Pomfret School Explained

Pomfret School
Motto:Latin: Certa Viriliter
Motto Translation:Strive Valiantly
Type:Private, Coeducational, Secondary, Boarding
Ceeb:070615
Chairman:Justin P. Klein
Head:J. Timothy Richards
Head Label:Head of school
Founder:William E. Peck
Enrollment:350[1]
Grades:9–12, postgraduate
Streetaddress:398 Pomfret Street
City:Pomfret
State:Connecticut
Zipcode:06258
Country:United States
Coordinates:41.8862°N -71.9651°W
Campus Type:Rural
Colors:Red and black
Athletics:42 interscholastic teams
Student Union:Olmsted Student Union Pomfret Alumni Association
Mascot:Griffin
Newspaper:Pontefract

Pomfret School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States, serving 350 students in grades 9 through 12 and post-graduates. Located in the Pomfret Street Historic District, the average class size is 12 students with a student–teacher ratio of 6:1. Over 80% of faculty hold master's degrees or doctorates. Typically, 40% of students receive financial aid or support from over 60 endowed scholarship funds, 20% are students of color, 21% are international students.[1]

The school opened on October 3, 1894,[2] [3] founded by William E. Peck and his wife Harriet.[3]

Historical background

In the first decade of the 1900s, Pomfret was transformed from mainly Colonial Revival buildings to a "planned institution."[4] By 1906, architect Ernest Flagg had designed a master plan for the school.[4] The pavilion arrangement reflected the influence of Thomas Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia.

For the chapel, commissioned by Edward Clark in 1907, Flagg chose Norman architecture as an appropriate model and emulated the rich textures of the unpolished stone-work characteristic of that style.[5]

Following a visit to the campus in 1910, when construction was nearing completion, Flagg compared Pomfret to his design of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, remarking, "The school is better architecturally than Annapolis." While his design for Annapolis had been repeatedly altered by the Navy during construction, the work at Pomfret scrupulously followed his design.[6] Flagg hoped that his work for Pomfret would set a trend and lead to a "national style of architecture."

The Pomfret's coat of arms was designed by Harriet Peck Jones, wife of founder and first Headmaster William E. Peck. She had contacted members of the Fermor family, holders of the earldom of Pomfret in England. They expressed an interest in the new school, and hoped the school's coat of arms would be that of their family: Argent, a fess sable (black) between three lions' heads erased gules (red).[7]

Adam Hochschild, who attended Pomfret in the 1950s, described it in 1982 as one of about twenty select American schools, all built around 1900 or before, which were until the 1960s "upper-class single-sex boarding schools". He added that it was, at the time, "basically a school for the rich."[8]

Hochschild's perspective may have been accurate in the 1950s, but the school has gradually attracted a significantly more diverse student body. In the 2023-24 school year, for example, Pomfret awarded $5 million in financial aid to 37% of the student body. [9]

Campus

The 500 acre campus, established in 1894, was designed by landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted,[10] and expanded over the years to its current size through gifts and acquisitions. The facility's master plan was designed in 1906 by American architect Ernest Flagg.[11]

Notable buildings

A number of Pomfret's buildings and houses are listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[12] [13]

Memorial Chapel

Dedicated on St. George's Day, 1908, and consecrated on May 16, 1909,[14] the chapel was designed by Ernest Flagg[15] and houses three extraordinary stained glass windows from 13th century France.[16] [17] [18]

The ten-foot-high rose window above the chapel doorway and two of the arched-top, oblong windows along the walls are apparently from the 13th century cathedral, Saint Julien of Tours, on the Loire river in France. The ancient windows were donated to Pomfret in 1947. They are recorded as having been imported to the U.S. in 1904; they were auctioned in New York to an anonymous bidder and installed in Clark Chapel in 1949.[16] [17]

du Pont Library

It was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates, finished in 1969, and won many awards.

Jahn Ice Hockey Rink

In 2005, Brown Rink, the original name of the rink, underwent a major renovation and was renamed Jahn Rink after Helmut Jahn, the architect who helped design it. Jahn's son had attended Pomfret.[19] [20]

Parsons Lodge

It won the 2010 AIA Connecticut People's Choice Award for “the building in which people would most like to study”; 2009 Best Fireplace Award from Masonry Construction magazine.[21]

Athletics

A member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC),[22] Pomfret fields 42 teams in 15 different sports[23] and has won numerous championships during its history in both men's and women's sports.[24] Recently, Girls Varsity Volleyball won the 2015 NESPAC Class B Championship.[25] Boys Varsity Hockey won the 2017 NEPSAC Small School Championship.[26]

Arts

Pomfret's arts programs are guided by practicing artists and offer formal classes and other opportunities for training and participation in drawing, painting, digital arts, film and video, sculpture and ceramics, photography, music, theatre, and dance. Performance opportunities are available to all students in theater, dance, and music throughout the year. Facilities include sculpture, ceramics, painting, and drawing studios; rehearsal and practice rooms for dance and music; the Schoppe Dance Studio; Hard Auditorium stage; and a photography laboratory.

