Westtown School
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Westtown School is a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
,
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 ...
,
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 education ...
day and
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...
for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in
West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neigh ...
, United States, 20 miles west of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. Founded in
1799 Events January–June * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * Janu ...
by the
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
. Westtown is a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
school affiliated with the Friends General Conference branch of the Religious Society of Friends. The school requires all students to attend Meeting for Worship together with adults in the community who voluntarily attend (boarding students must attend Westtown Monthly Meeting on Sundays as well). Westtown uses the traditional Quaker practice of coming to unity in making some high-level decisions. Westtown has been coeducational since its 1799 founding. Westtown students come from 16 states and 13 countries.


History

Westtown School opened on May 6, 1799.
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
founded the school after raising money to build a boarding school and purchasing land a full day's carriage ride from
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
—where they could provide a "guarded education in a healthy environment" away from the
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
influences of the city. For many years, Westtown was nearly self-sufficient, with the campus providing raw materials used in the construction of its buildings and food for the people who lived and worked at the
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...
. Westtown is the oldest continuously operating co-educational boarding school in the United States. Boys and girls had separate classes until about 1870. Boys learned useful skills such as
woodshop Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
, surveying, and bookkeeping, and girls had classes like sewing. However, Westtown eventually recognized that students of both genders should know basic academic subjects such as reading, penmanship, grammar,
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
, and
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...
. The 1880s brought physical changes to Westtown. The main building was replaced with a structure designed by architect
Addison Hutton Addison Hutton (1834–1916) was a Philadelphia architect who designed prominent residences in Philadelphia and its suburbs, plus courthouses, hospitals, and libraries, including the Ridgway Library (now Philadelphia High School for the Creative a ...
, completed in 1888, and still in use today. During the 20th century, the student body and curriculum became more diverse. For example, the school added visual and performing arts, and non-Quakers, African-American, and international students were eventually admitted. Westtown's Esther Duke Archives is a facility dedicated to collecting and maintaining materials relating to the people and history of the school. The 2018 documentary, ''We Town'', is about the 2016-2017 Upper School Basketball Team, featuring Mo Bamba and Cam Reddish. It chronicles the quest of the team to win the State Championship.


Campus

Westtown is located on a campus in southern Pennsylvania. The campus is 600 acres, including a 14.5-acre lake, arboretum, frog pond, 14 playing fields, stadium tennis courts, organic farm, Lower School mini-farm, medicine wheel garden, wooded cross country course, and 21-element ropes course.


