Thetford Academy, Vermont
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Thetford Academy is a coeducational
independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
in
Thetford, Vermont Thetford is a New England town, town in Orange County, Vermont, Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Villages within the town include East ...
. Located at 304 Academy Road in
Thetford Center, Vermont Thetford is a New England town, town in Orange County, Vermont, Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Villages within the town include East ...
, it is the state's oldest
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
. Thetford Academy celebrated its bicentennial year in 2018–2019. It is a tax-exempt non-profit institution under
section 501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 5 ...
. An historic New England Town Academy (one of approximately 20 remaining in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut), Thetford Academy serves as the designated public school for the town of Thetford. The academy also has partnership agreements with the town of
Lyme, New Hampshire Lyme is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,745 as of the 2020 census. Lyme is home to the Chaffee Natural Conservation Area. The Dartmouth Skiway is in the eastern part of ...
, and serves several towns that provide students a choice of high schools, or do not have a high school of their own. Thetford Academy also hosts a small contingent of international students from countries including China, South Korea, Greece, and Rwanda. In the 2022–2023 school year, Thetford Academy had 312 students enrolled in grades 7–12.


History

Thetford Academy opened in February 1819, in keeping with a provision of the
Constitution of Vermont The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon the ...
that required towns to provide free elementary schools and each county to provide a school for post-elementary studies. From its founding, Thetford Academy admitted both boys and girls, and the original academy building included separate entrances for each. The school was an almost immediate success, and annual growth in the student body led to the rapid construction of new classrooms and dormitories. The original 1818 academy building was lost in a fire in November 1942. High winds carried the fire to the rest of the campus, and the girls’ dormitory and library were also destroyed. Supporters moved quickly to rebuild the campus, an effort which began with the Colonial Revival schoolhouse now known as the White Building.


Campus

The school's campus spans 295 acres and includes several athletic fields, as well as a trail network that enables hiking, walking, running, mountain biking, and Nordic skiing. Thetford Academy is centered on a grassy quad, with its main buildings arrayed around it. These include the White Building and annex, Anderson Hall, the Vaughan Alumni Gymnasium, and the Arts and Sciences Building. The academy completed a campus development project in 2010, which included new science labs, physical education and athletics team facilities, a theater of performing arts, and a greenhouse.


Academics

Thetford Academy offers programs in Arts, Humanities,
STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...
, and Wellness. Its Unified Arts curriculum includes programs in visual arts, design technology, drama, music, and culinary arts. Its Humanities program includes courses in English, social studies, and world languages. Thetford Academy's STEM curriculum focuses on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The academy's Wellness program contains courses in physical education and health. Some programs are aimed at grades seven and eight, some at grades ten to twelve, some grades eleven and twelve, and some grades nine to twelve.


Student life

Thetford Academy encourages students to participate in extracurricular activities. A partial list of the school's clubs and organized activities include art, bass fishing, gaming, gender equity, robotics, and the student council. The academy's advisory program includes faculty members providing advice and guidance to small groups of ten to twelve students. Advisors assist students in developing Personal Learning Plans (PLPs) and guide students to reflect on their academic growth and progress. Advisors also serve as liaisons between parents and guardians. Student groups bond by taking part in special projects and activities, as well as community service and initiatives. Campus traditions at Thetford Academy include Founder's Day, which takes place in February of each year. Celebrations include a winter carnival, arts festival, games, and an all-school banquet. Additional activities include murals, costumes, snow sculptures, skits, banners, centerpieces, and decorated sled parade floats. In the 1970s, Thetford Academy began an annual "Mountain Day" tradition. Mountain Day encourages students to take part in outdoor activities. Events include students and faculty advisors taking part in hiking at nearby grade-specific mountains, so students who attend the academy from grades seven to twelve will have climbed all six mountains.


Athletics

Thetford Academy is a Division III school and competes in most sports in the Northern Vermont Athletic Conference as a member of the Capital League. The school's athletic teams stress its five principles of excellence, commitment, caring, cooperation, and respect for diversity, and have won several awards for good sportsmanship. Thetford Academy's participation in interscholastic sports are regulated by the Vermont Principals’ Association, and include baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, cross country running, track and field, and alpine skiing. Thetford Academy serves as the annual host for the Vermont State High School Cross Country Championships each fall.