The Pomfret Grifftones and Chorus tour within the United States and overseas for concerts; in 2015 they were in Italy where they performed in Florence, Lucca, and St. Stephen's School in Rome, and in the United States at the University of Connecticut (all March 2015).[27]

Crisis in the 1960s and 1970s

Pomfret went through a crisis in the 1960s and 70s, making "desperate fundraising appeals" necessary. Pomfret alumnus Adam Hochschild claimed that since "Pomfret had never been quite in the top rank of New England boarding schools," the economic crisis was even more dire for them. One year, the entering class did not reach the expected (small) number of students. Teachers were compelled to take ten-percent less in pay. Some started planning for the school's closing. In a men's toilet on campus, someone scrawled on the wall over the toilet paper dispenser: “Pomfret diplomas. Take one.”

Sexual misconduct allegations

In 2016, an independent investigation found that four teachers had "likely engaged in sexual misconduct" between the 1970s and 2000s.[28] [29] A letter sent out from the school to the community said that the investigation "found four teachers 'more likely than not' engaged in sexual misconduct", and there were "nine other 'credible reports' that teachers engaged in inappropriate behavior", but concluded there was "insufficient information".[29] An investigation conducted by the Connecticut State Police into the allegations was closed with no criminal charges being filed.[30]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Boarding School Review . Boarding School Review . 21 October 2015.
  2. Book: Private Independent Schools . 1980 . Bunting and Lyon . 119.
  3. Book: Pearson . Brad . Stone . Emerson . The Spirit That Is Pomfret. 1993 . Kashino Design Enterprises . First . 3–5.
  4. Book: Bacon. Mardges. Ernest Flagg: beaux-arts architect and urban reformer. 1986. Architectural History Foundation. New York. 0262022222. 135.
  5. Book: Bacon. Mardges. Ernest Flagg: beaux-arts architect and urban reformer. 1986. Architectural History Foundation. New York. 0262022222. 136–137.
  6. Book: Bacon. Mardges. Ernest Flagg: beaux-arts architect and urban reformer. 1986. Architectural History Foundation. New York. 0262022222. 137.
  7. Book: Pearson. Brad. Stone. Emerson. The Spirit That Is Pomfret. 1993. Kashino Design Enterprise, Inc.. first. 3.
  8. Hochschild . Adam . May 1982 . True Prep . Mother Jones . 41–48.
  9. https://www.pomfret.org/admission/tuition-and-financial-aid
  10. Web site: Tom Irwin. tomirwin.com. Tom Irwin, Inc.. 20 October 2015. December 22, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222123013/http://www.tomirwin.com/towns-and-schools/client_profiles.cfm?clientProfileID=49. dead.
  11. Book: Bacon. Mardges. Ernest Flagg: beaux-arts architect and urban reformer. 1986. MIT Press. 978-0262022224. 134–137. !st.
  12. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=98000372}} Pomfret Street Historic District]. focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/98000372.pdf. National Park Services. 4 November 2015.
  13. Web site: Pomfret Street Historic District. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Services. 4 November 2015. November 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151118134636/http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/AssetDetail?assetID=0c855050-220b-4b8c-8217-afecb82f7855. dead.
  14. Web site: Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal. czelusniakdugal.com. Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc.. 20 October 2015. 18 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151118145231/http://czelusniakdugal.com/instruments/pomfret-school.php. dead.
  15. Web site: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Philadelphiabuildings.org. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. 20 October 2015.
  16. News: Geissinger. Anne. Chapel Windows Causing Stir To Stained Glass Experts. 1. 43. Observer Extra. December 14, 1985.
  17. News: Chapel Windows Causing Stir To Stained Glass Experts. Hartford Courant. June 26, 1983.
  18. Web site: The Pomfret School George Newhall Clark Memorial Chapel Pomfret, Connecticut. czelusniakdugal.com. Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc. 3 November 2015. 18 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151118145231/http://czelusniakdugal.com/instruments/pomfret-school.php. dead.
  19. News: Doug, I did this for you . Hartford Courant . 9 January 2005.
  20. Web site: Klebeck . J. . All Hail the Restomodded Rink! . Centerbrook Architects . February 7, 2022.
