Woodstock Academy Explained

The Woodstock Academy
Motto:Look to your Future, Look to Woodstock Academy
Location:Woodstock, Connecticut 06281
United States
Coordinates:41.9509°N -71.9756°W
Type:Public
Ceeb:070975
Head Of School:Christopher J. Sandford
Staff:54
Faculty:85
Grades:9-12 and postgraduate
Enrollment:1,098 (2018–19)[1]
Athletics:38 team sports
Conference:ECC
Mascot:Centaur
Colors:Yale blue and gold
Free Label:Sending towns
Free Text:Brooklyn, Canterbury, Eastford, Pomfret, Union, and Woodstock

Woodstock Academy (WA), founded in 1801, is a high school located in Woodstock, Connecticut, United States. The Academy, which describes itself as an independent school, serves residents from the Connecticut towns of Brooklyn, Canterbury, Eastford, Pomfret, Union, and Woodstock. The respective towns' taxpayers pay student tuition through municipal taxes, and therefore state agencies and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) categorize Woodstock as a public school. The school also accepts tuition-paying students from surrounding towns and states as day students, and students from around the country and the world as residential students.[2]

History

In 1801 the school was organized by James and John McClellan, sons of Revolutionary War General Samuel McClellan.[3] The Connecticut Legislature officially chartered the school in 1802.[4]

In 1969 the Woodstock School Committee designated Woodstock Academy as the secondary public school of the town.[5]

In 1977 the Connecticut State Freedom of Information Commission ruled that Woodstock Academy must make its records public.[6] In July 1980 the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that Woodstock Academy is a public agency, because it serves three Connecticut towns in the manner that a public high school would, and therefore it must release all of its financial records under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.[4]

In 1990 the school was planning to end Latin classes due to a lack of interest and the idea that students should study modern languages.[7]

In 2012 the school was trying to recruit students from other regions of the United States and international students.[8]

Governance and service area

The school is not within any school district and is not controlled by any municipality; therefore it describes itself as an "independent school."[9] The Connecticut State Department of Education does not list Woodstock in its list of non-public schools [10] and therefore considers Woodstock to be a "public school" because the state of Connecticut oversees the school.[11] In 2006 Shane, Navratil, and Co., a financial auditor, described the school as private.[12] Woodstock Academy is also independently funded by student tuition and a growing endowment. Woodstock is a member of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education[13] and the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools.[14] The New England Association of Schools & Colleges, Incorporated accredits The Woodstock Academy as an "independent school".[15] [16]

A 1997 Hartford Courant article described the school as "a quasi- private, independent school",[17] and another called it a "private school".[18] A 1990 Worcester Telegram & Gazette article described the school as "a privately endowed secondary school incorporated by the state to act as the town's public high".[19] The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) categorizes Woodstock as public.[20]

The school serves the towns of Woodstock, Eastford, Pomfret, Canterbury, Union, and Brooklyn. As of 1980 it is the only secondary school that serves the town of Woodstock. In 1980 the Associated Press stated that the school serves the three towns in a manner that a public high school would. The school is funded by student tuition, whether the tuition is paid by sending towns or individual families. In 1980 the Associated Press said that The Academy is "incorporated like a private school but functions like a public school."[4] A board of thirty individuals from the region operates the school.[17] The Connecticut Supreme Court in 1980 supported a decision from a lower court that the school has an obligation to release records to the public due to its function as a public school.[4]

Facilities

Woodstock Academy has boarding facilities. The historic Woodstock Academy Classroom Building was constructed in 1873 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  1. Woodstock Academy – North Campus, 57 Academy Road, Woodstock, CT 06281
  2. Woodstock Academy – South Campus, 150 Route 169, Woodstock, CT 06281
  3. Woodstock Academy – Bentley Athletic Complex, 423 Route 169, Woodstock, CT 06281

It was announced in October 2016 that Woodstock Academy would purchase the nearby 127acres Hyde School campus for $15 million.[21] The funds were loaned from the federal government,[22] with the loan from the Rural Development Program of the United States Department of Agriculture.[23] Acquisition of the site, originally the campus of Annhurst College,[24] was completed in 2017.[25] [26]

The school established a bus system between the two campuses and lengthened periods between classes. The South Campus is 2.2miles from the North Campus.[21] The purchase gave the school the three dormitories: it had plans to increase the number of dormitory students in a gradual manner based upon whether the numbers of zoned students decrease.[27]

Demographics

In 2017 its enrollment was 1,050, with 94 of them categorized as international students.[25]

Notable alumni and faculty

See also

Other Connecticut private academies acting as public high schools:

