Newark Academy
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| Motto | Ad Lumen (toward enlightenment) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1774 |
| Type | Private Coeducational |
| Principal | Tom Ashburn (Middle School) Dr. Richard DiBianca (Upper School) |
| Dean | Pegeen Galvin |
| Founder | Alexander Macwhorter |
| Head of School | Donald Austin |
| Students | 548 |
| Grades | 6-12 |
| Location | 91 South Orange Avenue, Livingston, New Jersey, USA (formerly located in Newark, New Jersey) |
| Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools New Jersey Association of Independent Schools |
| Campus | 68 acres |
| Colors | red and black |
| Mascot | Minuteman |
| Yearbook | 'Polymnian' |
| Newspaper | 'The Minuteman' |
| Average class size | 13 |
| Athletics | 15 sports |
| Website | http://www.newarka.edu |
Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, New Jersey (USA). With both lower and upper schools, this institution comprises grades six through twelve.
Newark Academy is the second oldest day school in the state of New Jersey, and is one of a few pre-Revolutionary schools still operating in the United States. The Academy was founded in 1774 by Alexander MacWhorter, a leading cleric and advisor to George Washington, and was located on Market Street in Downtown Newark. Temporarily closed after being burned by the British during the Revolutionary War, the school reopened in new quarters in 1792. In 1802, the Academy opened a separate division for girls, but the innovative program was closed in 1859. After 1929, it moved to Orange Avenue in the Roseville section. Finally, in 1964, the Academy moved from Newark to its current location, a 68 acre (275,000 m²) campus in Livingston, and became fully co-educational in 1971.
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[edit] Mission and general information
The school's mission statement is as follows:
Newark Academy will contribute to society thoughtful and compassionate citizens who embrace their responsibilities as ethical, intellectual and civic stewards in the global environment. The school's motto is ad lumen ("towards the light").
Newark Academy students congregate at 8:10 every morning in the auditorium for "Morning Meeting", which, depending on the day of the week, includes either the entire school, or is separated, with the Middle School meeting in the choral room.
Students can engage in activities including the school publications, clubs, and student council. Upper School students are required to complete at least ten hours of community service each year, with recognition awarded to students who complete more than 75 hours of service. Every graduating senior must complete a "Senior Project", which is an 80-hour mini-internship that each student designs and researches.
Each year in the early fall, Newark has a week-long spirit competition between the Middle School, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. During this week, the students dress up and participate in several recreational activities. It serves to develop camaraderie among the grades and the new students.
Newark Academy launched a new website on August 22, 2006, featuring a new promotional video.
[edit] Campus
The main building is home to a 550-seat auditorium, five science laboratories, 40 classrooms, a language laboratory, a computer facility and a 350-seat dining room. The Hawkes Memorial Library, opened in 1974, houses a 23,000 volume collection, as well as a periodical and microfilm collection. The Elizabeth B. McGraw arts center, which opened in 1992, contains three studio art classrooms (sculpture, drawing, and painting), a band room, choral room, dance studio, and a "black box" theater. The Morris Interactive Learning Center, opened in 1995, houses 18 iMac computers, a Smartboard and projector, as well as scanners and printers for student and faculty use. The most recent addition is the William E. and Carol G. Simon Family Field House, which opened in 2001. This new facility houses a gym with basketball courts and an indoor track, a pool with timing equipment, and a fitness center. In the spaces formerly occupied by the pool and basketball courts, there are now wrestling and fencing gyms.
Among Newark Academy's outdoor facilities are courtyards with seating areas, two baseball diamonds, a softball field, an all-weather track, a field hockey area, two lacrosse and soccer fields, two football fields, one basketball half court, a cross country course, and 10 tennis courts.
Newark Academy is bordered by woods along the Passaic River. In September 2002, the school marked the opening of The Carol J. Heaney Nature Trail, a 2.5-mile system of hiking trails and outdoor classrooms.
[edit] Faculty and administration
The faculty has an average of 19 years teaching experience and more than 85 percent of the 92 teachers and administrators have advanced degrees.
In late 2006, the Board of Trustees elected Donald M. Austin, formerly the Resident Director of School Year Abroad in Rennes, France, as the next Head of School. He assumed the position from July 1, 2007. The Upper School is headed by Dr. Richard DiBianca, who also coaches the Men's Middle School Tennis Team. The Head of the Middle School is Tom Ashburn. The title of Dean of Students is held by Pegeen Galvin, who therefore is also responsible for the administration of discipline on the students. The Dean of Faculty is Frederick Von Rollenhagen. While holding no official title in this respect (he was once Dean of Faculty, however), the unofficial school historian is Blackwood Parlin. Parlin is currently a humanities and photography teacher and is also the last faculty member from the Newark era, having joined the school in 1959.
[edit] Student Body
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This does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
As of the 2006-2007 school year, Newark Academy has 548 students from 80 communities in grades 6-12. There are 416 students in the upper school and 142 students in middle school. Ethnic minority students comprise 25 percent of the student population and 4 percent of the total population are international students from France, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
International statistics:
- 6 percent of students have dual citizenship.
- 15 percent have spent time living in other countries.
- 16 percent are fluent in a foreign language.
- 19 percent speak a foreign language at home.
- 29 percent have parents who were raised in another country.
- 93 percent have traveled outside the U.S.
[edit] Advanced Curricula
Newark Academy is the only independent school in New Jersey that offers both the Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate Diploma (I.B.) programs.[citation needed]
[edit] Advanced Placement
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) offers high school students the opportunity to do college-level work. Successful achievement on the culminating exams may result in credit or advanced placement upon matriculation to college. Newark Academy offers coursework leading to 21 AP exams in all five academic disciplines. Each year, about 450 AP exams are taken by the modestly-sized upper school student body.
