John Burroughs School

John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7–12. Its 49-acre (Template:Convert) campus<ref name=at-a-glance /> is located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. naturalist and philosopher John Burroughs.

John Burroughs has long had a school philosophy of liberal and progressive education. It has been recognized as one of the nation's premier preparatory schools.<ref name=autogenerated1>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2007, the Wall Street Journal ranked it among the top 50 schools in sending graduates to eight top universities.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

As of 2020, the faculty includes 96 full-time and 32 part-time members. Since 2009, the head of school has been Andy Abbott, formerly an English teacher and the school's head of college counseling. He replaced Keith Shahan, who served as headmaster for 23 years.<ref name="jburroughs.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

In 1922, a group of St. Louisans announced their intention to open a private school in a suburb of St. Louis. "This school is being established to meet a very definite demand for another country day school, and is an outgrowth of a condition whereby existing schools are unable to accept all pupils applying for entrance," the St. Louis Star and Times reported.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In "executive charge" of the campaign to build the school was Edna Fischel Gellhorn, a co-founder of the League of Women Voters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 18-acre site, located on the streetcar line from Clayton, was purchased for $18,000 ($Template:Inflation todayTemplate:Inflation-fn) and the initial campus buildings, including a gymnasium, were built for $180,000.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Tuition was $500 per year, with scholarships available to up to 10 percent of students.<ref name=":0" />

Classes began on Oct. 2, 1923, ahead of a formal cornerstone-laying ceremony the following week.<ref name=":0" /> The gym was completed in December at a cost of $38,000; the main speaker at its dedication ceremony was Branch Rickey, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The school's founders wrote, "Burroughs was established upon the conviction that each child has latent possibilities of power, and that it is the chief purpose of the school to cooperate with parents in discovering, fostering and developing that power so that in adulthood he shall make his contribution to the improvement of human society. The child's mind is not a tablet to be written upon or a cistern to be filled, but a living, growing entity to be guided, developed, trained and inspired."<ref name="jburroughs.org" />

In the 1930s, JBS participated in the Eight-Year Study, an experiment that tested how American progressive secondary schools would prepare their students for college when released from the curricular restrictions of college admissions requirements.<ref>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link</ref>

In April 2020, the school received $2.5 million in federally backed small business loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The school received scrutiny over this loan, which was meant to protect small and private businesses, and returned the money to the Treasury Department the following month.<ref name="nyti_Thin">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyti_Elit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The school is fundraising to raise its endowment to $100 million by June 2026.<ref name="endowment" />

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Bombers football team won the state championship in Division 2A in 1975, 1980 (tie), 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995 (tie) and 2001; and won the 3A title in 2015. As of 2020, former NFL kicker Neil Rackers is an assistant coach.<ref name="stltoday.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Former NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte was head football coach from 2011 to 2013.<ref name="stltoday.com"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, the program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2023, John Burroughs' varsity baseball team won the state championship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable alumni

Arts, sciences, and education

• Leon Burke III, musician, singer, and conductor
• David D. Clark, 1962: computer scientist and internet pioneer
• Sarah Clarke, 1989: actress, 24.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Carrie Kemper, 2002; television writer, The Office (US).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Ellie Kemper, 1998: actress, The Office (US)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
• Edward T. Foote II, 1955: president, University of Miami (1981–2001); dean of Washington University School of Law (1973–1980); helped design St. Louis' desegregation plans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Tom Friedman, 1983: conceptual artist
• Heather Goldenhersh, 1991: actress, nominated for a Tony Award (Featured Actress in a Play) for playing Sister James in Doubt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jon Hamm, 1989: Golden Globe-winning actor who starred in Mad Men.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• John Hartford, 1956: Grammy-winning folk musician, Gentle On My Mind.
• Terry Karl, 1966: professor of Latin American Studies at Stanford University.
• Peter Allison Larkin: author and director of A Very Natural Thing
• Lisa Miller, 1984: professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, author.
• James Peniston, 1992: sculptor.
• Anthony Renard Reed, 1973: documentary writer and director of Breaking Three Hours: Trailblazing African American Women Marathoners and We ARE Distance Runners: Untold Stories of African American Athletes.
• Thomas H. Stix, 1941: Plasma physics pioneer, Princeton professor.
• Erinn Westbrook, 2006: actress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Beau Willimon, 1995: playwright and screenwriter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Business