Admissions

Tuition at Thetford Academy for the 2020–2021 school year is $19,965. "Sending towns" in Vermont and New Hampshire are towns without their own public schools and they pay tuition for residents to attend schools in nearby towns. Thetford Academy's sending towns in Vermont include
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, Topsham, Strafford,
Tunbridge Tunbridge may refer to the following places: * Tunbridge, Illinois, United States * Tunbridge, North Dakota, see Locations in the United States with an English name#North Dakota * Tunbridge, Tasmania, Australia * Tunbridge, Vermont, United States ...
, Chelsea,
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
, Hartland, and Weathersfield. Thetford, Vermont and
Lyme, New Hampshire Lyme is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,745 as of the 2020 census. Lyme is home to the Chaffee Natural Conservation Area. The Dartmouth Skiway is in the eastern part of ...
also have sending agreements with Thetford Academy. The academy's tuition options also include private payment, scholarship programs, and financial aid programs.


Notable alumni

*
Thomas Angell Thomas Angell (c.1616–1694) was one of the four men who wintered with Roger Williams at Seekonk, Plymouth Colony in early 1636, and then joined him in founding the settlement of Providence Plantation in what became the Colony of Rhode Island ...
, pastor, educator at
Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...
* E. Florence Barker, president of the Woman's Relief Corps *
Thomas W. Bicknell Thomas Williams Bicknell (September 6, 1834 – October 6, 1925) was an American educator, historian, and author. Early life and career Thomas W. Bicknell was born in Barrington, Rhode Island to Harriet Byron Kinnicutt (September 1, 1791 – ...
, historian, educator *
Sherburne Wesley Burnham Sherburne Wesley Burnham (December 12, 1838 – March 11, 1921) was an American astronomer. For more than 50 years Burnham spent all his free time observing the heavens, mainly concerning himself with binary stars. Biography Sherburne ...
, astronomer * William E. Chandler, U.S. Senator, Secretary of Navy *
Thomas Morris Chester Thomas Morris Chester (May 11, 1834 – September 30, 1892) was an American war correspondent, lawyer and soldier who took part in the American Civil War. Early life and education Chester was born at the corner of Third and Market Street in Har ...
, African American journalist, lawyer, and Union Army soldier * William Closson, artist *
Hannah Slade Currier Hannah Slade Currier (1829 – June 25, 1915) was an American academic and socialite. Biography She was the youngest daughter of Enoch Slade of Thetford, Vermont, and sister of General Samuel W. Slade, a lawyer of St. Johnsbury. She received her ...
, educator * George N. Dale, Lieutenant governor of Vermont * Ruth Dwyer, member of the Vermont House of Representatives and Republican nominee for governor in 1998 and 2000 *
John Eaton John Eaton may refer to: * John Eaton (divine) (born 1575), English divine * John Eaton (pirate) (fl. 1683–1686), English buccaneer *Sir John Craig Eaton (1876–1922), Canadian businessman * John Craig Eaton II (born 1937), Canadian businessman ...
,
United States Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...
* Ellen Frances Burpee Farr, painter * Louise Woodworth Foss, elocutionist * Charles Edward Hovey, Civil War general, first president of
Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...
* Mary Greenleaf Clement Leavitt, temperance movement missionary * Anson S. Marshall, U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire *
Justin Smith Morrill Justin Smith Morrill (April 14, 1810December 28, 1898) was an American politician and entrepreneur who represented Vermont in the United States House of Representatives (1855–1867) and United States Senate (1867–1898). He is most widely reme ...
, U.S. Senator * George W. Morrison, U.S. Representative * John B. Sanborn, lawyer, politician, Civil War general, and negotiator of treaties with Plains tribes


References


Sources

*Mary B. Slade
''Thetford Academy's First Century: 1819-1919''
Capital City Press, Montpelier, VT, 1956. *Eaton, Gen. John
''Thetford Academy, Thetford, Vermont: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary and Reunion, Thursday, June 28, 1894''
Republican Press Association, Concord, NH, 1895.
''Fifty for 250: An Anthology of Thetford's History: 1761-2011''
Thetford Historical Society, Thetford, VT, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thetford Academy, Vermont Educational institutions established in 1819 Private high schools in Vermont Buildings and structures in Thetford, Vermont Schools in Orange County, Vermont