[edit] International Baccalaureate
In 1991, Newark Academy became the first school in New Jersey to grant the International Baccalaureate diploma, recognized worldwide as the standard of achievement for excellence.[1] The I.B. diploma is awarded following successful completion of a rigorous, comprehensive, two-year curriculum. There are 28 members of the Class of 2007 who are pursuing the full I.B. diploma, and approximately 75% of the students in the Class of 2007 are enrolled in I.B. courses.
[edit] Athletics
The Newark Academy Minutemen compete in the Colonial Hills Conference which is comprised of eighteen public and parochial high schools covering Essex County, Morris County and Somerset County in west central New Jersey, under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Newark Academy competes in the Non-public Parochial B group in the North division of the Colonial Hills Conference. Along with strong match ups with these schools Newark Academy competes with powerhouse rivals Montclair Kimberly Academy and Pingry School.
Newark offers a total of 15 sports programs over the course of the school year.
- Fall sports: men's and women's soccer, field hockey, women's tennis, football, women's volleyball and men's and women's cross country.
- Winter sports: men's and women's fencing, men's and women's swimming, wrestling, men's and women's basketball
- Spring sports: men's tennis, golf, baseball, softball, men's and women's lacrosse, and track.
Middle School students are required to participate in at least one sport each season, although interscholastic competition is not compulsory. Newark Academy's Men's and Women's Tennis programs, coached by William "Arky" Crook, The Star-Ledger Coach of the Decade for the 1990s, have enjoyed success at the state level for years, and are considered the finest in the state. The men's tennis team's 2007 NJSIAA Non-Public, North B state sectional championship marked the program's twenty-third consecutive state title.
The 2006 boys tennis team won the 2006 Group B State Championship with a 5-0 win over Sacred Heart High School.[2]
The 2007 boys tennis team and Baseball team won the NJSIAA Non-Public, North B state sectional championship with wins in the finals against Montclair Kimberley Academy in both tournaments.[3][4]
The 2007 boys soccer team won the North B state sectional championship with a 2-1 win over Gill St. Bernard's School in the tournament final.[5] The team moved on to win the Group B State Championship with a 1-0 win over Holy Cross High School.[6]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jameel Williams - Producer and actor on an upcoming independent film Jameel.[citation needed]
- Adam Chase - Writer/TV Producer of Friends.[citation needed]
- Samuel S. Coursen (1926-1950), Class of 1945. U.S. Military Academy graduate class of 1949 and posthumous recipient of Medal of Honor during the Korean War.[7]
- Pamela Dennis - Noted fashion designer and celebrity couturier.[citation needed]
- Dr. Jason Diamond - Dr. 90210
- Justin Gimelstob (1977-), ATP professional tennis player.[8]
- Alan B. Handler (1931-), New Jersey Supreme Court Justice from 1977 until 1999.[9]
- Chris Jacobs (1970-), swimming medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[10]
- Ernest Lester Jones (1876-1929), head of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1914 until his death.[11]
- Stacey Kent (1968-), jazz singer.[12]
- James Parker (1854-1934), Major General in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his role in the Philippine-American War during 1899.
- William E. Simon (1927-2000), 63rd Secretary of the Treasury under Richard Nixon.[13]
- Gus Stager (c. 1927-), coach of 1960 U.S. Olympic swim team; swimming coach at University of Michigan for 25 years.[14]
- Richard Thaler (1945-), economist specializing in behavioral finance
[edit] References
- ^ Newark Academy, International Baccalaureate Organization. Accessed July 22, 2007.
- ^ 2006 Boys Team Tennis - Non-Public Group Finals, NJSIAA. Accessed July 17, 2007.
- ^ 2007 Boys Tennis - Non-Public, North B, NJSIAA. Accessed June 8, 2007.
- ^ 2007 Baseball - North B, NJSIAA. Accessed July 22, 2007.
- ^ 2007 Boys Soccer - North B, NJSIAA. Accessed November 14, 2007.
- ^ 2007 Boys Soccer - Non-Public Finals, NJSIAA. Accessed November 14, 2007.
- ^ "Newark Academy to Honor Dead", The New York Times, September 13, 1951.
- ^ Seeges, Sandy. "Last Open for Gimelstob: New Vernon tennis player has tough match in Roddick", Daily Record (Morristown), August 28, 2007. Accessed September 3, 2007. "The 30-year-old Gimelstob, a graduate of Newark Academy, has known for a while that his career was coming to an end."
- ^ "Justice Alan B. Handler To Retire From the Supreme Court", New Jersey Judiciary, June 4, 1999. Accessed April 27, 2008.
- ^ Litsky, Frank. " THE SEOUL OLYMPICS; Swimmer Outraces His Past", The New York Times, September 18, 1988. Accessed April 11, 2008. "At the age of 12, Chris Jacobs of Livingston, N.J., tried cocaine for the first time.... When the lost child survived junior high school, his parents enrolled him at Newark Academy, a private day school."
- ^ Colonel E. Lester Jones, NOAA. Accessed December 20, 2007. "He received his educational training at the High School in Orange, New Jersey and at Newark Academy."
- ^ Kaiser, Robert G. "Stacey Kent: A Name, And a Voice, That Lingers", The Washington Post, April 18, 2004.
- ^ History of the Treasury: William E. Simon, accessed November 29, 2006.
- ^ GUS STAGER (USA), International Swimming Hall of Fame. Accessed February 19, 2008.
