Darlington School 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 ...

coeducation 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 ...

al,

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 ...

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 exten ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

founded in 1905. It serves students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12, and is divided into a Pre-K to 8 division and an Upper School division. The student body represents more than 20 countries each year. The Head of School is Brent Bell, the Upper School Director is Chad Woods, and the Pre-K to 8 Director is Hope Jones.

History

Founded in 1905 by John Paul and Alice Allgood Cooper, Darlington School was named in honor of a teacher by his former students at the J. M. Proctor School for Boys in Rome. The school opened Sept. 11, 1905, with Founding Headmaster Dr. James Ross McCain teaching 24 boys in eight classes in the upstairs room above the Rome Fire Department station in East Rome. The school moved to East Ninth Street in 1906. In December 1916, the current site of Darlington School, the 500-acre DeSoto Park was purchased by John Paul Cooper. The school was moved to its current location in 1923, and enrolled 30 boarding students in addition to continuing with day school. In April 1973, Darlington consolidated with Thornwood School for Girls. The Lower School was situated at the Thornwood campus on Shorter Avenue in downtown Rome; the Middle School continued in the former Junior School building; and the Upper Schools combined at the main campus. In 1980 and 1988, kindergarten and pre-kindergarten were added, respectively. In 2013, Darlington sold the Thornwood campus to

Shorter University Shorter University is a private Baptist university in Rome, Georgia. It was founded in 1873 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through six colleges and schools. In addition Shorter operates the Robert H. Ledbetter College of Busines ...

and moved the Lower School to the main campus. Annual total enrollment is approximately 850 students from 25 countries in grades PK-12. Wilcox Hall-Darlington

Darlington's campus is the location of

Alhambra-Home on the Hill Alhambra-Home on the Hill (The antebellum architecture, antebellum columned house) was built in 1832 by Major Philip Walker Hemphill, a Planter (American South), planter born in Chester County, South Carolina, Chester County, South Carolina, and w ...

. The oldest home in Floyd County, and the location the name of

was determined. The home is now the residence of The Head of School, and has been for every Head of School. Darlington School uses an English

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

-style house system in the Upper School. Each house is led by a Head of House faculty member and resident and day student prefects. Boys' houses include Summerbell (first-year house), Moser, and Neville. Girls' houses include Cooper (first-year house), Regester, and Thornwood. The school participates in Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning (GOAL), a Georgia program which offers a state income tax credit to donors of scholarships to private schools.

Sexual abuse allegations

In June 2017, in the wake of teacher-student sexual abuse allegations at

Choate Choate may refer to: Places Canada * Choate, British Columbia, a locality in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, Canada * , a lake in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada United States * Choate Mental Health and Development Center, a ...

, Darlington announced an investigation into sexual abuse between its faculty and students. A student had reported sexually inappropriate behavior by a teacher who served as a dorm master in the 1980s. The student claims the inappropriate behavior was reported to the school administration and nothing was done at the time. Darlington hired a law firm to investigate the claims in 2016, and in 2017 sent a letter to former and current students informing them of the investigation. Twenty male students settled a lawsuit with the teacher in 2021, clearing the way to seek a settlement with the school's insurance company. In 2022 the school unveiled a monument dedicated to the victims of sexual abuse at the school.

Notable alumni and staff

* Jane Campbell – professional soccer player *

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 46th governor of Florida since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th district in the U.S. House of Represe ...

- governor of Florida, former faculty member *

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his no ...

– poet, novelist, author of ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

''. Post-graduate year from 1941 to 1942. Dickey denounced Darlington in a 1981 letter to the principal and asked to be expunged from the rolls saying "a more disgusting combination of cant, hypocrisy, cruelty, class privilege and inanity I have never since encountered at any human institution." *

Elson Floyd Elson S. Floyd (February 29, 1956 – June 20, 2015) was an American educator who served as the 10th president of the four-campus Washington State University from May 21, 2007 to June 20, 2015. Floyd was also the first African American to be nam ...

- 10th president of

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

* William M. "Sonny" Landham - actor, politician *

Bruce Levingston Bruce Levingston is an American concert pianist. Levingston was born and grew up in the Mississippi Delta. He was educated at Darlington School in Rome, Georgia, graduating in 1979. Levingston has performed many times at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln ...

- American concert pianist * Adam Marcus - mathematician *

Will Muschamp William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co- defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Georgia. He served as head football coach at the University of Florida fr ...

– former head football coach at the University of South Carolina * Dan Powell, co-creater of Horror podcast

Archive 81 ''Archive 81'' is an American supernatural horror streaming television series developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine, who was also an executive producer for the show, along with Paul Harris Boardman and James Wan. The series was released on Netflix ...

and the television adaptation of the same name * Shawn Powell – NFL punter * Melanie Sumner – novelist and writer. *

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced you ...

– artist *

Ernest Vandiver Samuel Ernest Vandiver Jr. (July 3, 1918 – February 21, 2005) was an American politician who was the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1959 to 1963. Early life and career Vandiver was born in Canon in Franklin County in northe ...

– former governor of Georgia *

Calder Willingham Calder Baynard Willingham Jr. (December 23, 1922 – February 19, 1995)Alex MacaulayBiographical entry of Calder Willinghamfrom the New Georgia Encyclopedia was an American novelist and screenwriter. Before the age of 30, after three novels ...

- novelist and screenwriter (''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Wil ...

'').

References

External links

Darlington School website
* http://darlingtonian.com/ {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1905 Private high schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Schools in Floyd County, Georgia Buildings and structures in Rome, Georgia Boarding schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Preparatory schools in Georgia (U.S. state) 1905 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)