Other private academies acting as public high schools:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Woodstock Academy. National Center for Education Statistics. November 6, 2020.
  2. Web site: Apply to WA / Apply to WA. www.woodstockacademy.org. en. 2017-05-24.
  3. Sears, George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon, p. 2
  4. "Academy is ruled public." Associated Press at The Day. Tuesday July 22, 1980. Page 10. Retrieved from Google Books (6 of 17) on October 18, 2012.
  5. "School Designated 'Public' by Board." Hartford Courant. July 26, 1969. 15B. "The Woodstock School Committee has designated The Woodstock Academy as the town's secondary "public" school, pending, approval by the Connecticut Board of Education." Available on ProQuest.
  6. "Private school told to make records public." The Day. May 16, 1977. Page 12. Retrieved from Google Books (31 of 44) on October 18, 2012.
  7. "GLORY OF LATIN MAY FADE AWAY \ ET TU, WOODSTOCK ACADEMY?" Worcester Telegram & Gazette. October 14, 1990. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
  8. Allard, Marc. "Woodstock names new athletic director." The Bulletin. October 16, 2012. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
  9. "2006 Strategic Plan," The Woodstock Academy. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  10. "Non-public schools." Connecticut State Department of Education. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  11. "Woodstock Academy." Connecticut State Department of Education. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20070928024959/http://www.woodstockacademy.org/WAaudit2006.pdf Letter to the board of trustees of Woodstock Academy from Shane, Navratil, and Co.
  13. "Is my District a Member of CABE?." Connecticut Association of Boards of Education. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  14. "All School List," Connecticut Association of Independent Schools
  15. "Connecticut Independent Schools," The New England Association of Schools & Colleges, Incorporated. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  16. "Public Secondary Schools Connecticut." The New England Association of Schools & Colleges, Incorporated. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  17. "WOODSTOCK ACADEMY GRADUATES 168 WOODSTOCK NEWS NOTES." Hartford Courant. June 23, 1997. Retrieved on October 18, 2012. Clipping from Newspapers.com. "Woodstock Academy is a quasi- private, independent school run by a governing board of 30 members from throughout the region. The students who attend live[...]"
  18. Uhlinger, Dan. "PRIVATE-SCHOOL STUDENT ACCUSED OF THREATENING ON BUS." Hartford Courant. June 4, 1998. Town News B5. Clipping from Newspapers.com
  19. "ACADEMY IN WOODSTOCK TURNS UP 'BIG SURPLUS'." Worcester Telegram & Gazette. September 14, 1990. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
  20. Web site: Woodstock Academy. National Center for Education Statistics. 2021-05-19.
  21. Web site: Woodstock Academy purchases Hyde School campus. Worcester Telegram. 2016-10-16. 2021-05-20.
  22. News: Woodstock Academy Plans To Purchase Hyde School With Federal Loan. Megan. Kathleen. courant.com. 2018-02-16. en-US.
  23. Web site: Lee. Brian. Woodstock Academy gets financing to buy Hyde School campus. Worcester Telegram. 2017-01-16. 2021-05-19.
  24. News: Daughters Of The Holy Spirit Celebrates 100 Years . Denise . Coffey . . . A3 . November 16, 2017 . September 12, 2018 . newspapers.com.
  25. News: Woodstock Academy Plans For Expansion . Denise . Coffey . . . A5 . June 8, 2017 . September 12, 2018 . newspapers.com.
  26. Web site: Kefalas. Francesca. Hyde School purchase a done deal. Norwich Bulletin. 2017-06-17. 2021-05-20.
  27. Web site: Coffey. Denise. Woodstock Academy Plans Expansion With Purchase Of Hyde School. Hartford Courant. 2017-06-06. 2021-05-20.
  28. Web site: Papers of Henry Chandler Bowen (1813-1896) . . Historic New England . 7 November 2021.
  29. Book: Anderson . Joseph . Ward . Anna Lydia . The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut . Price and Lee Company . The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut . v. 2 . 1896 . 7 November 2021 . 306.
  30. Web site: Ernest Haskell . . February 2015 . Search the Collections . Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco . 7 November 2021.
  31. Spencer . Ivor D. . April 1941 . William L. Marcy: "An Educated Northern Democrat" . New York History . 22 . 2 . 180–190 . 23134665 . 7 November 2021.
  32. News: Ughanze . Toby . 8 October 2021 . 4 things to know about basketball's big man Tre Mitchell . The Daily Texan . Austin, Texas . 7 November 2021.
  33. Web site: Patterson, James Willis 1823–1893 . . History, Art & Archives . U.S. House of Representatives . 7 November 2021.
  34. Web site: Stoddard, Ebenezer 1785–1847 . . History, Art & Archives . U.S. House of Representatives . 7 November 2021.
  35. Web site: Theodore Barrows Stowell, Bryant President from 1878-1916 . . Bryant Digital Repository . Bryant University . 7 November 2021.
  36. Book: Hunt, R.D. . Colonels in Blue--Missouri and the Western States and Territories: A Civil War Biographical Dictionary . McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers . 2019 . 978-1-4766-3685-6 . 7 November 2021 . 202.
  37. Book: Bateman, Newton . Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois . Munsell Publishing Company . Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Carroll County . v. 2 . 1913 . 7 November 2021 . 1074.

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