Notable alumni

*
Samuel Leeds Allen Samuel Leeds Allen (May 5, 1841 – March 28, 1918) was the founder of S.L. Allen & Company in Philadelphia. He was the inventor of, and his company manufactured, both the Flexible Flyer sled and Planet Jr farm and garden equipment. For over one h ...
(1841–1918), inventor of the
Flexible Flyer Flexible Flyer is a toy and recreational equipment brand, best known for the sled of the same name, a steerable wooden sled with steel runners. Operation Flexible Flyers are flexible both in design and usage. Riders may sit upright on the sl ...
, the world's first steerable runner sled * Mo Bamba, Class of 2017, basketball player for the
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
* Anna Cox Brinton (1887–1969), classics scholar, Quaker worker overseas, administrator at
Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the ...
*
John Cassin John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and Vice President at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification of the Acad ...
, ornithologist *
Marysol Castro Marysol Castro is a public address announcer at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. She was also an American broadcast journalist who was employed as a news anchor at WPIX in New York, a weather forecaster for ''The Early Show'' on CBS in 20 ...
(1976–), weather anchor for ABC's
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
Weekend Edition * Laetitia Moon Conard (1871–1946), college instructor and politician in Iowa *
Gilbert Cope Gilbert Cope (August 17, 1840 – December 17, 1928) was an American historian and genealogist who authored numerous publications on the history and prominent families of Chester County, Pennsylvania. His magnum opus was the ''History of Chester ...
(1840–1928), genealogist and historian of Chester County, Pennsylvania * Steve Curwood, Class of 1965, is host of NPR's
Living on Earth ''Living on Earth'' is a weekly, hour-long and award-winning environmental news program distributed by Public Radio Exchange (on Public Radio International from October 6, 2006, show to December 6, 2019, show, and before that, NPR from 1991 until ...
environmental news series * Anna Fang, Class of 2000, Chinese venture capitalist, CEO of ZhenFund *
Jim Fowler James Mark Fowler (April 9, 1930 – May 8, 2019) was an American professional zoologist and host of the acclaimed wildlife documentary television show Mutual of Omaha's ''Wild Kingdom''. Early years Born in Albany, Georgia, Fowler spent ...
(1930–2019), Class of 1947, Conservationist and wildlife correspondent/show host - Mutual of Omaha's
Wild Kingdom ''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and it was revived in 2002. The show's second ...
* Benjamin Hallowell, president of Maryland Agricultural College *
Isaac Israel Hayes Isaac Israel Hayes (March 5, 1832 – December 17, 1881) was an American Arctic explorer, physician, and politician, who was appointed as the commanding officer at Satterlee General Hospital during the American Civil War, and was then elected, a ...
(1822-1881), Arctic explorer, physician and politician * Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. Class of 1938, American diplomat; U.S. ambassador to China, 1981–1985 *
Richard T. James Richard Thompson James (March 27, 1918 – July 13, 1974) was an American naval engineer, best known for inventing the Slinky spring toy with his wife Betty James in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania in 1943. Education James was born on March 27, ...
(1914–1974), with his wife, invented the Slinky *
Rachel Lloyd Rachel Elizabeth Lloyd (born 1975) is a British anti-trafficking advocate, author and the founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services. She is known for her work on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking ...
(1839-1900), chemist *
Rebecca Lukens Rebecca Lukens (1794–1854), born Rebecca Webb Pennock, was an American businesswoman. She was the owner and manager of the iron and steel mill which became the Lukens Steel Company of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Fortune Magazine called her "Ameri ...
(1794–1854) Considered first woman industrialist in the United States. * Edward Mifflin, Class of 1941, Pennsylvania State Representative *
Herb Pennock Herbert Jefferis Pennock (February 10, 1894 – January 30, 1948) was an American professional baseball pitcher and front-office executive. He played in Major League Baseball from 1912 through 1933, and is best known for his time spent with t ...
, Class of 1915, Major League Baseball player and manager,
baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
* Cameron Reddish, Class of 2018, basketball player for the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
*
Kevin Roose Kevin Roose is the author of three books and a technology columnist for ''The New York Times''. He wrote a book about Liberty University, an evangelical Christian university known for strict rules imposed on students. He was named on ''Forbes'' " ...
, technology columnist for the New York Times *
Holland Taylor Holland Virginia Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's ''The Practice'' (1998–2003). ...
(1943–),
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning American actress *
Garrick Utley Clifton Garrick Utley (November 19, 1939 – February 20, 2014) was an American television journalist. He established his career reporting about the Vietnam War and has the distinction of being the first full-time television correspondent coveri ...
, Class of 1957, a correspondent for CNN's New York bureau *
Don Wildman Don Wildman is the current host and narrator of ''Mysteries at the Museum'', '' Beyond the Unknown'', Dark Tales with Don Wildman, and '' Buried Worlds with Don Wildman'' on the Travel Channel. He also hosted and narrated Travel Channel's '' Wei ...
, Class of 1979, the current host and narrator of Cities of the Underworld on History *
Anthony H. Williams Anthony Hardy Williams (born February 28, 1957) is an American politician, former businessman, and Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 8th District since 1998. Prior to entering public service, he worked at Pe ...
, Class of 1975, Pennsylvania State Senator, 8th District


Photo gallery

Image:FlowerPath.jpg, The Westtown campus is surrounded by several acres of woods. Image:W esttownTrees.jpg, Campus trees. Image:WesttownGeese.jpg, Geese flying over Main Hall. File:WesttownSchool4.jpg, Main building File:WesttownSchool2.jpg, Athletics building File:WesttownSchool3.jpg, Middle school playground


References


External links


Westtown WebsiteA visitor's impression of the school published in 1861Boarding School ReviewYouTube: Westtown School
{{authority control Boarding schools in Pennsylvania Private elementary schools in Pennsylvania Private middle schools in Pennsylvania Private high schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1799 1799 establishments in Pennsylvania Quaker schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Chester County, Pennsylvania Private high schools in the United States High school basketball Basketball teams in Pennsylvania Quaker schools