The Albany Academy

Infobox Private School
name = The Albany Academy


established = 1813
type = Private, Single-Sex|Private, Boarding school|Boarding, Day school
religion = None
head_name = Head of School
head = Richard F. Barter
city = Albany
state = New York|NY
country = USA
motto= "Honor Integritas Officium"
Honor, Integrity, Service
campus = 25 acres
enrollment = 340 students (Age 3 - PG) < 10% Boarding
faculty = 38 teachers
class = 15 students
ratio = 9:1
athletics = 13 interscholastic sports teams
colors = Red and Black

mascot = Cadets
conference = Colonial Council; New England Prep School Athletic League
homepage = [http://www.albany-academy.org/ www.albany-academy.org]

The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from "Early Childhood" (age 3) to Post-Graduate. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer and the city council of Albany. On November 16, 2006, the Board of Trustees announced the school will merge with its sister school, Albany Academy for Girls, to form The Albany Academies, which will consolidate the governance, finances, and facilities of the two schools. The Albany Academy will, however, retain its own identity and continue to grant diplomas under its present name.

History

The Albany Academy is the oldest boys' day school in the New York Capital Region, chartered in March 1813 to educate the sons of Albany's political elite and rapidly growing merchant class. In the Census three years prior, Albany was the tenth-largest city in the United States, and would remain so through the 1850s due to the prominence of the Erie Canal.

laboratory. [http://www.nationalhistoricalregister.com/NY/Albany/state.html]

In 1870, in response to a lack of military preparation institutions in the north during the American Civil War, the Albany Academy adopted the Battalion Leadership Program, instructing the "cadets" in military procedure and the art of leadership. In 2005 the school ended compulsory involvement in the program in favor of a House-based leadership program commonly found in English preparatory schools. The four houses, named for prominent historical Academy figures (Beck, Gates, Henry, and Olcott), compete against one another in the fields of academics, athletics, community service, and extracurricular involvement for honor and special privileges awarded to the leading house.

. In 2006, the dorm was closed to re-focus the school on day-education and the building is now rented out as office space.

In August 2006, The Albany Academy, Albany Academy for Girls, and Doane Stuart School announced their intent to merge into a single institution. The new institution would occupy The Academies' campus on Academy Road, continue single-gender education (a change for Doane Stuart students), and be led by current Doane Stuart Head of School Richard Enemark (Caroline Mason, the current head of both Academies, previously announced her intention of stepping down after the 2006-2007 school year). After parent protest, Doane Stuart withdrew from the proposed merger in September 2006, announcing its decision to remain a separate institution. The Board of Trustees announced the two Academies will merge to form The Albany Academies by the 2007-2008 academic year under a unified administration and interim Head of Schools. Single-gender education will continue under the present form in Lower and Middle Schools, while Upper School students may continue to cross-register for dual-gender classes and certain extracurricular activities.

Facilities

The main Academic building houses 40 classrooms, two libraries, Mac and PC computer labs, the cafeteria (called the Buttery), the school book store, the auditorium (known as the Caird Chapel), the Wellness Center, the Black Box Theater, a dark room, the Joseph Henry Science Wing, student and faculty lounges, board rooms, art and music studios, the school's archives, and various administrative offices. The school's athletic facilities include 11 team locker-rooms, 2 soccer/lacrosse fields, 2 baseball diamonds, 2 football fields, the 400-meter Robison Track, the Robison Hockey Arena, 6 outdoor tennis courts, the 6-lane, 25-yard Standish Pool, the Rea Fitness Center, 2 indoor gymnasiums, a climbing wall, conference rooms, long- and high-jump pits, a discuss court, and a shot-put court. Other on-campus facilities include the 16-bed Van Rensselaer Dormitory, and the Headmaster's Residence (known as the Leonard House) which has since been used to house the admissions department.

tudent body

Drawn predominately from a six-county area and from within a radius of 65 miles, the student body is ethnically, religiously, and economically diverse. The total 2005–06 school population is 340 boys, including 82 in the Lower School, 71 in the Middle School, and 187 in the Upper School. There is a total of six countries represented in the school. Students are encouraged to actively participate in all aspects of school life; they are expected to conduct themselves responsibly and treat each other and their teachers with respect. Students are responsible for upholding school rules. The Albany Academy adheres to a school-wide honor code. Student Council members, especially seniors, occupy important leadership positions at Albany Academy. Its Leadership Development Program prepares students to hold leadership positions at school and beyond by providing formal classes on leadership, advising/student mentoring, community service, and involvement in co-curricular programs—all within the structure of a British-modeled House System.

Mission Statement

The school gives its primary mission as:
"to create an environment rich in possibilities that encourages and inspires each student to attain the level of mastery of which he is capable, and to develop those personal qualities and talents that make him a unique individual, a leader, and a contributing member of society."

