Worcester Academy

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Worcester Academy
WA Dexter.JPG
Dexter Hall
Location
Worcester Academy
81 Providence Street

Worcester
,
Massachusetts
01604

United States
Information
TypeIndependent, day and boarding
MottoἘφικνοῦ τῶν Καλῶν
(Achieve the Honorable)
Established1834;191 years ago (1834)
Head of SchoolKevin Breen
Faculty80
Enrollment450 upper school
65 middle school
Average class size14
Student to teacher ratio8:1
Campus size71 acres (290,000 m2)
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)  Maroon
Athletics24 Interscholastic sports
54 Interscholastic teams
Athletics conference NEPSAC
MascotOskee
Team nameHilltoppers
NewspaperVigornia
YearbookThe Towers
Website www.worcesteracademy.org

Worcester Academy is a co-ed private boarding school in Worcester, Massachusetts serving grades 6-12. [1] 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.

Contents

History

Worcester Academy was founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School; the name "Worcester Academy" was adopted in 1847. [2]

Isaac Davis, President of the Worcester Academy Trustees 1834 - 1873 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. [2]

The school moved several times during its first decades. [2] The first site was a 60 acre farm on what is now Main Street. [2] In 1854 the school moved into the abandoned building of the American Antiquarian society at Belmont and Summer streets. [2] 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." [2]

In 1869, Isaac Davis purchased the abandoned Dale General Hospital on Providence Street in the Union Hill neighborhood. [2] Davis donated the building, a former Civil War military hospital, to the school as its new permanent home. [3] The building was renamed Davis Hall in his honor. [3]

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. [3] Davis Hall was damaged by the hurricane of 1938, and demolished in 1965. [3] It was replaced by Davol Hall. [3]

Daniel Webster Abercrombie served as principal from 1882 to 1918. [4] He established the school's motto "Achieve the Honorable" in 1890. [4] He presided over an aggressive expansion of the school, including Kingsley Laboratories (1897) and The Megaron (1905). [4]

Worcester Academy - LOC 6a06055u.jpg
Worcester Academy in 1910. L to R: Davis Hall, Abercrombie House, Walker Hall, The Megaron, Adams Hall, Dexter Hall, and Kingsley Laboratories

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. [5] The corresponding numbers for the community were 56% white, 8% Asian, 12% black and 21% Hispanic or Latino. [6]

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. [7]

In 2011, Worcester Academy's math team won its seventh (and fourth straight) [8] Worcester County Mathematics League championship, [9] its seventh (and sixth straight) [10] state championship, [11] and its fourth New England championship (the third in six years). [12] [13] [14]

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

NumberNameYears
1stSilas Bailey, D.D.1834–1838
2nd Samuel Stillman Greene, LL.D.1838–1840
3rdNelson Wheeler, A.M.1840–1847
4th Eli Thayer 1840, A.M.1847–1849
5thCharles C. Burnett, A.M.1849–1852
6thEleazer J. Avery, A.M.1852–1854
7thWilliam S. Greene, A.M.1854–1858
8thWerden Reynolds, A.M.1858–1860
9thJames R. Stone, D.D.1860–1862
10thAmbrose P. S. Stuart, A.M.1862–1864
11thCharles Ayer, A.B.1865–1866
12thAlbert Prescott Marble, PhD1866–1868
13thWilliam C. Poland, A.B.1868–1870
14thWillard T. Leonard, M.A.1870
15thRev. David Weston, A.B.1870–1871
16thJohn D. Smith, A.B.1872–1875
17thNathan Leavenworth, A.M.1875–1882
18thDaniel Abercrombie, Litt.D., LL.D.1882–1918
19thSamuel Foss Holmes, A.M.1918–1933
20thHarold H. Wade1933–1942
21stLeRoy A. Campbell, PhD1942–1950
22ndPaul K. Phillips, A.B.1950–1954
23rdWilliam S. Piper, Jr., Ed.D.1954–1968
24thHarold G. Rader, Ed.D.1968–1969
25thDavid R. Jefferson, B.A., B.D.1969–1970
26thRobert A. LaBranche 1946, M.S.1970–1974
27thJohn A. Bloom, M.A.1974–1985
28thBen Williams, M.A.1985–1991
29thJohn Mackenzie, M.A.1991–1997
30thDexter P. Morse, M Ed., C.A.G.S.1997–2012
31stRonald M. Cino2012–2021
32ndKevin Breen2021–Present

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Official Website". Worcester Academy.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Callahan, Frank (May 16, 2014). "1959 "Worcester Gazette" Article on the Academy's History and Plans for the Future". Worcester Academy History. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Elfland, Mike (November 1, 2021). "Then & Now: Old Davis Hall, Providence Street, Worcester Academy". Worcester, Massachusetts: Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Callahan, Frank (January 16, 2014). ""Achieve The Honorable" on Buildings". Worcester Academy History. Frank Callahan. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  5. ↑ "School ID 00603712". National Center for Education Statistics.
  6. ↑ "Worcester, MA id 2513230". National Center for Education Statistics.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ WOCOMAL Varsity Team Championships by Year. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  9. ↑ WOCOMAL Varsity Team Rankings 2010–11. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ MAML Team Championships by Year Archived May 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  11. ↑ MAML State Meet Team Rankings 2011. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  12. ↑ NEAML Team Championships by Year Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  13. ↑ NEAML State Meet Team Rankings 2011. Wocomal.org. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  14. ↑ Worcester Academy wins NE math championship. Telegram.com. Retrieved on October 14, 2011.
  15. ↑ Worcester Academy (1882). Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Worcester Academy. Worcester, Massachusetts: Lucius P. Goddard. p. 10 – via Ancestry.com.
  16. ↑ Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals In Khaki. Raleigh, North Carolina: Pentland Press. p. 300. ISBN   978-1-5719-7088-6 – via Google Books.
  17. ↑ "NEPSAC Basketball: Where Are They Now". New England Recruiting Report Retrieved on July 29, 2014.

Further reading

42°15′10″N71°47′27″W / 42.252675°N 71.790703°W / 42.252675; -71.790703

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