Cushing Academy is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
,
coeducational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
college-preparatory
A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or parochial school, parochial schools primaril ...
school for
boarding and
day students in
Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Ashburnham () is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 6,315. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory boarding school.
Ashburnham contains the census-designated place ...
, United States. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9–12 and a
postgraduate year
A postgraduate (PG) year is an extra year of secondary coursework at a boarding school following high school graduation, but before entering college. It is a gap year option intended for students who either have not applied or were not admitted ...
.
History
Cushing Academy was founded in 1865 by Thomas Parkman Cushing, a
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
merchant. Upon his death, Thomas Parkman Cushing bequeathed money to establish Cushing Academy. Following a provision from his will, the money accumulated for ten years before a board of trustees applied for an act of incorporation. On May 15, 1865, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts granted a charter, and the Academy opened in 1875 on land formerly known as Bancroft Farm.
Cushing opened in September 1875 with a coeducational student body: 66 boys and 56 girls. The first principal was Edwin Pierce.
It was among the first coeducational boarding schools on the east coast.
The
alma mater, ''The Dear Old Cushing Days'', was written by alumna Cora Coolidge, a distant relative of
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
.
Cushing is located on a 162-acre campus that overlooks the town center of Ashburnham, which is about 62 miles from Boston. The campus occupies hills with a view of
Mount Wachusett to the south and
Mount Monadnock
Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County. It lies southwest of Concord a ...
to the north.
[Grace Powers Thomas, ''Where to Educate, 1898-1899: A Guide to the Best Private Schools, Higher Institutions of Learning, etc., in the United States'', Boston: Brown, 1898]
p. 122
Though Cushing has never been affiliated with a religious denomination, early generations of students were required to submit reports of the services they attended once a week and attend services daily. The church attendance requirement was dropped entirely in 1970 at the appeal of the student body.
A statue, the Schoolboy of 1850, honors both students and, more specifically, boys who fought in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. It was designed by
Bela Pratt
Bela Lyon Pratt (December 11, 1867 – May 18, 1917) was an American sculptor from Connecticut.
Life
Pratt was born in Norwich, Connecticut, to Sarah (Whittlesey) and George Pratt, a Yale-educated lawyer. His maternal grandfather, Oramel Whittle ...
and was donated to Ashburnham by local businessman
Ivers Whitney Adams
Ivers Whitney Adams (May 20, 1838 – October 10, 1914) was an American baseball executive and businessperson, and founder of the first professional baseball team in Boston, the Boston Red Stockings.
Baseball
Adams was the founder, organize ...
in 1913. The statue is now located near the entrance to Cushing. In 2005, female students designed and created a schoolgirl statute.
![Ashburnham, Mass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Ashburnham%2C_Mass._%282673623539%29.jpg)
In 2009, Cushing made headlines for its plans to spend $500,000 transforming the Fisher-Watkins Library into a learning center with e-readers, e-book database subscriptions, flat-screen televisions, laptop-friendly study carrels, and a coffee shop. Several months later, the headmaster stated that most of the library's printed books would be replaced over a two-year period with e-books, but reassured that "books, in all formats, will continue to abound at Cushing." As of 2018, the library has thousands of print books as well as online databases with access to e-books, journals, and more.
In 2015, Cushing Academy celebrated its sesquicentennial with several events and the publication of a commemorative magazine.
In October 2017, the board of trustees announced that Randy R. Bertin, Ed.D., of
Besant Hill School
Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, formerly the Happy Valley School, is an American private, coeducational boarding school and day school in Ojai, California. The school has approximately 100 students and about 35 faculty and staff, all of wh ...
in
Ojai, California
Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...
, was unanimously appointed the 13th Head of Cushing Academy, effective July 1, 2018.
Demographics and statistics
As of fall 2018, the student body has 390 students, 59% male and 41% female. Financial aid assists 38% of the students. Thirty-four percent are from Massachusetts and 18% are domestic students of color.
The student body comes from 25 states and 30 countries; 39% of students are international and 88% of students board at Cushing. Cushing began accepting international students in 1889. The faculty-student ratio is 1:8 and 57% of faculty holds advanced degrees.