  21. Web site: Parsons Lodge . 4 November 2015 . newenglanddesign.com . New England Design, Inc. . February 14, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160214085947/http://www.newenglanddesign.com/index.php/portfolio/educational-view/pomfret-events-center . dead .
  22. Web site: New England Preparatory Schools Athletic Council. nepsac.org. RS SchoolToday.com. 19 October 2015.
  23. Web site: Boarding School Review . boardingschoolreview.com . Boarding School Review, LLC.
  24. Book: Pearson. Brad. Stone. Emerson. The Spirit That Is Pomfret. 221; 276; 285; 292; 300–302; 313 . 1993. Kashino Design Enterprises, Inc.. first.
  25. Web site: MaxPreps. maxpreps.com. CBS Interactive. 19 February 2016.
  26. Web site: MaxPreps. www.maxpreps.com. CBS Broadcasting, Inc.. 30 May 2017.
  27. Web site: Sophia. Clarke. Clarke Productions. singinginitaly.weebly.com. Weebly. 26 October 2015.
  28. News: Boarding school teacher fired over student relationship . . Associated Press . January 30, 2018.
  29. News: Another elite boarding school finds sex abuse in its past. . September 27, 2016.
  30. News: Melia . Michael . State Police Close Investigation of Pomfret School Sex Abuse . . 19 April 2017.
  31. Web site: Obituaries: Philip Ainsworth Means. American Antiquarian Society . 35 . April 1945.
  32. Book: Blayney. MIchael S.. Democracy's Aristocrat: Life of Herbert C. Pell. 1986. University Press of America. 0-8191-5193-9.
  33. Web site: Pell, Herbert Claiborne, Jr.. bioguide.congress.gov. U.S. Congress. 18 October 2015.
  34. Arthur Purdy Stout, M.D. 1885–1967 . Radiology . August 1968 . 91 . 2 . 394 . 10.1148/91.2.394 .
  35. Book: Gale . Steven H. . Encyclopedia of American Humorists . 14 April 2016 . Routledge . 978-1-317-36227-2 . 414 .
  36. News: Frederic W. Lincoln, 69, Dies; Headed Medical College Board . The New York Times . April 8, 1968 . . 47.
  37. Web site: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. history.state.gov. U.S. Department of State. 18 October 2015.
  38. Web site: William Franklin Draper . Naval History and Heritage Command.
  39. Book: Affairs, United States Congress Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban. Nomination of Thibaut de Saint Phalle: Hearing Before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session ... Nov. 28, 1977. 1977. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  40. Web site: Kaufman . Ira . Roger Angell, Revered Baseball Essayist, Dies at 101 . The Hollywood Reporter . 20 May 2022.
  41. News: Grimes . William . Robert Vickrey, Painter of Magic Realism School, Dies at 84 . The New York Times . April 20, 2011.
  42. Web site: PAST recipients of the alumni association awards .
  43. News: Arnold. Laurence. William Carey, Investor Who Backed Business Schools, Dies at 81. 18 October 2015. Bloomberg Business. January 3, 2012.
  44. News: Gelder . Lawrence Van . Jon Stone, Who Helped Create 'Sesame Street,' Is Dead at 65 . The New York times . April 1, 1997.
  45. News: Theodore R. Sizer . Columbia University . 117.
  46. Stowe . Stacey . The Legend of Peter Beard . Vanity Fair . 24 September 2020.
  47. News: Leslie . Jacques . The Re-education of a China Watcher : Once an Idealist Who Idolized Maoism, Author Orville Schell Now Champions China's Dissidents . Los Angeles Times . 15 October 1989.
  48. News: Arana . Marie . Adam Hochschild . Washington Post . 19 December 1999.
  49. Web site: Joe Boyd . Folk New England.
  50. Web site: Jack Hardy Obituary . Maverick . 28 . May 2011.
  51. News: State Police close investigation of Pomfret School sexual abuse . Fox 61 . Associated Press . April 19, 2017 .
  52. News: Former CT senator and judge Eric Coleman now wants to be Hartford mayor . Hartford Courant . 5 September 2023.
  53. News: Anne M. DeBevoise Married . The New York Times . August 15, 1982.
  54. Web site: Professors of the Practice . Boise State University.
  55. News: Smith . Michelle R. . Pomfret School reveals sex abuse by teachers . . Associated Press . September 27, 2016.
  56. Web site: Spencer Bailey Reflects on the Crash-Landing of United Airlines Flight 232 . Time Sensitive.
  57. News: Savarese . Katherine M. . Sarah Vaillancourt '08-'09: Canadian Ice Hockey Olympics Gold Medalist. The Harvard Crimson . February 22, 2010.
  58. Web site: Brian Flynn - Men's Ice Hockey . University of Maine Athletics . Captain as a senior at the Pomfret School where he scored 60 goals and added 52 assists for 112 points in two seasons.
  59. https://usrowing.org/sports/senior-national-team/roster/felice-mueller/189
  60. Web site: Biography Connecticut House Democrats . housedems.ct.gov . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170423155411/http://www.housedems.ct.gov/node/4651 . 2017-04-23.

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