- Wilbraham & Monson Academy
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Wilbraham & Monson Academy 
Location Wilbraham, USA Information Type Private, Boarding, Day Religious affiliation(s) No religious affiliation Established 1804 Headmaster Rodney LaBrecque Faculty 52 Enrollment 360 Student to teacher ratio 7:1 Campus 300 acres (1.2 km2) Color(s) Red, Blue, Gold, & White Mascot Titan (formerly The Coachmen) Website http://www.wmacademy.org Wilbraham & Monson Academy is a prep school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is one of the fifteen oldest schools on the eastern coast of the United States.[1] It is a four year boarding and day high school for students in grades 6-12 and postgraduate. The academy is located in the center of the town of Wilbraham, 1.5 hours from Boston and 3 hours from New York City. The program features small classes, 18 AP courses, and a writing center. Athletics include rugby, lacrosse, baseball, cross-country, dance, wrestling, soccer, tennis, golf, football, basketball, track, volleyball, softball, water polo, and swimming.[2]
WMA was established by the merger of two nineteenth-century academies — Monson Academy, founded in 1804, and Wesleyan Academy, founded in 1817 in New Market, New Hampshire. Wesleyan Academy relocated to Wilbraham to become Wilbraham Academy in 1912, and in 1971, when the school merged with Monson Academy, the name was officially changed to Wilbraham & Monson Academy. Wesleyan was the first co-educational boarding school in the country, and Monson Academy became the first to enroll Chinese students in 1847. The school's history also includes a role in the anti-slavery movement, when its chapel was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad.[3]
Contents
Academics
The Center for Entrepreneurial & Global Studies
The Center for Entrepreneurial & Global Studies (CEGS) offers courses in the study of global economics, finance, entrepreneurship, ethics, and sustainability. CEGS offers a multidisciplinary approach to learning, including lectures, seminars, independent study, and an online class with the University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management. These are augmented by discussions with local business leaders, college professors, and prominent Wilbraham & Monson Academy alumni. Field trips to financial and governmental organizations provide “real-world” experience of class concepts. In 2005, CEGS students visited Brussels, the capital of the European Union, for a two-week program on the effect of the EU on the world's economy.[4]
The Bicentennial Scholars Program
The Bicentennial Scholars Program is a merit-based scholarship program. This program annually awards a $5,000 International travel grant to upper school students who, in the opinion of the school, will enrich the academic, athletic, creative, social, and moral ethos of the school.
AP / Advanced Courses:
Advanced Placement Art Portfolio, Advanced Placement Biology, Advanced Placement Calculus AB and BC, Advanced Placement Chemistry, Advanced Placement Economics, Advanced Placement English Language, Advanced Placement English Literature, Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Advanced Placement European History, Advanced Placement French, Advanced Placement Latin, Advanced Placement Music Theory, Advanced Placement Physics, Advanced Placement Spanish, Advanced Placement Statistics, Advanced Placement United States History
Special Programs
Advanced Placement exam preparation, ESL, Honors section, Independent study
Athletics
In fall 2007, the Academy unveiled its $4 million expansion of the Greenhalgh Athletic Center on campus. The expansion includes a fitness room, a multi-purpose dance and wrestling space, a large gathering room, and new central locker facilities.[5] Construction was recently finished on new varsity playing fields, and have recently begun on new tennis courts. The boys varsity soccer team is one of the premier small private school teams in New England. They are notorious for winning WNEPSSA Ray Brown Cups and winning the New England Tournament.
Notable alumni
- Henry Barnard, American educationalist
- Tyrell Burgess, professional soccer player with Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Kraisak Choonhavan, member of Thailand Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province (2000–2006); former Chairman of the Thai Senate's Foreign Relations Committee
- Emily Norcross Dickinson, mother of the famous 19th century poet, Emily Dickinson
- Richard Fuld, former CEO Lehman Brothers
- Bill Guerin, NHL hockey player[6]
- Galway Kinnell, poet
- Pat Phelan, professional soccer player for the New England Revolution
- Humphrey Pickard, first president of Mount Allison University
- Charles Pratt, U.S. oil tycoon and founder of the Pratt Institute
- Joey Santiago, band member of the Pixies
- Yung Wing, first Chinese graduate of an American university Yale University - 1854
See also
References
- ^ "American and Canadian Consortium of Independent Schools". http://www.accis-ac.com/pgMEMBERS.php?mid=17&wc=10.
- ^ "The Association of Boarding Schools". http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/.
- ^ "Valley Viewpoint". http://www.valleyviewpoint.com/spotlights/wilbraham.htm.
- ^ "NAIS Resource and Statistics". http://www.nais.org/resources/isprogram.cfm?ItemNumber=148594.
- ^ "Kuhn Riddle Architects". http://www.kuhnriddle.com/portfolio/educational/wilbrahamathletic/.
- ^ "Boarding School Review". http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/41.
External links
Coordinates: 42°07′20.96″N 72°25′53.67″W / 42.1224889°N 72.431575°W
Categories:- Preparatory schools in Massachusetts
- Private schools in Massachusetts
- High schools in Massachusetts
- Boarding schools in Massachusetts
- Schools in Hampden County, Massachusetts
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