The middle 50% of the Class of 2019 had a combined SAT score range of 1030–1310. Ninety-five percent of the class of 2018 attended four-year colleges or universities.
Buildings
The academic buildings include the Main Building (completed in 1875, and following a fire, a new building was dedicated in 1894), the Joseph R. Curry Academic Center, the English Building, and the Emily Fisher Landau Center for Visual Arts. Ashburnham House and Alumni Hall are the largest student dormitories. Sports facilities include the Watkins Field House, Heslin Gym, Theodore Iorio Arena, and several athletic fields and tennis courts.
Lowe Hall, built in 1890 as a dormitory for female students, was named for board of trustees member Dr. Abraham T. Lowe. Lore has it that
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
, who lived in Lowe, carved her name into a closet. Lowe was most recently remodeled in 2015.
Academics
Cushing offers courses in classical and modern languages, computer science, English, history and social science, mathematics, performing arts, visual arts, and support services such as English as a second language and academic support. Cushing sponsors an annual
common read.
Athletics
Sports have been an important part of life at Cushing since the early years of the school. In 1876, the first baseball game was played at Cushing. Cushing formed a boys' basketball team in 1897 and a girls' team the next year.
Cushing has a long hockey tradition that began in the early 1900s, though the boys' team in its present form has only been around since the 1980s. The boys' hockey team was formed in 1924 and the girls' team in 1995.
Cushing alumni include a number of professional or Olympic hockey players.
The boys' varsity hockey team has won two New England Elite championships, 21 in-season tournament championships, and one Martin/Earl tournament title in the large-school division.
As of 2018, Cushing has dozens of teams in the following sports: cross country, field hockey, soccer, skiing, football, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, baseball, golf, lacrosse, softball, tennis, and track & field.
Cushing is a member of the
New England Preparatory School Athletic Council
The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) is an organization that serves as the governing body for sports in preparatory schools and leagues in New England. The organization has 169 full member schools as well as 24 associate ...
.
Extracurricular activities
Clubs and organizations at Cushing include A Cappella, Art Club, Black Student Union, Classical Music Club, Debate Club, E-News Club, Film Club, International Club, Kindness Club, Math Club, Model United Nations, and Pride.
The student newspaper, ''The Breeze'', has been published since 1888. The student yearbook, ''The Penguin'', has been published since 1933.
Cushing's annual Mountain Day tradition began in 1926 in honor of Dr. Cowell, the third principal. Mountain Day was started by James W. Vose, Cowell's successor. On Mountain Day, which traditionally takes place in late September, the Cushing community goes to Mount Monadnock for a day of walking. During World War II, Mountain Day was held at the nearer Mount Watatic for a few years due to gas rationing.
Another tradition is the Winter Carnival. The first carnival, in 1921, was an athletic competition. The modern winter carnival has some outdoor events, but also indoor events such as cupcake decorating.
Notable alumni
![King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (edit)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/King_Jigme_Khesar_Namgyel_Wangchuck_%28edit%29.jpg)
*
Jalen Adams
Jalen R. Adams (born December 11, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies.
College career
Adams arrived at Con ...
(born 1995), basketball player for
Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...
in the
Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...
*
Bobby Allen, professional hockey player
*
George W. Anderson, judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maine
* District of Massachusetts
* ...
*
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...
, film director
*
Fernando Aristeguieta
Fernando Luis Aristeguieta de Luca (born 9 April 1992) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays for Venezuelan Primera División club Caracas and the Venezuela national team as a striker.
Aristeguieta began his professional career w ...
, professional soccer player
*
Richard Bachman
Richard Bachman is a pen name (as well as fictional character) of American horror fiction author Stephen King. King portrays Bachman in the third season of the FX television series '' Sons of Anarchy''.
Origin
At the beginning of King's car ...
, professional hockey player
*
Nate Berkus
Nathan Jay Berkus (born September 17, 1971) is an American interior designer, author, and television personality. He runs the Chicago interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates and was a regularly featured guest on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', off ...
(born 1971), author and television personality
*
Zach Bogosian
Zachary M. Bogosian (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres and T ...
