Noble and Greenough School

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox school The Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and five-day boarding school in Dedham, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. It educates 638 boys and girls in grades 7–12. The school's Template:Convert campus borders the Charles River.<ref name=glance>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Founding and move to Dedham

In 1866, Washington University in St. Louis Latin professor George Washington Copp Noble returned to Boston and founded Noble's Classical School as an all-boys college-preparatory school.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He renamed the school to Noble & Greenough School in 1892, when his son-in-law James Greenough joined the faculty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The school was originally a for-profit entity run by the Noble family, but in 1913, after Greenough's death, a coalition of Nobles alumni purchased the school from Noble and reorganized the school as a nonprofit corporation under the control of a board of trustees.<ref>"150 Years," p. 32.</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Nobles historically drew most of its students from "the fashionable families of Greater Boston";<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> sociologist Digby Baltzell called it "Proper Boston's most exclusive day school."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The school primarily catered to members of the Episcopal Church; a 1954 alumnus recalled that when he was at Nobles, there were only two non-Episcopalian students.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> (A Unitarian, John Richardson '04, served as president of the Nobles board from 1921 to 1964.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)

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Nobles' dining hall, colloquially called the Castle, in 2017<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In its early days, Nobles cycled through a series of buildings in Boston.<ref>"150 Years," pp. 27-31.</ref> In 1922, at the peak of the country day school movement, the school moved to suburban Dedham, where it has remained ever since.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> (In the 1920s, Nobles, Roxbury Latin, and Belmont Hill all set up campuses in the Boston suburbs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>) The property had previously been the estate of Albert W. Nickerson, a Nobles grandparent, who had commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted to lay out the site.<ref name=":1" /> Nickerson's Richardsonian Romanesque mansion, popularly dubbed "the Castle," now serves as the school's dining hall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1926, shortly after moving to Dedham, Nobles discontinued its primary school program. In response, a coalition of Nobles parents (including Joseph Kennedy Sr.) started the Dexter School.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> One of the Nobles elementary school students who transferred to Dexter was third-grader John F. Kennedy.<ref name=":12">"150 Years," p. 31.</ref>

Predecessors

Template:Further Nobles is descended from various Boston college-preparatory day schools, all of which primarily prepared students for the Harvard College entrance examinations. The curriculum of these schools was primarily classical, as until 1887, Harvard required applicants to study both Latin and Greek.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Moreover, even after 1887, Harvard still required applicants to demonstrate either "an elementary working knowledge" of Latin and Greek, or advanced preparation in mathematics or natural sciences.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite news</ref> According to James Greenough, in practice, only students "especially adapted to the study of mathematics and natural science" could get into Harvard without studying the classics.<ref name=":7" />

In the nineteenth century, most public high schools lacked the resources to employ a classics teacher.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By contrast, classically oriented private schools like Nobles and its predecessors were very successful at preparing students to pass Harvard's entrance exams.

  • In 1851, Boston Latin School headmaster Epes Sargent Dixwell resigned from BLS to found Dixwell's Private Latin School.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> From 1846 to 1870, Dixwell's and Nobles supplied 12% of Harvard undergraduates, more than every other Boston-area private day school combined.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • Dixwell retired in 1872 and was succeeded by John Prentiss Hopkinson, who renamed the school Hopkinson School.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> Hopkinson was the brother-in-law of Harvard president Charles Eliot,<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> and from 1870 to 1895, Hopkinson's was Harvard's third-largest feeder school, with 331 students.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other Hopkinson's teachers included Arthur Volkmann and James Greenough.<ref name=":3" />
  • Hopkinson's lieutenant Arthur Volkmann started the Volkmann School in 1895.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> From 1906 to 1915, Nobles and Volkmann's were Harvard's fourth- and tenth-largest feeder schools, with 232 and 133 students; if combined, they would have been the second-largest, behind Boston Latin and ahead of Phillips Exeter.<ref>Karabel, pp. 570-71.</ref> Nobles and Volkmann's merged in 1917 due to declining enrollment at Volkmann's; amidst anti-German sentiment in the United States during World War I, newspapers had falsely accused the Prussian-born Volkmann of being a German spy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Nobles claims the history and alumni of Volkmann School.<ref name=":6" /> In 1966, Volkmann's alumni erected a monument to their alma mater on the Nobles campus.<ref>"150 Years," p. 33.</ref> However, Nobles does not claim Dixwell's 1851 foundation date.<ref name=":10" />

Recent years

Nobles began admitting black students in 1964 and girls in 1974.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"150 Years," p. 36.</ref> The school had initially attempted to merge with Winsor School, an all-girls prep school in Boston, but negotiations were unsuccessful.<ref>Jarvis, p. 467.</ref>