Code of Honor

"As members of the Academy community, we acknowledge that our individual actions and attitudes affect the well-being of others as well as the school as a whole. We believe that our community must be built on the trust and mutual respect which will encourage each member to reach his or her unique potential."
"To this end, we will strive to foster the ideals of honesty, tolerance, and integrity both in ourselves and in others. We recognize that we must have the courage to support and affirm one another and to conduct ourselves with civility in all aspects of our lives. Through self-discipline, commitment, and mutual support, these goals of personal growth and pride in our school community will be achieved."

Accreditation and memberships

The schools is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and recognized by the Regents of the State of New York.

It is a member of the following associations: the College Board, the Cum Laude Society, the National Association of Independent Schools, the Educational Records Bureau, the Capital Region Independent Schools Association, the Association of Boys' Schools, the Secondary Schools Admission Test Board, and the New England Prep School Athletic Association.

Alumni

Noted alumni include:
*Stephen Vincent Benét, poet laureate, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1929, 1944)
*William Rose Benét, poet laureate, winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1942)
*Benjamin Boss, astronomer and editor of the "Astronomical Journal"
*John Seiler Brubacher, author, educational philosopher, Yale University professor
*Raymond Castellani, actor, Los Angeles philanthropist
*John W. Causey, United States Representative from Delaware
*E. Harold Cluett, U.S. Representative from New York
*Erastus Corning II, Mayor of Albany from 1942 to 1983; held the record for longest serving Mayor
*Parker Corning, U.S. Representative from New York
*Frederick A. Conkling, U.S. Representative from New York
*Christopher Cuomo, Emmy Award-winning television journalist for ABC News
*Craig Darby, NHL/AHL Hockey Player
*Andrew Sloan Draper, jurist, author, and President of the University of Illinois
*Angus Dun, 4th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington in Washington, DC
*William Durden, President of Dickinson College
*Learned Hand, Justice of the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
*Stephen Hannock, landscape painter
*Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival and Tribeca Film Institute
*Joseph Henry, natural philosopher, telegraphy pioneer, first Curator of the Smithsonian Institution
*Ashton Holmes, film and television actor best known for the role of Jack Stall in "A History of Violence"
*Kevin Leveille, professional lacrosse player for the Chicago Machine and the Chicago Shamrox
*Mike Leveille, lacrosse player, 2008 Tewaaraton Trophy winner, member of the Chicago Machine
*Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick
*Douglas M. North, President of Alaska Pacific University
*Rufus Wheeler Peckham, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1895-1909)
*Wheeler Hazard Peckham, U.S. Supreme Court nominee
*John Van S. L. Pruyn, U.S. Representative from New York
*Andy Rooney, author, journalist, and commentator for 60 Minutes
*Theodore Roosevelt Jr., U.S. Army Brigadier General and Medal of Honor recipient
*Charles Dwight Sigsbee, admiral in the U.S. Navy, captain of the USS Maine when it exploded, igniting the Spanish-American War
*Charles Emory Smith, U.S. Minister to Russia (1890-1892), U.S. Postmaster General (1898-1902)
*Peter G. Ten Eyck, U.S. Representative from New York
*John Boyd Thacher II, Mayor of Albany from 1926 to 1941
*Charles Tracey, U.S. Representative from New York
*Egbert Ludoricus Viele, U.S. Representative from New York
*Henry Waldron,U.S. Representative from Michigan
*Steve Wulf, executive editor at "ESPN The Magazine"

Faculty

Noted former faculty include:
*George W. Atherton, President of the Pennsylvania State University
*Simeon Baldwin, Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. Representative, Justice on the Superior Court of Connecticut
*Theodric Romeyn Beck, forensic medicine pioneer
*William H. Campbell, President of Rutgers University
*George Hammell Cook, chemistry professor and surveyor
*Merrill Edwards Gates, President of Amherst College and Rutgers University
*Julian Gibbs, President of Amherst College
*Joseph Henry, natural philosopher, telegraphy pioneer, first Curator of the Smithsonian Institution
*Albert Hull, physicist, inventor of the magnetron and dynatron
*Alexander Meiklejohn, President of Amherst College, Dean of Brown University, winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
*George Olds, President of Amherst College
*Charles Emory Smith, U.S. Minister to Russia (1890-1892), U.S. Postmaster General (1898-1902)

ee also

*Albany Academy for Girls
*The Albany Academies

External links

* [http://www.albany-academy.org/ The Albany Academy]
* [http://www.petersons.com/PSchools/code/IDD.asp?orderLineNum=598197-1&inunId=56&typeVC=instvc&sponsor=1 Petersons.com School Profile]