Vermont Academy (VA) is a private,

co-educational 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 ...

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educati ...

, boarding and day school in Saxtons River,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

, serving students from ninth through twelfth grade, as well as postgraduates. Founded in 1876, the campus was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

as the Vermont Academy Campus Historic District in 2015.

History

Founded in 1876 by William M. Pingry, Vermont Academy originally included a boys-only

lower school Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system. Terminology In a three-tier local educa ...

, which gave "...special attention to life in the open." In 1934,

Ernest Martin Hopkins Ernest Martin Hopkins (November 6, 1877 – August 13, 1964) served as the 11th President of Dartmouth College from 1916 to 1945. Dartmouth Presidency At the dedication of the Hopkins Center for the Arts in 1962, the speaker, then-Governor ...

, President of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, recommended Laurence G. Leavitt, a fellow Dartmouth graduate, for the job of Head of School of Vermont Academy. Leavitt was headmaster for twenty-five years, during which he doubled enrollment, eliminated school debt, and made improvements to the campus. In 2012, Vermont Academy fired a math and science teacher for possession of child pornography. He was later sentenced to 30 years in prison. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermont Academy received more than two million dollars in PPP loans

Academics

The Vermont Academy curriculum includes courses in Art, College Counseling, English, History, Learning Skills, Mathematics, Music, Science, and World Language (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, or

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

). Additionally, VA is a partner with Liceo Europeo, a private school in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

Athletics

Home of the Wildcats, Vermont Academy athletics compete in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and are a member of the Lakes Region League. The school offers a wide range of sports, categorized by Fall, Spring, and Winter. Fall athletics include: crew, cross country, equestrian, mountain biking, soccer, and wilderness skills. Spring athletics include: baseball, equestrian, fly fishing, golf, lacrosse, rock climbing, and tennis. Winter athletics include: alpine, basketball, dance, freeski, hockey, nordic, skiing, and snowboarding. The school has five playing fields and two practice ones, an ice rink, six tennis courts, a thirteen-station ropes course, a mountain biking course, of trails, and a winter sports park, including ski jumps and slopes.

Campus

The Vermont Academy campus is located on the north side of Saxtons River, bounded on the south by Burk Hill Road and on the east by Pleasant Street. It is more than in size, and includes buildings dating back to the school's founding in 1876. Jones Hall, now a dormitory, was its only building until 1888, when Fuller Hall, was built. In 1921, Alumni Hall was designed by the noted architect

Frank Lyman Austin Frank Lyman Austin (1874-1942) was an American architect from Burlington, Vermont. He designed several buildings that have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and others that are contributing buildings to listed histori ...

. In addition to the Wilbur Library, Vermont Academy has a number of buildings on campus. Dormitories are separated by gender, with space to accommodate just over 100 boys and 60 girls. In the 2000s, several new spaces on campus were created, including: the observatory (2003), the gymnasium and fitness center (2004), and a performing arts center (2006). The Vermont Academy campus was listed on the

in 2015.

Notable alumni

File:Frank C. Archibald (Vermont Attorney General).jpg, Frank C. Archibald File:Bruce Brown Miami (cropped).jpg, Bruce Brown File:Clara Converse.jpg, Clara Converse File:Paul Percy Harris 1968 Brazil stamp.jpg, Paul Harris File:Jordan Nwora.jpg, Jordan Nwora File:HollywoodVampsSSe200618-151 (43604265504).jpg, Joe Perry File:BillTorrey.jpg,

Bill Torrey William Arthur Torrey (June 23, 1934 – May 2, 2018) was a Canadian hockey executive. He served as a general manager in the National Hockey League for the Oakland Seals, New York Islanders, and Florida Panthers. He developed the Islanders i ...

Vermont Academy has educated numerous American

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

military officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent conte ...

, including the diplomat John Barrett (1885), the ambassador Mark Palmer (1959), the judges

Joseph Bogdanski Joseph Walter Bogdanski (November 12, 1911 – January 12, 1997)Nicole M. Malec, "J. Bogdanski, a former chief justice, dies", ''Hartford Courant'' (January 14, 1997), p. A3, A8. was an American college football player, lawyer, and judge. He serv ...

(1931),

Fred Tarbell Field Fred Tarbell Field (December 24, 1876 – July 23, 1950) was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from January 30, 1929 until he became chief justice on June 30, 1938, serving in that capacity until his resignation on J ...

(1895), and Frank L. Fish, and three members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

: Henry L. Bowles,

Howard A. Coffin Howard Aldridge Coffin (June 11, 1877 – February 28, 1956) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Biography Coffin was born in Middleborough, Massachusetts and attended the Vermont Academy at Saxtons River. He graduated from Brow ...

, and

Samuel B. Pettengill Samuel Barrett Pettengill (January 19, 1886 – March 20, 1974) was a U.S. representative from Indiana, representing Indiana's 3rd congressional district and nephew of William Horace Clagett. Early life Pettengill was born January 19, 18 ...

(1904). Frank C. Archibald, the seventh

Vermont Attorney General The Vermont Attorney General is a statewide elected executive official in the U.S. state of Vermont who is elected every two years. It was created by an act of the Vermont General Assembly in 1790, repealed in 1797, and revived in 1904. The office ...

, also graduated from the school.

Frank E. Putnam Frank E. Putnam (January 9, 1857 – July 6, 1944) was an American lawyer and politician. Putnam was born in Grafton, Vermont and graduated from Vermont Academy. He went to the University of Michigan Law School, in 1884, and was admitted to th ...