In 2017, Harvard's student newspaper reported that Nobles was Harvard's fourth-largest feeder school, behind Boston Latin School, Phillips Academy, and Stuyvesant High School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From 2019 to 2023, the school sent 52 students (out of roughly 650) to Harvard.<ref name=":4" /> Many of these students come through Nobles' athletic programs. In the 2020–21 school year, Nobles was the single largest contributor to the Harvard Crimson varsity teams, with 15 students on Harvard rosters. 14 of these 15 students were on the lacrosse, ice hockey, and rowing teams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nobles' athletic programs contribute to other universities as well; in 2024, Nobles was the Princeton Tigers' leading feeder school, with 11 students, and one of only seven schools with more than five alumni on Princeton varsity teams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 2013 to 2018, Nobles conducted a $137 million fundraising campaign, which increased the school's endowment by $60 million and raised funds to build a new library and renovate the Castle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nobles has had only seven heads of school in over 150 years. In 2017, Catherine J. Hall became Nobles' first female Head of School.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> During her tenure, the percentage of self-identified students of color increased from 35% in the 2018–19 school year to 49% in the 2023–24 school year. The percentage of students on financial aid increased from 28% to 30% during the same timeframe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref>

List of Heads of School

Heads of School Tenure Events/Biography
1. George Washington Copp Noble 1866–1919 Founder of the school; served until his death
2. Charles Wiggins II 1920–1943 School relocates to Dedham, Massachusetts. Lower School discontinued.
3. Eliot T. Putnam 1943–1971 Son-in-law of Charles Wiggins
4. Edward "Ted" S. Gleason 1971–1987 School begins to admit girls
5. Richard "Dick" H. Baker 1987–2000
6. Robert P. Henderson '76 2000–2017 Oversaw the building of the MAC, arts center, new library, renovation of Baker, castle remodel, and more.
7. Catherine J. Hall 2017–present

Admissions and student body

Student body composition (2021–22)<ref name="nces">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race and ethnicity Nobles Massachusetts
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Black Template:Bartable Template:Bartable
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Multiracial Template:Bartable Template:Bartable

Nobles is primarily a day high school, although it operates a middle school for 110 students and a five-day boarding program for 50 students.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":5" /> The school enrolled 638 students in the 2023–24 school year, 49% of whom identified as students of color, and 30% of whom were on financial aid.<ref name=":4" />

Nobles had a 16% admission rate in 2023.<ref name=":4" /> Students are primarily admitted in the seventh and ninth grades (55 and 65 incoming students per year, respectively).<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> In the 2023–24 school year, 39% of Nobles students came from public schools, 8% from charter or parochial schools, and 53% from private schools.<ref name=":4" />

Finances

Tuition and financial aid

In the 2023–24 school year, Nobles charged 5-day boarding students $68,600 and day students $62,600.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref>

Nobles provides need-based financial aid and commits to meet 100% of each admitted student's demonstrated financial need.<ref name=":8" /> In the 2023–24 school year, 30% of students were on financial aid,<ref name=":4" /> and the average aid grant was $44,935 (75% of day student tuition).<ref name=":8" />

Endowment and expenses

In its Internal Revenue Service filings for the 2021–22 school year, Nobles reported total assets of $328.0 million, net assets of $270.6 million, investment holdings of $191.7 million, and cash holdings of $22.8 million. Nobles also reported $46.2 million in program service expenses and $9.1 million in grants (primarily student financial aid).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Athletics

Nobles competes in the Independent School League, a group of day and boarding schools in Greater Boston. The school's website says that 74 Nobles teams have won ISL championships and that as of the 2023–24 school year, 87% of the varsity teams "have had a winning record in the past 10 years."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 2014–15 school year, eight Nobles alumnae were on the Harvard women's hockey team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nobles sponsors competition in the following sports:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Winter athletic offerings

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Spring athletic offerings

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Rivalries

Nobles' primary athletic rival was initially Volkmann's.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After the two schools merged and Nobles left Boston for Dedham, the rivalry shifted to Milton Academy, located in the nearby suburb of Milton.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In contrast to Nobles' Episcopalian base, Milton historically educated Boston's Unitarian elite, giving a religious edge to the rivalry.<ref name=":62">Template:Cite journal</ref> The rivalry predates the move to Dedham, as the two schools began playing football in 1886; as such, Nobles-Milton is the nation's fifth-oldest high school football rivalry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Nobles did not beat Milton until 1932, after the move to Dedham.<ref name=":12" />

Nobles also counts Roxbury Latin School as a secondary rival.

Since neither Milton nor Roxbury Latin sponsor rowing,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nobles' primary crew rival is Groton School, a matchup dating back to 1922.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Notable athletes

Ice hockey

Other

Notable alumni

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Noble and Greenough

Volkmann's

See also

References

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