Wilbraham & Monson Academy
Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA) is a college-preparatory school located in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1804, it is a four-year boarding and day high school for students in Grades 9-12 and postgraduate. A middle school, with Grades 6–8, offers boarding for Grade 8 students. The academy is located in the center of the town of Wilbraham, 75 miles from Boston and 150 miles from New York City.
Wilbraham & Monson Academy | |
---|---|
Location | |
, United States | |
Coordinates | 42°07′20.96″N 72°25′53.67″W |
Information | |
Type | Private, Boarding, Day |
Motto | At Home. In the World. |
Established | 1804 |
Head of School | Brian Easler |
Faculty | 66 |
Enrollment | 400 |
Student to teacher ratio | 6:1 |
Campus | 300 acres (1.2 km2) |
Mascot | Titans |
Website | www |
WMA was established by the merger of two 19th-century academies — Monson Academy, founded in 1804,[1] and Wesleyan Academy, founded in 1817 in New Market, New Hampshire. Wesleyan Academy relocated to Wilbraham in 1825 and was renamed Wilbraham Academy in 1917. In 1971, when the school merged with Monson Academy, the name was officially changed to Wilbraham & Monson Academy. Wesleyan was the first coeducational boarding school in the country, and Monson Academy became the first to enroll Chinese students in 1847.
Academics
Faculty
WMA is led by 66 faculty members, 44 of whom live on campus and 70 percent who have advanced degrees. The program features small classes (6:1 student/teacher ratio) and 23 AP courses. WMA's Middle School includes 64 students and has an average class size of eight.
Athletics
Athletics include rugby, lacrosse, baseball, cross country, dance, wrestling, soccer, tennis, golf, football, basketball, track, riflery, volleyball, softball, water polo, crew and swimming.[2]
In fall 2007, the Academy unveiled its $4 million expansion of the Greenhalgh Athletic Center on campus. The expansion included a fitness room, a multi-purpose dance and wrestling space, a large conference room and new central locker facilities.[3] During the last decade, a Turf Field and construction of new tennis courts are among countless improvements to on-campus facilities. WMA offers 29 varsity athletic teams, and 18 others that compete at the non-varsity level.
Notable alumni
- Henry Barnard, American educationalist
- Alfred Ely Beach, American inventor, publisher, and patent lawyer
- Mary Ann Booth, microscopist
- Tyrell Burgess, professional soccer player with Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Kraisak Choonhavan, member of Thailand Senate for Nakhon Ratchasima Province (2000–2006); former Chairman of the Thai Senate's Foreign Relations Committee
- Winthrop Murray Crane, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1870-1880
- Emily Norcross Dickinson,[4] mother of the famous 19th century poet Emily Dickinson
- Richard Fuld, former CEO Lehman Brothers
- Wenyen Gabriel, basketball player for the Sacramento Kings
- Bill Guerin, retired NHL hockey player[5]
- William Stewart Halstead, pioneering American surgeon, studied at Monson Academy for a time[6]
- Ratcliffe Hicks, Connecticut state legislator, industrialist, lawyer, and benefactor of the University of Connecticut
- Galway Kinnell, poet
- Pat Phelan, professional soccer player for the New England Revolution
- Nitya Pibulsonggram, Thai Ambassador to the US (1996-2000), Foreign Minister of Thailand (2006-2008)
- Humphrey Pickard, first president of Mount Allison University
- Charles Pratt, U.S. oil tycoon and founder of the Pratt Institute
- Joey Santiago, band member of the Pixies
- Pote Sarasin, Prime Minister of Thailand (1957) secretary-general of SEATO (1958–1964)
- Lucy Stone, orator, abolitionist, suffragist, and women's rights advocate
- William Strong (Pennsylvania judge), served as Governor of the Commonwealth 1900-1902
- Yung Wing, first Chinese graduate of an American university Yale University - 1854
- Christine Ladd-Franklin, Mathematician, logician and psychologist - 1865
- Russell H. Conwell, world renowned minister and founder of Temple University - 1859
See also
References
- George Adams (1853). "Education in Massachusetts: Incorporated Academies". Massachusetts Register. Boston: Printed by Damrell and Moore.
- "The Association of Boarding Schools".
- "Kuhn Riddle Architects".
- "Emily Norcross Dickinson (1804-1882), mother | Emily Dickinson Museum". www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
- "Boarding School Review".
- "Worcester District Medical Society".
Further reading
- Massachusetts Board of Education; George A. Walton (1877), "Report on Academies: Monson Academy", Annual Report...1875-76, Boston – via Internet Archive