, professional hockey player
*
Chris Bourque
Christopher Ray Bourque (born January 29, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey forward. Originally drafted by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), he has played 51 NHL games for the Capitals, the Pittsburgh ...
, professional hockey player
*
Ryan Bourque
Ryan Bourque (born January 3, 1991) is an American ice hockey coach in the Washington Capitals system, having previously been a forward. He is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and the brother of former NHL forward Chris Bourqu ...
, professional hockey player
*
Matt Brown, professional football player
*
Arthur Edmund Carewe
Arthur Edmund Carewe (December 30, 1884 – April 22, 1937), born Hovsep Hovsepian ( hy, Հովսեփ Հովսեփյան), was an Armenian-American stage and film actor of the silent and early sound film era.
Early life
Born on December 30, 18 ...
, actor
*
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...
,
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
wrestler and actor
*
Herbert H. Chen, theoretical physicist
*
Herbert William Conn, bacteriologist and educator
*
Norma Connolly
Norma Connolly (August 27, 1927 – November 18, 1998) was an American actress having a career spanning five decades and known for her roles on ''The Young Marrieds'' as Lena Karr Gilroy and '' General Hospital'' as Ruby Anderson.
Early life ...
, actress
*
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
, actress;
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...
1935, 1938. Studied drama under Cushing teacher Lois Cann. Graduated in 1926 and maintained a relationship with Cushing Academy for the rest of her life, commenting on it in her autobiography and leading alumni to donate funds to replace the curtains in Cowell Chapel in 1981. Received Cushing's first Distinguished Alumni Award posthumously in 2009.
*
Sean DePaula
Sean Michael DePaula (born November 7, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball player. A pitcher, DePaula played for the Cleveland Indians appearing in major league games in 1999, 2000, and 2002.
Amateur career
DePaula attended high sch ...
, professional baseball player
*
Meghan Duggan
Meghan Duggan (born September 3, 1987) is an American former ice hockey forward and director of player development for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. She played for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 W ...
, U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey Team, silver medal 2010, 2014; gold medal 2018
*
Ruth C. Engs, writer
*
Mike Evans, professional football player
*
Bryan Ewing, professional hockey player
*Isaac Fitzgerald, children's author and memoirist
*
Amos Foster
Amos Parker Foster (March 10, 1880 – August 7, 1952) was an American football and basketball player and coach in the early 1900s. He was a 1904 graduate of Dartmouth College where he Letterman (sports), lettered in both basketball and football. ...
, basketball and football player and coach
*
Bob Fouracre
Robert E. Fouracre (November 22, 1937 – April 17, 2021) was an American sportscaster who called football and basketball for the College of the Holy Cross. He was a 1956 graduate of Northboro High School, a 1958 graduate of the Cushing Academy ...
, sportscaster
*
Kenny Gamble
Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...
, professional football player
*
Alita Guillen
Alita K. Haytayan Guillen (born c. 1970) is an American former television news anchor and reporter. She is also an entrepreneur and inventor. She is the co-owner of Gadgit Girlz, LLC. Guillen is also a communication consultant for CEOs and Holly ...
, news anchor and entrepreneur
*
Ryan Lannon
Ryan Lannon (born December 14, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who last played for Vaasan Sport in the Liiga (Finnish Elite League).
Playing career
As a defensive-defenseman, Ryan was first selected to play with the U.S. ...
, professional hockey player
*
Erika Lawler
Erika Lyn Lawler (born February 5, 1987) is a member of the 2009–10 United States national women's ice hockey team which participated in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Lawler played prep hockey at Cushing Academy where she won the Bette Davis ...
, U.S. Olympic Women's Hockey Team, silver medal 2010; NBC Olympic studio hockey analyst
*
John Lilley
John Lilley (born March 3, 1954) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, guitar teacher and landscape gardener, best known for being a member of rock band The Hooters.
Early life
John Lilley learned to play the guitar at nine years ol ...
, U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Team
*
Broc Little
Broc Little (born March 24, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
Playing career
Little is a graduate of Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, in his freshman year ...
, professional hockey player
*
Brad Malone, professional hockey player
*
Ray McLean
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (gra ...
, professional football player and coach
*
Johnny McQuade
John McQuade (9 August 1911 – 19 November 1984) was a Northern Ireland politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins.