, who was a lawyer and served in the Minnesota Senate, graduated from the Vermont Academy. Military officers include

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officers Donald E. Edwards (1955) and

Bruce M. Lawlor Major General (Retired) Bruce M. Lawlor (born January 24, 1948) is a retired United States Army officer. He is prominent as the first commander of Joint Task Force-Civil Support. In addition, he was one of five White House staff members who w ...

(1966),

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

officer William W. Stickney (1922), and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

officer

Joseph Metcalf III Joseph Metcalf III (20 December 1927 – 2 March 2007) was a United States Navy vice admiral. He graduated from Vermont Academy in 1946 and then from the Naval Academy in 1951 and retired from active duty in 1987. Experience Vice Admiral ...

(1946). A number of graduates have also pursued professional sports. Professional basketball players include: Bruce Brown (2016), Keron DeShields (2011), Corey Johnson (2015), Tyrique Jones (2016), Jordan Nwora (2017), Simisola Shittu (2018), and

Christian Vital Christian Lucien Vital (born March 21, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. Early life and high school career Vital is the oldes ...

, who later transferred to St. Thomas More School. Brown and Nwora are the only two to have played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

, with Nwora winning the 2021 NBA Finals with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. Marcus Santos-Silva (2017) currently plays

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

. Professional hockey players include

Paul Fenton Paul Fenton may refer to: *Paul Fenton (musician) (born 1946), English drummer *Paul Fenton (ice hockey) Paul John Fenton Jr. (born December 22, 1959) is an American former ice hockey forward and executive. He has previously served as the gener ...

Lotti Odnoga Lotti Odnoga (born 19 January 1999) is a Hungarian ice hockey defenseman and member of the Hungarian national team, playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with SDE Hockey. Playing career Odnoga developed in the minor ice hock ...

and

Blanka Škodová Blanka Škodová (born 1 October 1997) is a Czech ice hockey goaltender and member of the Czech national team, currently playing with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) co ...

, while

(1952) is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as an executive in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

. Other notable athletes include

Bert Abbey Bert Wood Abbey (November 11, 1869 – June 11, 1962) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Amateur career After graduating from Vermont Academy in 1887, Abbey first began playing baseball as a freshman in college, when he recruited fellow s ...

(1887) and Danny MacFayden of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

, the

skiers Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (I ...

Rob DesLauriers Robert S. DesLauriers (born January 25, 1965 in Vermont) is an American businessman and property developer who was one of the originators of extreme skiing. He has skied from the summit of Mount Everest. Early life A graduate of Vermont Academy in ...

(1983) and

Joseph Peter Wilson Joseph Peter "Joe Pete" Wilson (May 22, 1935 – September 13, 2019) was an American Olympic cross-country skier, who skied for the U.S. in cross-country at the 1960 Winter Olympics and later became a well-known skiing administrator in the Unite ...

, and Jim MacLaren (1981), a

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between ...

. John Henry Williams (1986), the only son of the baseball great

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

, also attended the school. Three notable founders and inventors attended Vermont Academy in the nineteenth-century, including: Paul Harris (1888), the founder of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

; Russell W. Porter (1891), the founder of

amateur telescope making ''Amateur Telescope Making'' (''ATM'') is a series of three books edited by Albert G. Ingalls between 1926 and 1953 while he was an associate editor at ''Scientific American''. The books cover various aspects of telescope construction and obser ...

; and Archibald Query (1900), the inventor of Marshmallow Fluff. Christopher A. Sinclair (1967), the former

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

, also graduated from the school. The authors

Mark W. Smith Mark W. Smith (born September 4, 1968, in Cheverly, Maryland) is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, a former professor of law, and the founding partner of a Rockefeller Center-based law firm in New York City. Smith is a reg ...

(1987),

John Steptoe John Steptoe (September 14, 1950 – August 28, 1989) was an author and illustrator for children’s books dealing with aspects of the African-American experience. He is best known for ''Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters'', which was acknowledged ...

, and

Helen M. Winslow Helen M. Winslow (pen name, Aunt Philury; April 13, 1851 – March 27, 1938) was an American editor, author, publisher, and journalist. She began her work on Boston papers. Winslow served as dramatic editor on ''The Beacon'', 1891–97; edito ...

, the orthodontist

Albert H. Ketcham Albert H. Ketcham (August 3, 1870 – December 5, 1935) was an American orthodontist and a past president of the American Society of Orthodontists. Life and career He was born in Whiting, Vermont, and attended high school at Vermont Academy, Sa ...

, the scientist

Florence R. Sabin Florence Rena Sabin (November 9, 1871 – October 3, 1953) was an American medical scientist. She was a pioneer for women in science; she was the first woman to hold a full professorship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the first woman el ...

(1889), and the religious figures Bishop

John Bryson Chane John Bryson Chane (born May 13, 1944) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church. The eighth diocesan bishop of Washington, he was consecrated at Washington National Cathedral on June 1, 2002, leading the Episcopal Diocese of Washington un ...

(1963) and missionary Clara Converse (1879), who is credited with establishing education for women in Japan, all graduated from the school. Joe Perry (1969), the lead

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

of the noted rock band Aerosmith, graduated from Vermont Academy.

References

External links

* {{authority control Boarding schools in Vermont Preparatory schools in Vermont Private high schools in Vermont Educational institutions established in 1876 Saxtons River, Vermont Schools in Windham County, Vermont 1876 establishments in Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Vermont Buildings and structures in Rockingham, Vermont