Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA) is a college-preparatory school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is a four-year boarding and day high school for students in Grades 9-12 and postgraduate. A middle school, with Grades 6–8, offers boarding for Grade 8 students. The academy is located in the center of the town of Wilbraham, 75 miles from Boston and 150 miles from New York City. WMA was established by the merger of two 19th-century academies — Monson Academy, founded in 1804, and

Wesleyan Academy Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles We ...

, founded in 1817 in New Market, New Hampshire. Wesleyan Academy relocated to Wilbraham in 1825 and was renamed

Wilbraham Academy Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy was one of the oldest educational institutions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was established by Methodist clergy of New England in 1818. Originally located in New Market, New Hampshire, before moving to Wilbraham, ...

in 1917. In 1971, when the school merged with Monson Academy, the name was officially changed to Wilbraham & Monson Academy. Wesleyan was the first coeducational boarding school in the country, and Monson Academy became the first to enroll Chinese students in 1847.

Academics

Faculty

WMA is led by 66 faculty members, 44 of whom live on campus and 70 percent who have advanced degrees. The program features small classes (6:1 student/teacher ratio) and 23 AP courses. WMA's Middle School includes 64 students and has an average class size of eight.

Athletics

Athletics include rugby, lacrosse, baseball, cross country, dance, wrestling, soccer, tennis, golf, football, ice hockey, basketball, track, riflery, volleyball, softball, water polo and swimming. In fall 2007, the Academy unveiled its $4 million expansion of the Greenhalgh Athletic Center on campus. The expansion included a fitness room, a multi-purpose dance and wrestling space, a large conference room and new central locker facilities. During the last decade, a Turf Field and construction of new tennis courts are among countless improvements to on-campus facilities. WMA offers 29 varsity athletic teams, and 18 others that compete at the non-varsity level.

Notable alumni

* Henry Barnard, educationalist * Alfred Ely Beach, inventor, publisher, and patent lawyer *

Rick Bennett Eric John "Rick" Bennett (born July 24, 1967) is an American former ice hockey left winger and head coach of the Savannah Ghost Pirates. He is the former head coach of the Union Garnet Chargers men's ice hockey team of Union College, where he c ...

, ice hockey player and coach * Mary Ann Booth, microscopist * Tyrell Burgess, professional soccer player with Vancouver Whitecaps FC *

Kraisak Choonhavan Kraisak Choonhavan ( th, ไกรศักดิ์ ชุณหะวัณ, born 8 October 1947 – 11 June 2020) was a Thai politician. He was a member of the Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province from 2000 till 2006. Family and education ...

, member of Thailand Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province (2000–2006); former Chairman of the Thai Senate's Foreign Relations Committee *

Russell H. Conwell Russell Herman Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) was an American Baptist minister, orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphia ...

, world renowned minister and founder of Temple University - 1859 * Winthrop Murray Crane, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1870-1880 *

Emily Norcross Dickinson 200px, Portrait of Emily Norcross Dickinson, 1840. By Otis Bullard Emily Norcross Dickinson (née Norcross, July 3, 1804 – November 14, 1882) was a member of the Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts, and the mother of American poet Emily Di ...

, mother of the famous 19th century poet Emily Dickinson *

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, former CEO Lehman Brothers *

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, NBA basketball player for the

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* Bill Guerin, retired NHL hockey player; General Manager of Minnesota Wild; four-time Stanley Cup champion *

William Stewart Halstead William Stewart Halsted, M.D. (September 23, 1852 – September 7, 1922) was an American surgeon who emphasized strict aseptic technique during surgical procedures, was an early champion of newly discovered anesthetics, and introduced severa ...

, pioneering American surgeon, studied at Monson Academy for a time *

Ratcliffe Hicks Ratcliffe Hicks (1843–1906) was an American lawyer, industrialist, state legislator, and philanthropist from Tolland, Connecticut. The family home is now the Hicks-Stearns Family Museum. The Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture at the Univer ...

, Connecticut state legislator, industrialist, lawyer, and benefactor of the University of Connecticut *

Kim Hyun-jong Kim Hyun-jong ( ko, 김현종, Hanja: 金鉉宗, born 27 September 1959 in Seoul) is a former minister for trade under Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in. From May 2003, the very beginning of the Roh administration, as the deputy minister fo ...

, South Korean trade minister under Moon Jae-in and Roh Moo-hyunu amore * Galway Kinnell, poet * Christine Ladd-Franklin, mathematician, logician and psychologist - 1865 * Patrick Mazeika (born 1993), baseball player * Pat Phelan, professional soccer player for the New England Revolution *

Nitya Pibulsonggram Nitya Pibulsonggram ( th, นิตย์ พิบูลสงคราม, , June 30, 1941 – May 24, 2014) was a Thai career diplomat and politician. Careers and education After receiving his B.A. in government from Dartmouth College and hi ...

, Thai Ambassador to the US (1996-2000), Foreign Minister of Thailand (2006-2008) *

Humphrey Pickard Humphrey Pickard (10 June 1813 – 28 February 1890) was a Canadian Methodist minister, educator, and journalist. He was the first president from 1862 to 1869 of Mount Allison Wesleyan College (later known as Mount Allison University). Biogra ...

, first president of

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* Charles Pratt, oil tycoon and founder of the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

* Joey Santiago, band member of the Pixies * Pote Sarasin, Prime Minister of Thailand (1957) secretary-general of SEATO (1958–1964) *

Lucy Stone Lucy Stone (August 13, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragist who was a vocal advocate for and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a colle ...

, orator, abolitionist, suffragist, and women's rights advocate * William Strong (Pennsylvania judge), served as Governor of the Commonwealth 1900-1902 * Yung Wing, first Chinese graduate of an American university Yale University - 1854

References

External links

Wilbraham & Monson Academy Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilbraham and Monson Academy 1804 establishments in Massachusetts Boarding schools in Massachusetts Co-educational boarding schools Educational institutions established in 1804 Middle schools in Massachusetts Private high schools in Massachusetts Private middle schools in Massachusetts Private preparatory schools in Massachusetts Schools in Hampden County, Massachusetts