Thayer Academy

Infobox Secondary school
name = Thayer Academy

established = 1877
headmaster = Ted Koskores
city = Braintree
state = Massachusetts
country = USA
campus = Suburban
type = private co-educational
faculty:student = 6.5:1
students = 670
grades = 6–12
endowment = 40 million
mascot = Tiger
colors = Black and Orange
website = [http://www.thayer.org www.thayer.org]
Endowment = $40 million

Thayer Academy (TA) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory day school located in Braintree, Massachusetts. The Academy, conceived in 1871 at the bequest of General Sylvanus Thayer, the father of the United States Military Academy, was founded in 1877. Thayer currently enrolls 462 students in the Upper School (grades 9–12) and an additional 218 students in the Middle School (grades 6–8). The 25 acre campus is situated in the heart of Braintree, MA and will soon consist of ten buildings.

Thayer's mission, drawing on the principles of General Thayer, is to inspire a diverse community of students to moral, intellectual, aesthetic, and physical excellence so that each may rise to honorable achievement and contribute to the common good. To this end, Thayer provides a rigorous education combined with numerous opportunities to participate in arts, athletics, community service, and experiences abroad.

The Visiting Committee evaluating Thayer in 1998 for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges wrote, "Thayer devotes itself to high ideals. The committee came away feeling Thayer deserves to celebrate a unique spirit of democracy, a strikingly vigorous community life, and the potential for remarkable future development... It is extraordinarily well poised for the 21st century."

=History=

General Thayer, born in Braintree, Mass., graduated as valedictorian from both Dartmouth College and the United States Military Academy. He became Superintendent of the Military Academy in 1817. General Thayer's 1871 will provided for the creation of the Academy, and on September 12, 1877, the Academy opened its doors to 30 students in what is now Main Building. Glover opened sometime later in 1894, with Thayerlands (now the Middle School) opening in 1924. Thayer has been a co-educational institution since its founding.

The Academy continues to draw to its faculty extraordinary teachers whose devotion to scholarship and sincere interest in the development of their students embody Thayer’s mission.

Educational Philosophy

Thayer has thrived by providing a rigorous, coeducational learning environment that is adaptable to change yet uncompromising in its mission. Generations of families have entrusted their children’s education to the Academy because it has faithfully followed the course set by its founder, General Sylvanus Thayer, to be a spirited, student-centered institution. Close interaction among students, faculty, and family is fundamental to the learning process.

Thayer stresses that personal achievement and growth—moral, intellectual, aesthetic and physical—result from ability, character, and effort. In addition, students gain an enduring appreciation of learning as a lifelong process and an abiding sense of responsibility to contribute to the common good.

High standards of scholarship, ample opportunities for self-expression and a competitive interscholastic athletics challenge each student to reach his or her own potential.

Individual achievement is encouraged, but teamwork, collaboration, and public service are ideals espoused by the Academy with equal enthusiasm.

The consistent quality of the Thayer experience from its founding to its respected position among New England independent schools today may be attributed to a steadfast adherence to its founding mission. Every member of the Thayer community—teachers, students, parents, alumni, trustees, administrators, staff and friends of the Academy—are stewards of this mission and share in the rewards of its influence.

Thayer students find inspiration in the close, lasting relationships they form with faculty and friends. Individually, each student is challenged in a supportive environment and encouraged to do thing things that they may think are beyond their reach. They grow to appreciate the rewards of perseverance, taking calculated risks, and doing every job well. More than just preparing for college, Thayer students are preparing for life.

Academic Program, Students and Faculty

Thayer offers a challenging academic program that prepares students for college and adulthood with 37 AP and honors classes. With a 6:1 student-faculty ratio, teachers connect with students as individuals, inspiring them to develop their potential as students, athletes (over 80 sports teams), artists (more than 26 art electives), and productive members of the community (72 student clubs, organizations, and community service opportunities). Thayer also offers a comprehensive international educational travel program to 11 destinations.

At Thayer, who students become is as important as what they achieve.

Physical and intellectual rigor is the order of the day at the Academy. Expectations for behavior and performance are high and students and staff are equally infected with optimism. There is a conspicuous desire for students to succeed at Thayer and everyone – faculty, staff, students and parents -- is motivated and hardworking.

Over 90% of students taking AP exams earn scores of 3 or better and Thayer graduates consistently earn admittance to the most challenging and selective universities around the country.

Thayer students are encouraged to be like Renaissance men and women by becoming active in the arts, athletics and academics and teachers provide powerful mentoring. For example, it is not uncommon to find a sports coach sitting down at a piano and playing a blues number. In fact, the head track coach embodies this idea perfectly. He is also head of the arts department and directs five of the seven jazz ensembles at Thayer.

Thayer recently completed two state-of-the-art biology labs, a two-story strength and conditioning facility, a new Middle School Resource Center, and four synthetic grass playing fields. In addition, a new Center for the Arts opened its doors in the fall of 2008 and includes a 550 seat theater, dance studios, and art classrooms. Tuition is $30,750 (2008 - 2009). The school provides $4 million financial aid and is easily accessible from the major surrounding highways: routes 3, 93, 95 as well as the public transportation. Learn more about Thayer at [http://www.thayer.org.]

Total enrollment at Thayer is about 680 between the Upper School and the Middle School. Thayer is a day school with many students coming from the surrounding Metro West and South Shore communities. The Thayer faculty consists of over 100 teachers, and the average class size is between 13 and 16 students. Colleges and universities popular among Thayer graduates include Bates, Cornell, Boston College, Boston University, Bucknell University, Hamilton, Harvard, Holy Cross, George Washington, Middlebury, Trinity, Franklin and Marshall College and Tufts. 100% of Thayer graduates matriculate to 4-year colleges and Universities.

Academic Highlights

Mathletes

The Thayer Traveling Mathletes has had its most successful year in its history. After winning their division, they were invited to the regional play-offs and then continued on to the Massachusetts State Competition, where they placed in the top 3 and qualified for the New England Meet. The math team consists of 15 students of all levels who meet for practice and travel to area high schools for competitions.

Voice

Thayer Academy’s student magazine Voice, published four times per year, was named best scholastic magazine for a school of any size in all of New England by the New England Scholastic Press Association (NEPSA).

In addition, eight Thayer students won Individual Achievement (IA) awards. Over 1,300 entries were received for various IA categories and typically, 10% or fewer entries in any category win recognition.

Voice has two faculty advisors who help students with production questions and ideas but don’t write or editorialize in any way. Students are encouraged and expected to display professional journalistic standards and make good decisions on their own regarding writing, editing and publishing.

The basic guideline for Voice is that no topic is off limits. The school administration doesn’t censor the content. There is a staff of 18-20 and no one specific editor.

International Travel

Studying abroad is an opportunity many don’t have until college. But for students at Thayer the International Study Program is a key element of their education. Thayer stresses a balanced and rigorous educational experience and Headmaster Ted Koskores, who has lived and taught in both Iran and Greece, recognizes that foreign travel and study opportunities are essential to a well-rounded education.

Over the years, Thayer has developed a set of rich, sister school cultural exchanges as well as study-abroad programs. The programs not only allow for travel and study abroad but they establish long-term relationships with schools and students in other countries.

The International Study Program includes an exchange program with the Lycee Stanislas in Cannes, France. Students live with host families in France and experience first-hand, the culture of the French people.

One of the most unique opportunities available to Thayer students particularly interested in studio art, is the artists-in-residence program in Cortona, Italy. Creativity is an important element of the balanced curriculum at Thayer this program provides an incredible opportunity to study and appreciate some of the world’s greatest works of art.

Another area of study is a first-hand look at Rome where Latin and history students at Thayer have the opportunity to visualize the gladiatorial fights of the Coliseum; the chariot races of the Circus Maximus; the Ciceronian orations in the Forum; the imperial palaces of the Palatine Hill; and the Pantheon and Pompeii.

Additional programs include study abroad in England, Spain, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Grease Car

What's green, smells like french fries and goes 60 mph?

A Mercedes Benz, of course.

That Benz, a 1981 diesel, can be found at Thayer Academy.

The Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) class transformed a gas guzzling diesel to an environmentally friendly 'green car' that runs on cooking oil...the type you'd find used at fast food restaurants to cook the fries!

The class spent a semester building the converter kit, installing it and rewiring the car so it would run on both diesel and regular cooking oil. The students were divided into teams, some focusing on the build and install, others focusing on the wiring and still another group in charge of the marketing and advertising.

Athletics

Thayer's athletic teams participate in the competitive Independent School League (ISL), the oldest independent school athletic association in the United States. Thayer offers interscholastic varsity teams in the following sports:

* Fall
**Boys: Intramural Crew, Soccer, Football, Cross Country
**Girls: Intramural Crew, Soccer, Field Hockey, Cross Country

* Winter
**Boys: Basketball, Ice Hockey, Swimming and Diving, Skiing, Wrestling
**Girls: Basketball, Ice Hockey, Swimming and Diving, Skiing, Wrestling, Gymnastics

* Spring
**Girls: Lacrosse, Crew, Track and Field, Tennis, Golf, Softball
**Boys: Lacrosse, Crew, Track and Field, Tennis, Golf, Baseball

Committed to the Community

Thayer Academy has been closely tied to the surrounding community since its inception in 1877. From its earliest days, Thayer students and faculty have been involved in numerous community service activities. During WWI Thayer students rolled bandages for the Red Cross. In fact, Sylvanus Thayer, founder of the Academy, was himself dedicated to hard work and community service. At the age of 17 he taught in the local schools of Washington DC to earn money to pay for college.

Today, Thayer students, faculty and staff can be found tutoring children as part of the local Head Start program; conducting food dries for the homeless and hungry; walking to raise money for cancer and AIDS research; advocating for human rights as members of Amnesty International; visiting residents of the Braintree Manor Nursing Home. Through these and many other outreach activities, the Thayer community experiences first-hand their potential to have a significant impact on the live of others.

Thayer feels strongly about making itself accessible to the local community and one of the ways in which it gives back is through the use of its facilities. The Academy recently built four new synthetic grass playing fields and when these are not in use by Thayer students, local youths have use of the amenities. Another initiative that Thayer offers to local residents is its student and adult education classes held on Saturdays and in the evenings.

Notable alumni

* William D. Delahunt, U.S. Representative, 10th District (MA-D)
* Dave Silk, hockey player, 1980 Olympic Games "Miracle on Ice"
* Tony Amonte, hockey player, Calgary Flames
* Jeremy Roenick, hockey player, Phoenix Coyotes
* Mike Jones, basketball player, University of Maryland Terrapins
* John Cheever, Pulitzer Prize winning author, expelled for smoking in the 1920s
* Brooks Orpik, hockey player, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Ryan Whitney, hockey player, Pittsburgh Penguins
* Mike Mottau, hockey player, Hobey Baker Award winner
* John Curtis Gowan, psychologist
* David Grossack, attorney

External links

* [http://www.thayer.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1 Official Website]