Private school in Concord, Massachusetts, United States
Concord Academy (also known as CA), established in 1922, is a coeducational, independent college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9-12. The school is situated in Concord, Massachusetts. The school enrolled 395 boarding and day students as of 2022.
Academics
Concord Academy follows a semester program, where most courses are term-based or year-long. The school's curriculum comprises more than 230 courses in eight academic disciplines, and a co-curricular athletics program.[2] The Mandarin program is particularly strong, started and taught by Wenjun Kuai.[3]
To foster a noncompetitive environment, the school does not compute class rank and awards no academic, arts, athletic, or community awards during the school year or at graduation.[4] The school eliminated all AP courses in the early 2000s due to the purported lack of depth in their curricula. They were replaced by advanced courses designed by teachers, though the school still offers AP exams.[5] Eighty percent of the students taking an AP exam score a 4 or 5.[6]
Demographics
The demographic breakdown of the 395 students registered for the 2013–14 school year was:[1][7][8]
- Asian – 23.3%
- Black – 2.6%
- Hispanic – 5.0%
- White – 61.7%
- Multiracial – 7.4%
Athletics
Concord Academy students play on 28 teams in 23 sports; about 75 percent of students play on at least one team each year.[citation needed] Teams compete in the Eastern Independent League (EIL).[9]
Student life
Boarding students live in three girls' houses and three boys' houses, each holding an average of 25 students.[10] A little more than a third of the day students commute to school on the MBTA Commuter Rail.[11] Day (commuting) students comprise 60% of student population and boarding students 40%.[12]
Students participate in a variety of clubs, performing arts groups, and other activities.[10] The campus is a short walk from restaurants and shops in Concord and students have easy access to Cambridge and Boston via the MBTA Commuter Rail.[13]
Campus
Concord Academy's primary campus sits on 39 acres (16 ha) between Main Street and the Sudbury River in the center of Concord, Massachusetts.[14] The campus includes eleven historic houses on Main Street, all built as family homes between 1780 and 1830. It is a three-minute walk from the center of Concord and a five-minute walk from the MBTA Commuter Rail stop in Concord.[13]
Among the campus buildings are the PAC (Performing Arts Center), the SHAC (Student Health and Athletic Center), the main school, the newly built CA Labs, and the MAC (Math and Arts Center). The Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel is a 19th-century meetinghouse that was transported to Concord from Barnstead, New Hampshire in 1956. It serves as a meeting place three times per week for the entire Concord Academy community.[15]
Th 13-acre Moriarty Athletic campus, completed in 2012, is a mile from the main campus.[16] It includes six tennis courts, a baseball field, a field hockey field, and two soccer/lacrosse fields. A field house contains changing rooms, a training room, and a common room with fireplace. These new facilities freed up space on the main campus for expansion of academic and arts facilities.[17]
History
Concord Academy was established in September 1922.[18] Enrollment grew gradually from three in 1924 to 20 in 1948.[citation needed] The school's headmistress for the first 15 years was Elsie Garland Hobson, followed by Valerie Knapp (1937–40) and Josephine Tucker (1940–49).[citation needed] Tucker imposed the advisor system and ended the giving of prizes at commencement. Under Elizabeth Hall (1949–63), student population increased.[citation needed] In 1971, Concord Academy became the first all-girls' boarding school in New England to shift to a coeducational model.[19]
Concord Academy has had eleven heads of school since its founding.[20] Notable heads of school include David Aloian, named headmaster in 1963,[21] Russell Mead, 1971-1976;[22] Thomas Wilcox, 1981-2000;[23] Jacob A. Dresden, 2000-2008;[24] and Richard Hardy, 2009-2020.[25][26] In 2018, following media reports of inappropriate conduct between a former headmaster and student, Concord Academy banned former headmaster Mead from the campus.[22] The current head of school is Henry Fairfax, who began leading Concord Academy in July 2022.[27]
Other notable dates in the school's history include the dedication of the Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel in 1984,[28] the dedication of the J. Josephine Tucker Library in 1987, and the 2004-05 expansion of the Elizabeth B. Hall Chapel in 2007.[29]
In 2007, Concord Academy purchased a 13.6 acre property a mile from the main campus for $3.7 million to expand its athletic field space.[30] Later named the Moriarty Athletic Campus, the field space was completed in 2012.[16] In 2017, the school completed a renovation of the campus science center, now known as CA Labs.[citation needed] The Concord Academy Centennial Commencement Speaker was André Robert Lee.[31]