After serving with the British Army in Dunkirk and Burma, he was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) ...
, professional football player
*
Eric Nickulas, professional hockey player
*
Brad Norton
Bradley Norton (born February 13, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey Defenseman. Norton played for five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Norton started his professional career with the Detroit Vipers in ...
, professional hockey player
*
Jeff Norton
Jeffrey Thomas Norton (born November 25, 1965) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Norton was selected in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Isla ...
, professional hockey player
*
Charles Lathrop Parsons
Charles Lathrop Parsons (March 23, 1867, New Marlboro, Massachusetts-February 13, 1954 Pocasset, Massachusetts) was an American chemist. He was a professor at the University of New Hampshire for twenty years, and then a chemist and mineralogist ...
, chemist
*
Tom Poti
Thomas Emilio Poti (born March 22, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
As a youth, Poti played in the 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tourn ...
, professional hockey player
*
Phil Pressey
Phillip Michael Pressey (born February 17, 1991) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who played at the point guard position. He is assistant coach for Missouri Tigers men's basketball. His prior professional teams wer ...
, professional basketball player
*
Julian Reichelt
Julian Reichelt (born 15 June 1980) is a German tabloid journalist. From February 2017 to October 2021, he was chairman of the editors-in-chief and editor-in-chief digital of '' Bild'', Germany's largest and highest-circulation tabloid. Reichel ...
, editor of Germany's
Bild
''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
''
Bild
''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
'' tabloid.
*
Ollie Satenstein, professional football player
*
Conor Sheary
Conor Michael Sheary ( , born June 8, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey winger who is currently playing for the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins with whom ...
, professional hockey player
*Lauren Slebodnick, professional hockey player
*
Pete Snyder
Pete Snyder (born August 5, 1972) is an American entrepreneur and marketing executive who is best known as the founder and former chief executive officer of New Media Strategies (NMS), a social media marketing agency that he started in 1999. Snyd ...
, entrepreneur
*His Majesty
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་གེ་སར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 21 February 1980) is the Druk Gyalpo (Dzongkha: Dragon King) of the Kingdom of Bhutan. After his ...
,
King of Bhutan
The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk ...
*
David Warsofsky
David Matthew Warsofsky (born May 30, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently playing with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Early life
Warsofsky is Jewish, and was born in Marshfield, Mas ...
(born 1990), professional hockey player
*
Fred Woodcock, professional baseball player
*
Keith Yandle
Keith Michael Yandle (born September 9, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played for the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers. Yandle was drafted by the Coyotes in the fourt ...
, professional hockey player
Notable faculty and staff
*
Ray Bourque
Raymond Jean Bourque (born December 28, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memorial ...
, coach
*
Tracey DeKeyser, coach
*
Sturgis Elleno Leavitt, faculty
*
Richard Whitney, faculty
Principals, headmasters, and heads of school
*Cushing Academy's 13 leaders have had the titles of principal, headmaster, and head of school.
*# Edwin Pierce (1875-1879): first principal
*# James E. Vose (1879-1887): principal
*# Hervey S. Cowell (1887–1926): principal
*# James W. Vose (1926-1933): last principal; son of the second principal
*# Clarence Quimby (1933-1956): first with title of "headmaster"
*# Ralph O. West (1956-1960): headmaster
*# Howard Baker (1961-1963): headmaster
*# Bradford Lamson (1963-1972): headmaster
*# Dr. Joseph Curry (1972-2000): headmaster
*# Willard Lampe (2000-2006): headmaster
*# Dr. James Tracy (2006-2013): first with title of "head of school"
*# Christopher Torino (2013-2016): last with the title of "headmaster"
*#* Margaret Lee and Catherine Pollock (2017-2018): interim co-heads of school
*# Dr. Randy Bertin: head of school (2018–Present)
References
Further reading
* Rand, Frank Prentice
''Cushing Academy, 1865-1965'' Brattleboro, Vt.: Book Press, 1965.
External links
Cushing Academy website
{{authority control
Boarding schools in Massachusetts
Private high schools in Massachusetts
Educational institutions established in 1865
1865 establishments in Massachusetts