Worcester Academy

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Template:Short description Template:Multiple issues Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox school

Worcester Academy is a co-ed private boarding school in Worcester, Massachusetts serving grades 6-12.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the oldest school founded in Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational preparatory school, it belongs to the National Association of Independent Schools.

History

Worcester Academy was founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School; the name "Worcester Academy" was adopted in 1847.<ref name="Callahan" />

File:Isaac Davis (cropped).jpg
Isaac Davis, President of the Worcester Academy Trustees 1834 – 1873

Isaac Davis was a central figure in the school's early years, serving as President of the Worcester Academy Trustees from 1834 to 1873.<ref name="Callahan">Template:Cite web</ref>

The school moved several times during its first decades.<ref name="Callahan" /> The first site was a 60 acre farm on what is now Main Street.<ref name="Callahan" /> In 1854 the school moved into the abandoned building of the American Antiquarian society at Belmont and Summer streets.<ref name="Callahan" /> Around this time, principals were paid little, and "were given a free hand to charge whatever tuition they could get, pay the expenses, and pocket the profit."<ref name="Callahan" />

In 1869, Isaac Davis purchased the abandoned Dale General Hospital on Providence Street in the Union Hill neighborhood.<ref name="Callahan" /> Davis donated the building, a former Civil War military hospital, to the school as its new permanent home.<ref name="Elfland" /> The building was renamed Davis Hall in his honor.<ref name="Elfland" />

Davis Hall served as Worcester Academy's only building for many years; at times, it served as a dormitory, reputedly haunted by ghosts of Civil War soldiers.<ref name="Elfland">Template:Cite news</ref> Davis Hall was damaged by the hurricane of 1938, and demolished in 1965.<ref name="Elfland" /> It was replaced by Davol Hall.<ref name="Elfland" />

Daniel Webster Abercrombie served as principal from 1882 to 1918.<ref name="Callahan2" /> He established the school's motto "Achieve the Honorable" in 1890.<ref name="Callahan2" /> He presided over an aggressive expansion of the school, including Kingsley Laboratories (1897) and The Megaron (1905).<ref name="Callahan2">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Wide image

Demographics

As of 2018, 451 out of 600, or 68% of the school's students were white, 66 (11%) were Asian, 32 (5%) were Black, and 15 (2.5%) were Hispanic or Latino.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The corresponding numbers for the community were 56% white, 8% Asian, 12% black and 21% Hispanic or Latino.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Clubs

In the springs of 2010 and 2011, the We the People club won the Massachusetts championship and traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national championship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, Worcester Academy's math team won its seventh (and fourth straight)<ref>WOCOMAL Varsity Team Championships by Year. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref> Worcester County Mathematics League championship,<ref>WOCOMAL Varsity Team Rankings 2010–11. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref> its seventh (and sixth straight)<ref>MAML Team Championships by Year Template:Webarchive. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref> state championship,<ref>MAML State Meet Team Rankings 2011. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref> and its fourth New England championship (the third in six years).<ref>NEAML Team Championships by Year Template:Webarchive. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref><ref>NEAML State Meet Team Rankings 2011. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref><ref>Worcester Academy wins NE math championship. Telegram.com. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.</ref>

Notable alumni

Notable faculty and alumni include:

In certain instances, student-athletes attend Worcester Academy solely for their senior year, or for a single postgraduate year, to increase their exposure to college coaches or to improve their academic standing. Notable student-athletes include:

Headmasters of Worcester Academy

Number Name Years
1st Silas Bailey, D.D. 1834–1838
2nd Samuel Stillman Greene, LL.D. 1838–1840
3rd Nelson Wheeler, A.M. 1840–1847
4th Eli Thayer 1840, A.M. 1847–1849
5th Charles C. Burnett, A.M. 1849–1852
6th Eleazer J. Avery, A.M. 1852–1854
7th William S. Greene, A.M. 1854–1858
8th Werden Reynolds, A.M. 1858–1860
9th James R. Stone, D.D. 1860–1862
10th Ambrose P. S. Stuart, A.M. 1862–1864
11th Charles Ayer, A.B. 1865–1866
12th Albert Prescott Marble, PhD 1866–1868
13th William C. Poland, A.B. 1868–1870
14th Willard T. Leonard, M.A. 1870
15th Rev. David Weston, A.B. 1870–1871
16th John D. Smith, A.B. 1872–1875
17th Nathan Leavenworth, A.M. 1875–1882
18th Daniel Abercrombie, Litt.D., LL.D. 1882–1918
19th Samuel Foss Holmes, A.M. 1918–1933
20th Harold H. Wade 1933–1942
21st LeRoy A. Campbell, PhD 1942–1950
22nd Paul K. Phillips, A.B. 1950–1954
23rd William S. Piper, Jr., Ed.D. 1954–1968
24th Harold G. Rader, Ed.D. 1968–1969
25th David R. Jefferson, B.A., B.D. 1969–1970
26th Robert A. LaBranche 1946, M.S. 1970–1974
27th John A. Bloom, M.A. 1974–1985
28th Ben Williams, M.A. 1985–1991
29th John Mackenzie, M.A. 1991–1997
30th Dexter P. Morse, M Ed., C.A.G.S. 1997–2012
31st Ronald M. Cino 2012–2021
32nd Kevin Breen 2021–Present

See also

References

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Further reading

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Template:Coord Template:Worcester Nav Template:National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Template:New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Template:Authority control

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