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Lawrence Academy (Groton, Massachusetts)

Coordinates: 42°36′14″N 71°33′58″W / 42.60389°N 71.56611°W / 42.60389; -71.56611
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For other schools of this name, see Lawrence Academy.

Lawrence Academy at Groton
Address
Map
26 Powderhouse Road

Groton
,
Massachusetts
01450

United States
Coordinates42°36′14″N 71°33′58″W / 42.60389°N 71.56611°W / 42.60389; -71.56611
Information
Established1793
Head of schoolDan Scheibe
Faculty~80
Enrollment406
Campus typeExurban
Color(s)Red and Blue
NicknameSpartans
Websitehttp://www.lacademy.edu

Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded by a group of 50 residents of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts in 1792 as Groton Academy, and chartered in 1793 by Governor John Hancock, Lawrence is the tenth oldest boarding school in the United States, and the third in Massachusetts, following Governor Dummer Academy (1763) and Phillips Academy at Andover (1778).[1] The phrase on Lawrence Academy's seal is "Omnibus Lucet": in Latin, "Let light shine upon all."

Incorporation as Groton Academy

On April 27, 1792, residents of the towns of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts[2] influenced by the growing "academy movement" in the young republic, which sought to provide a broader and more practical education than that available in the traditional Latin Grammar Schools,[3] formed an association "for the purpose of erecting a suitable building, and supporting an Academy for superior educational purposes at Groton, Massachusetts."[4] The association received its charter from Governor John Hancock on September 28, 1793.[5]

For the academy's first schoolmaster, the trustees selected Samuel Holyoke, a prominent composer, who was himself a graduate of Phillips Academy and Harvard college.

The trustees announced the opening of their academy (somewhat prematurely, as the charter was not to be secured for another four months) with an advertisement in the May 25, 1793 edition of the Columbian Centinel, a Boston newspaper. The advertisement expressed the values of the academy movement, reading in part:

This is to give notice, that a Public School is now opened in Groton, for the education of youth, of both sexes—in which School are taught the English, Latin and Greek Languages, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, the Art of Speaking and Writing, with Practical Geometry, and Logic.[4]

Classes commenced in 1794, with an enrollment of 73 students, primarily from Groton and the surrounding towns, but with some, such as Thomas and Wyriott Alderson of Bath, North Carolina, from farther afield.[4]

History

In 1838, alumnus Amos Lawrence, a son of founder Samuel Lawrence and a prominent Boston merchant and industrialist, began his patronage of the Academy with a gift of "books and philosophical apparatus," followed in 1839 by "a telescope and Bowditch's translation of Mécanique Céleste by Laplace," and $2,000 for enlarging the schoolhouse in 1842.[6] In 1844, Amos's brother William donated $10,000 to the school's endowment "for the advancement of education for all coming time."[6]

By 1850, the school's library, established with a purchase of 86 new books in 1828, comprised 2,650 volumes, of which 2,400 were gifts of Amos Lawrence.[7]

Over the course of their lives, Amos and William Lawrence donated a total of nearly $65,000 in cash, scholarships, and property to the school (roughly equivalent to $1.83 million in 2013 dollars).[6] In recognition of their significant generosity, Groton Academy petitioned the Massachusetts legislature in 1845 to change the school's name to honor their benefactors. On February 28, 1846, Governor George N. Briggs signed into law an act formally changing the corporate name of "The Trustees of the Groton Academy" to "The Trustees of the Lawrence Academy at Groton."[5]

Between 1801 and 1870, Lawrence Academy contributed 50 students to Harvard College, placing it among the dozen schools which supplied the greatest number of students to Cambridge. As the 19th century progressed and more schools catering to the children of the elite ranks of Boston merchants and industrialists were established closer to Boston, that position gradually waned.[8] The Academy also enjoyed close ties to other New England liberal arts colleges — particularly Dartmouth and Williams Colleges — which themselves catered to the region's "older provincial elite".[8] The gifts of the Lawrence brothers established four scholarships each for students to attend Williams, Bowdoin College in Maine, and Wabash College in Indiana.[6] Franklin Carter, president of Williams College, was the guest speaker at the academy's 90th anniversary celebration in 1893.[4]

In 1868, during a Fourth of July celebration, an errantly tossed firecracker burned Lawrence Academy's main schoolhouse to the ground. By soliciting "subscriptions," the building was replaced in 1869 at a cost of $24,000 (more than $406,874 in 2013).[6]

In 1956, amidst commencement exercises, fire once again destroyed Lawrence Academy's academic and administrative buildings. Following both fires, Lawrence Academy rebuilt; however, because of these incidents, it encountered financial difficulties through parts of the twentieth century, until the late 1970s. Lawrence was coeducational until 1898, when it switched to a boys-only student body. It remained single sex until 1971.

The First Parish Church is a landmark on Main Street in Groton, set at the northern end of Lawrence Academy's campus, though it is not associated with the school.

Background

Lawrence Academy is seated upon 100 acres (405,000 m²) of rolling countryside, in Groton, Massachusetts, 31 miles northwest of Boston, eight miles south of New Hampshire. At the bequest of James Lawrence, a Lawrence family descendant, it also shares the meadows and a mansion along Peabody Road and Farmer's Row with the Groton School, another renowned preparatory school. Architecturally, Lawrence's campus features a mix of historic Federalist-Era houses and Neo-Georgian academic buildings. From Lawrence's central quadrangle, one can see the outline of Mount Wachusett to the west, the pastures of Gibbet Hill Farm, (the site of colonial gallows and The Castle), to the north, and the fairways of the Groton Country Club to the east.

Lawrence Academy is also ranked top 2 in most expensive private schools in the world.

Enrollment

Each year Lawrence Academy enrolls approximately 100 new students, ~ 50 of whom are boarding students. As of 2012, students hail from 14 U.S. States and 24 countries. The student-to-teacher ratio at Lawrence is approximately 5:1, with an average class size of 14 students. Tuition for the 2006–2007 academic year was $49,900 for boarders, $39,900 for day students. Thirty percent of students receive financial aid to attend. Lawrence accepts approximately 30% of applicants. Tuition in 2015-2016 raised up to $49,000 for day students, $60,000 for boarders and $65,000 for international students.

Unique academic programs

Lawrence Academy's notable programs include Winterim, a two-week program that promotes experiential learning by immersing students in a variety of arts, adventure, and community service sessions. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves by selecting programs outside their realm of experience. Options have ranged from learning to sail the Northwest Passage in British Columbia, to exploring ecology in Costa Rica, to storytelling to local children in New England. The Ninth Grade Program is a signature Lawrence Academy program that focuses the freshman class on organizational, reading, writing and presentation skills, while taking a coordinated approach to teaching with an NGP faculty team that teaches English, science, history, and art. The program culminates each year with students presenting a Mastery Project on a subject of their choice that draws on their learning in all of those areas. The school also has the Independent Immersion Program, which allows students who have met certain academic requirements to focus for one or two years on a single endeavor, as though at a conservatory, with courses or projects completed both on and off campus.

Athletics

Lawrence Academy's athletic teams compete in the Independent School League.

Affiliations

Lawrence Academy is directed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. Lawrence Academy has over 3,800 active alumni.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Student Media

Spectrum is the official student newspaper of Lawrence Academy.

References

  1. ^ Boarding Schools with the Oldest Founding Date – All Schools. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
  2. ^ The Jubilee of Lawrence Academy at Groton, Standard Steam Presses, 1855.
  3. ^ Inglis, Alexander. Principles of Secondary Education. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918
  4. ^ a b c d Sanderson, George A., ed. A General Catalogue of the trustees, teachers, and students Lawrence Academy, Groton, Massachusetts, from the time of its Incorporation, 1793-1893. Lawrence Academy, 1893
  5. ^ a b Acts Relating to Lawrence Academy, Groton, Massachusetts. University Press, 1894
  6. ^ a b c d e Financial History of Lawrence Academy, John Wilson & Son, Cambridge, Mass., 1895.
  7. ^ Catalogue of the Library of Lawrence Academy, Groton, Mass. 1850, S.J. Varney, Lowell, Mass., 1850
  8. ^ a b "Story, Ronald, Harvard Students, the Boston Elite, and the New England Preparatory System, History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Autumn 1975). Accessed March 4, 2014 (subscription required)
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