Vermont Academy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vermont Academy |
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| Location | |
| Saxtons River, VT, USA | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private Boarding/Day |
| Established | 1876 |
| Enrollment | approx. 240 |
| Average class size | 10 |
| Campus | Rural |
| Color(s) | Black Orange |
| Mascot | Wildcat |
| Website | http://www.vermontacademy.org |
Vermont Academy ("VA") is a co-educational, college preparatory school in Saxtons River, Vermont, in the United States, serving students from 9th to 12th grade and postgraduates. Founded in 1876, Vermont Academy's student body consists of boarding and day students from up to 30 states and 15 countries.
Contents
History
The school was founded in 1876. It originally included a lower school for younger boys and the school gave "special attention to life in the open".
In 1934, Dartmouth College president Ernest Martin Hopkins recommended a fellow Dartmouth graduate for the job of headmaster of Vermont Academy. Laurence G. Leavitt was headmaster for 25 years, during which time he doubled enrollment, retired the school's debt and made many improvements to the school's campus.
Academics
- 5:1 student-teacher ratio
- Honors and AP level classes
- Science Center: Classes include advanced biology, biochemistry, kinesiology, robotics, bio-ethics, physics
- Foreign Languages: French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese
- Learning Skills Center: Available to all students, 5 full-time faculty members
- Advisor Meetings: 6 advisees per advisor; four meetings per week
Athletics and outdoor activities
The school offers a wide range of interscholastic athletic activities: alpine skiing, snowball fights, baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, dance, equestrian, field hockey, freeski, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, mountain biking, Nordic skiing, snowboarding, soccer, and tennis.
The school has five playing fields and two practice fields; an ice rink, with artificial ice-making and maintenance system; six tennis courts ("composition" courts); a 13-station ropes course; a mountain biking course, 20 kilometres (12 mi) of trails (for cross-country running and skiing, snowshoeing, and walks); and a winter sports park, complete with snowmaking, three ski jumps, a modest ski slope with rails, lighting, and a grooming machine. Off-campus activities include alpine skiing/snowboarding; an equestrian program; Wilderness Program (hiking, rock-climbing, kayaking, canoeing, camping); and football through a partnership with the local public high school.
In 2016, Boys' Varsity Basketball won the New England Championship. In 2017, Girls' Varsity Soccer and Girls' Varsity Basketball won the New England Championship. In 2018, Girls' Varsity Ice Hockey won the New England Championship, and the girls varsity soccer.
The school belongs to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and is a member of the Lakes Region League.
Studio and performing arts
The Academy offers theater productions (3 per year, plus cabarets and coffee houses); music (theory and composition, jazz and chamber ensembles, vocal ensemble, and private music lessons); dance; studio art (painting, drawing, pottery, 3-D art, portfolio development); filmmaking; and photography.
Campus
The Academy campus is located on the north side of the village of Saxtons River, bounded on the south by Burk Hill Road and the east by Pleasant Street. It is more than 31 acres (13 ha) in size, and includes buildings dating to the period of the school's founding in 1876. Jones Hall, now a dormitory, was built in that year, and was its only building until 1888, when Fuller Hall, the visual and administrative centerpiece, was built. The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Buildings include a 350-seat performing arts center built in 2006, a newly renovated Learning Center, new Library, campus-wide wireless technology, a dance studio with Harlequin hard-wood sprung floor built in 2004, a fitness center and locker rooms in a renovated gym built in 2004, and an observatory with high-powered telescope built in 2003. There are separate dormitories for boys and girls. There is space for 60 girls and 111 boys. There is a Winter Snow Park on campus for skiing, snowboarding, and jumping which was built in 2003.
Notable alumni
- John Bryson Chane 1963, retired Episcopal bishop of Washington, D.C.
- Frank C. Archibald, Vermont Attorney General
- John Barrett 1885, United States diplomat
- Bruce Brown Jr. 2016, professional basketball player for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets
- Keron DeShields (born 1992), basketball player in the Israeli National League
- Donald E. Edwards 1955, retired United States Army major general and adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard
- Paul Harris 1888, founder, Rotary International
- Frank L. Fish, associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court
- Bruce M. Lawlor 1966, retired United States Army major general and former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security
- Danny MacFayden, professional baseball pitcher, teacher, coach
- Jim MacLaren 1981, motivational speaker and triathlete
- Albert Ketcham 1892, American orthodontist
- Anthony 'Joe' Perry 1969, lead guitarist, Aerosmith
- Samuel B. Pettengill 1904, United States congressman
- Russell W. Porter 1891, Arctic explorer and a founder of amateur telescope making in America
- Archibald Query 1900, inventor of Marshmallow creme
- Florence Sabin 1889, doctor, scientist
- Christopher A. Sinclair 1967, retired chairman and CEO of Pepsi-Cola
- Mark W. Smith 1987, attorney and New York Times best-selling author
- William W. Stickney 1922, major general in the Marine Corps
- William A. Torrey 1952, NHL executive. GM of the '80, '81, '82, '83 NHL Champions New York Islanders. Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
