,000, the largest of any student run charitable organization in the United States, was founded by a Westminster student and Westminster students remain active in its operation.
Political and social advocacy groups have become more active in the previous two election cycles, and include Young Democrats and Young Republicans associations and a Human Rights Club.
Religious and cultural groups on campus showcase the diverse heritage of the student body. A student-run Christian Life Committee oversees that aspect of student life, including many Bible studies and a branch of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Other groups of this type include Tikkun Olam, a Jewish fellowship club for Junior High students, Nosh, an all-encompassing religious discussion group, and Far Out Far East, a cultural club that explores Eastern cultures and traditions.
Experiential activities have increasingly developed at Westminster, centered around the on-campus summer camp. Junior High students experience activity-filled Immersion Days, freshman go through a two-week Discovery program, and seniors can be members of Peer Leadership, a guidance and counseling program for freshmen.
Other clubs include a FIRST Robotics chapter, which reached the divisional quarterfinals of the FIRST National Championships in its most recent season,[9] a culinary society, and a record breaking club.
Policy Debate
The team has won 16 state championships as well as many large national tournaments, including the national Tournament of Champions in 2010 (Daniel Taylor and Ellis Allen), 2009 (Anshu Sathian and Rajesh Jegadeesh), and 2005 (Anusha Deshpande and Stephen Weil). The 2008-2009 team was ranked first in the country and won multiple national tournaments, including the Greenhill round robin, St. Mark's, the Glenbrooks, Ohio Valley, the Barkley Forum for High Schools, and the University of Georgia's tournaments. The team finished first place (both individually and as a team) at the Glenbrooks Tournament, the largest national debate invitational of the fall semester (2005). The team also won the Greenhill tournament, the Greenhill round robin, and the New Trier tournament in 2006. The team also won the National Debate Coaches' Association Championships in 2007 (Stephen Weil and Sanjena Anshu Sathian) and came in finals in the 2007 Tournament of Champions, also receiving top speaker (Stephen Weil). In addition, the Westminster debate team has both won and been in finals of the Novice and Junior Varsity National Championships, held at Woodward Academy annually in 2005(Priyanka Anand and Stephen Weil) and 2007 (Daniel Taylor and Angela Guo). The team has produced more national championships in the last decade than any other school in the country and has received the Baker Cup, the award for the top ranked team in the country twice, in both 2007 and 2009.
Notable people
Alumni
Notable alumni of The Westminster Schools include:[10]
- Margaret Mitchell (Washington Seminary 1917), author, Gone with the Wind[11]
- Jeff Galloway (1963), Olympic 10k runner 1972
- Taylor Branch (1964), historian and author
- Hugh Cort (1969), GOP Presidential candidate 2008
- James H. Shepherd, Jr. (1969), chairman of the board, Shepherd Center, the United States' largest catastrophic care hospital
- Daniel R. White (1971), author
- Clark Howard (1973), consumer advocate and nationally syndicated radio talk show host
- Michael McChesney (1974), founder and chairman, Security First Network Bank
- Lisa Borders (1975), president, Atlanta City Council; serves as a trustee of the school
- Hannah Storm (1979), co-host, "The Early Show and anchor for ESPN's Sports Center"
- Phillip Alvelda (1982), co-founder, chairman, and CEO, MobiTV
- Shuler Hensley (1985), Broadway actor
- Laurie Dhue (1986), former anchor (2000-2008), Fox News Channel
- Lauren Myracle (1987), author
- Rand Knight (1990), 2008 United States Senate candidate in Georgia
- Rob Kutner (1990), writer, "The Daily Show"
- Brian Baumgartner (1991), actor, "The Office"
- Ed Helms (1992), former correspondent, "The Daily Show"; actor, "The Office", The Hangover
- Rob Lathan (1994), actor, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Human Giant"
- Sedrick Hodge (1997), former NFL linebacker
- Jennifer Stumm (1997), concert violist
- Morgan Jahnig (1998), stand-up bassist, Old Crow Medicine Show
- Kaki King (1998), musician
- Ansley Cargill (2000), professional tennis player, WTA Tour
- Julian Dorio (2000), musician, "The Whigs"
- Sada Jacobson (2000), 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist and 2004 Summer Olympics bronze medalist, sabre
- Robert Ransom (2000), pitcher, AA St. Louis Cardinals
- Noah Britton (2001), musician
- Parker Gispert (2001), musician, "The Whigs"
- Hamilton Jordan, Jr. (2002), musician
- Emily Jacobson (2004), 2004 Olympic fencer
- Gordon Beckham (2005), 2009 winner of The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
- Glen Rollins, President and COO of Orkin, Inc. and Vice-President of Rollins, Inc.
Faculty
- Chip Myrick
- Cynthia Potter
Benefactors
Miscellanea
- The film "The Blind Side" was filmed on the school's campus in June 2009, with students, parents, teachers and coaches acting as extras.[12]
- Revenue and expenses: $37,900,424. Tuition represents 63.8% of revenue.
- SAT Average: 2080 out of 2400 in 2006; 1380 out of 1600 in 2005.
References
- ^ "At Elite Prep Schools, College-Size Endowments." Fabrikant, Geraldine. The New York Times, January 26, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/business/26prep.html?pagewanted=2
- ^ The Westminster Schools: About Us: Mission and Philosophy.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "History of Westminster."
- ^ "Teaching For Tomorrow Assures Excellence for Today." Adams, Abby. The Westminster Bi-Line, December 8, 2006. pg. 3.
- ^ "New Public Domain: At Public Universities, Less for More." Fain, Paul. The New York Times, November 1, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/education/edlife/01public-t.html?pagewanted=3&_r=2&ref=edlife
- ^ a b c d [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ http://www.wiredcats2415.com/
- ^ "2008-2009 Alumni Donor Proof" (PDF). The Westminster Schools. 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
- ^ "Margaret Mitchell (American novelist)". Retrieved 2009-09-06.
- ^ [4].
External links
- Articles needing cleanup from May 2009
- Articles with sections that need to be turned into prose from May 2009
- Articles needing cleanup from December 2007
- Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from December 2007
- Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from December 2007
- High schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Educational institutions established in 1951
- Private schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Schools in Atlanta, Georgia
- Schools accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools