St. Johnsbury Academy

Infobox Private School
background = #f0f6fa (standard color)
border = #ccd2d9 (standard color)
name = St. Johnsbury Academy


motto =
established = 1842
type = Private, Boarding
religion = non-sectarian
head_name = Headmaster
head = Thomas J. Lovett
city = St. Johnsbury
state = VT
country = U.S.
campus = 150 acres (0.6 km²)
enrollment = Approx. 1000 [citeweb |url=http://stjacademy.org/newssports/407.html |title= St. Johnsbury Academy News & Sports]
faculty = 112
class = 15 students
ratio = 8 to 1
year = 2005
SAT = 1072
ACT =
athletics = 19 Interscholastic Sports
colors = Green/White
mascot = Hilltopper
conference =
homepage = [http://www.stjacademy.org/ www.stjacademy.org] |

St. Johnsbury Academy is an independent,Cite web|url=http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080218/LIVING/802180316/1004/NEWS05|title=Retired Teachers Lauded for Prison School|accessdate=2008-03-11|year=2008-02-18|author=Barbara Leitenberg|work=Burlington Free Press] private, coeducational, non-profit boarding and day school located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, U.S., enrolling students in grades 9-12. It was founded in 1842 by Thaddeus Fairbanks, and accepts the majority of its students through one of the nation's oldest voucher systems.Cite web|url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3506996.html|title=A Little School in the Northeast Kingdom|accessdate=2008-03-11|publisher=Hoover Institution|year=1999|author=Amity Shlaes|work=Hoover Digest]

History

St. Johnsbury Academy was founded in 1842 by Erastus, Thaddeus, and Joseph Fairbanks, to provide "intellectual, moral, and religious training for their own children and the children of the community. [ [http://www.stjacademy.org/page.cfm?p=11 St. Johnsbury Academy website] accessed March 12, 2008] The school was reincorporated in 1873 in order to accomplish the founders' goal of providing educational opportunities to a wider range for students beyond those destined for the liberal arts colleges and universities.

The school has one of the nations oldest voucher systems. The academy was established in 1842 at a time when public schooling had yet to become common.Cite web|url=http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/html/bp67/bp6700001.html|title=Lessons from Vermont: 132-Year-Old Voucher Program Rebuts Critics|accessdate=2008-03-11|publisher=Cato Institute|year=2001-09-10|author=Libby Sternberg] When many local governments began establishing public schools, towns and regions with established and quality private institutions in some cases relied on these schools rather than build public facilities.

One of the original buildings contributed by the Fairbanks in 1873, North Hall, burned on March 6, 1956. Work began promptly on its replacement, Ranger Hall. [Clair Dunne Johnson,"St. Johnsbury",Arcadia Publishing 1996, page 30] The South Hall was built in 1870 to house the students and teachers at a total cost of $36,000 and the total cost to build and equip the Academy was $103,000, which was subsidized by the Fairbanks. Cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9A01E4D61339EF34BC4B52DFB4678388669FDE&oref=slogin|title=St. Johnsbury Academy|accessdate=2008-03-11|year=1873-12-13|work=The New York Times]

John Negroponte delivered the commencement address in 2006, which drew a number of protestors.Cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=TANP&p_multi=BMAB&p_theme=tanp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=11B8B058B6786D70&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Graduation Heckler to go on Trial Later this Month|accessdate=2008-03-12|year=2007-09-08|work=The Barre Montpelier Times Argus] He was then the first Director of National Intelligence of the United States.Cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/05/AR2006060500523.html|title=Intel Chief Gives Vt. Commencement Talk|accessdate=2008-03-11|publisher=The Associated Press|year=2006-06-05|author=David Gram|work=The Washington Post] In addition, the school has had a number of notable alumni and attendees.

Administration

Students from the town of St. Johnsbury and neighboring towns without a high school have often chosen to apply for admission to the Academy. Their tuition has been funded by payments from their town of origin. Tuition from these towns and from St. Johnsbury provided 44% of the annual operating budget of $14 million in 2007. Vermont law requires towns not operating schools to pay tuition to other approved schools for students in the grades not provided up to the Average Announced Tuition for union schools. [http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_finance_data.html - Retrieved: May 32, 2007 ]

The resident program encompasses almost 200 resident students from over 30 countries.

Accreditation

The Academy is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges [ [http://cis.neasc.org/cis_directory_of_schools/#Vermont New England Association of Schools and Colleges] retrieved June 22, 2008] and approved by the Vermont State Department of Education. It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent School Association of Northern New England, and the Vermont Independent Schools Association. In addition, the Academy is a member of the College Board.Fact|date=March 2008

Athletics

The boys' baseball team won the Vermont state championship for Division I in 1993 and 2006 [ [http://www.vpaonline.org/champs_baseball.asp Vermont Principals Association] accessed January 5, 2008] The football team won the Vermont state championship for Division I in 1966 and 1968. [ [http://www.vpaonline.org/champs_football.asp Vermont Principal's Association] accessed January 5, 2008] - The football team won the Vermont state championship for Division II in 1961, 1982 and 1994. [ [http://www.vpaonline.org/champs_football.asp Vermont Principal's Association] accessed January 5, 2008]

Notable alumni

* Calvin Coolidge (1891), 30th president of the United States 1923-1929. A postgraduate student, he had previously failed the entrance exam for Amherst. He was given a certificate after one term at St. Johnsbury and was accepted at Amherst.Cite web|url=http://www.vhscommunityhistory.org/pages/projects/blackriver/blackriver03.html|title=Notable Alumni of Black River Academy|accessdate=2008-03-11|publisher=Vermont Historical Society]
* Taylor Coppenrath (2000), professional basketball player.
* Khonnor (2004), electronic musician
* Charles Hosmer Morse, 1850, founder of { [Fairbanks-Morse]
* Graham S. Newell (1933), Member of the Vermont Senate and House
* Edwin Wallace Parker (c. 1851), bishop of the American Methodist Episcopal Mission
* Robert Holbrook Smith (1898), co-founder, Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935Cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=TANP&p_multi=BMAB&p_theme=tanp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10D8FA044D563328&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=AA Founder's St. Johnsbury Birthplace Turning into Addiction Recovery Center|accessdate=2008-03-12|year=2005-05-23|author=Carla Occaso|work=The Barre Montpelier Times Argus]
* Charles W. Waterman, Republican Senator from Colorado, 1927-1932.
* Sterry R. Waterman (1918), Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1955-1970

Notable attendees

* Franklin Fairbanks, attendee. President of E & T Fairbanks and Company, donated Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium
* Josiah Grout, Governor of Vermont 1896-1898. Was attending Academy when the Civil War broke out and he enlisted.
* Linda Richards, attended 1856-7, America's first trained nurse [ [http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/richards.htm Bio of Linda Richards] accessed December 6, 2007]
* Jonathan Ross, Vermont SenatorCite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02E6DA153DE633A25756C0A9649C94689ED7CF|title=Vermont's New Senator|accessdate=2008-03-11|year=1899-02-05|work=The New York Times]

References

External links

* [http://www.stjacademy.org/ St. Johnsbury Academy]