• Sam Altman, 2003: CEO of OpenAI, former president of Y Combinator.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Maureen Chiquet, 1981: Former CEO of Chanel
• Joe Edwards, 1964: owner, Blueberry Hill; founder, the St. Louis Walk of Fame; booster, Loop Trolley.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Timothy Luehrman, 1974: Professor, Harvard Business School; widely cited expert in corporate finance.
• Charles Steven Duncker, 1977: former New York Racing Association chairman,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> partner at Goldman Sachs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Danny Meyer, 1976: NYC restaurateur; Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack.
• Edward N. Ney, 1942: CEO of Young & Rubicam, U.S. ambassador to Canada.
• Andrew C. Taylor, 1966: CEO and chairman of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company.<ref name="groupfusion1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Burroughs Class of 66 Reunion Boasts Some Big Name Helpers</ref>

Government and politics

• Todd Akin, 1966: U.S. Congressman (R) for the 2nd District of Missouri (2001–2013)<ref name="faith">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Brittany Packnett Cunningham, 2002: Black Lives Matter activist, appointed in 2015 by President Barack Obama to the President's Commission on Twenty-first Century Policing, a White House task force for police reform.<ref name="jbsnews2015">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Walter Metcalfe, 1956: attorney and civic leader in St. Louis
• Laura Stith, 1971: Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• W. Stuart Symington IV, 1970: U.S. ambassador and career diplomat.
• John A. Terry: Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
• Andrea R. Wood, 1991: U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Journalism and literature

• William S. Burroughs, 1932 (did not graduate): novelist
• Gabe Fleisher, 2020: journalist and author of the Wake Up To Politics newsletter
• Martha Gellhorn, 1926: combat journalist, novelist, and Ernest Hemingway's third wife. He dedicated For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) to her
• Vicki Goldberg, 1954: novelist and photographer
• Jane Smiley, 1967: Pulitzer Prize-winning (1992) novelist, A Thousand Acres
• Mary Wiltenburg, 1994: journalist, Little Bill Clinton project

Military

• James H. Howard, 1932: fighter pilot who flew with the Flying Tigers and later became the only fighter pilot in World War II's European Theater of Operations to receive the Medal of Honor.
• Roslyn L. Schulte, 2002: Killed in action on May 19, 2009, she became the first woman to receive the National Intelligence Medal for Valor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Philanthropy

• Leo Drey, 1935: timber magnate, conservationist, philanthropist. Was Missouri's largest private landholder until 2004, when his $180 million gift of land to a conservation foundation made him the U.S.'s sixth-most generous benefactor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Leased land to JBS for outdoor education for one dollar a year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sports

• Fran Charles, 1986: television football reporter/host.
• Ezekiel Elliott, 2013: Dallas Cowboys running back.
• David Lee, class of 1997 (alum non-grad): NBA basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Brandon Miller, 2020: olympic middle-distance runner<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Foye Oluokun, 2013: NFL linebacker.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Anthony Renard Reed, 1973: marathoner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Dave Sisler, 1949: MLB baseball player.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Dick Sisler, 1938: MLB baseball player.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Scott Van Slyke, 2005: MLB baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jay Williamson, 1985: Professional golfer on the PGA Tour.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Faculty

• Raymond Beckman, a member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic soccer team. Coached at JBS from 1949 to 2000.
• Ron Charles, taught at JBS in the late 1990s. Now a book critic at The Washington Post.<ref name="Johnson">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jon Hamm (Class of '89): For one year in the early 1990s, after he graduated from the University of Missouri, Hamm was a teaching intern in the Drama Department. Among his improv students was Ellie Kemper, later his costar in Bridesmaids.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• John L. Loos: American historian who specialized in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, taught history at JBS from 1953 to 1955.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Category:John Burroughs School alumni

External links

• Template:Official website