Baylor School
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| Baylor School | |
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| Amat Victoria Curam (Victory Loves Care) | |
| Established | 1893 |
| School type | Suburban, Private school |
| Headmaster | Dr. Bill Stacy |
| Location | Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA |
| Campus | 670 acres |
| Enrollment | 1061 Total (6-12) 205 Boarding (9-12) 856 Day (6-12) |
| Faculty | 133 teachers |
| Average class size | 14 students |
| Student:teacher ratio |
8:1 |
| Average SAT scores (2004) |
1290 (v/m) |
| Athletics | 18 Interscholastic Sports Teams |
| Color(s) | Red and Grey |
| Mascot | Tiger |
| Conference | TSSAA |
| Homepage | www.baylorschool.org |
| CEEB Code | 430275 |
Baylor School is a co-educational private secondary school on the outskirts of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Set on the banks of the Tennessee River, it is one of the largest day and boarding secondary schools in the country. The headmaster is Dr. Bill Stacy, former Chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The school maintains a rivalry with McCallie School. A boys-only school for most of its history, Baylor has had close ties with the cross-town Girls Preparatory School, which became closely associated with rival McCallie after Baylor admitted girls in 1985 and is now itself often considered a rival. Baylor is also considered one of the best schools in the South.
Baylor has an endowment of $70 million, a large number for any prep school. Baylor's yearly tuition is $16,136 for day students and $31,416 for boarding students.[citation needed]
Baylor sends a couple of graduates each year to Ivy League schools, but many more students to Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke University, the University of Virginia, Emory University, College of William and Mary, and Washington University in St. Louis.
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[edit] History
Baylor School was founded in 1893 by John Roy Baylor. The school was originally named "Baylor University School" and did not change its name to "Baylor School" until 1925. Baylor began in a building in downtown Chattanooga, but then, in 1915, Baylor moved to its current location on the banks of the Tennessee River. Baylor became a military school in 1917 and remained so until 1971. Baylor was a boys school (with the exception of 1900-1911) until in 1985 it admitted 41 girls. (Because one of the girls dropped out, this group is commonly referred to as the Fab 40.) Today, Baylor attracts students from all over the world in grades (6-12), including boarding students in grades (9-12).
Taken from Baylor's website, for a more complete history, see Baylor's website
[edit] Headmasters
- 1893: John Roy Baylor
- 1926: Dr. Alexander Guerry
- 1929: Herbert B. Barks, Sr.
- 1964: Dr. Charles E. Hawkins, III
- 1971: Dr. Herbert B. Barks, Jr.
- 1988: L. Laird Davis, Jr.
- 1998: Jim Buckheit
- 2004: Dr. Bill Stacy
[edit] Programs
- Baylor is a member of Round Square, an international organization made up of more than fifty schools.
- Baylor students can participate in Baylor's Walkabout program, an outdoors program that takes students kayaking, rock climbing, bouldering, trekking, hiking, and caving. Walkabout also goes on an annual trip to Costa Rica for advanced kayakers and a biennial tip to India to trek.
- Baylor's community service program, which is known as "R.E.S.P.E.C.T." (Regard Every Soul Purely Embracing Compassionate Thoughts), goes to Jamaica every year to tutor children in a local orphanage and to Asheville, North Carolina twice a year to volunteer in a local soup kitchen.
- Baylor boasts more than 60 extracurricular organizations, the tenth most of any high school in the country.
[edit] Academics
- Baylor School's mission is to instill in its students both the desire and the ability to make a positive difference in the world.
- Baylor offers 22 Advanced Placement courses, the sixth most of any high school in the country.
- Baylor's core curriculum consists of Math, English, Science, History, and Language classes. Baylor offers language classes in the following languages: Spanish, French, Latin, German, and Chinese (starting fall of 2007).
- Almost 80% of Baylor's students are accepted to their first choice college. In the past students have been admitted into schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Georgetown, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Stanford, Cornell, Johns Hopkins University and many more.
- The class of '05 earned over 6.5 million dollars in merit scholarships.
- Almost 80% of Baylor's senior class took at least one AP class; Almost 60% of Baylor's juniors took at least one AP class; and almost 10% of Baylor's sophomore class took at least one AP class.
[edit] College matriculation
According to Baylor's college counseling office, here is Baylor's matriculation data relating to top colleges and universities since 2001:[citation needed]
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[edit] Campus
Baylor's 670 acre campus is located on the banks of the Tennessee River with red brick buildings scattered around the campus, some almost 100 years old. The campus is considered to be one of the finest in the nation, and it was considered as the site for the movie Dead Poets Society. Some of the buildings and facilities include the following:
[edit] Academic facilities
- Katherine and Harrison Weeks Science Building, Baylor's state-of-the-art science building, houses biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, forensic science, human physiology, environmental science, genetics, and lower-school science classes. Baylor's main computer lab, "the bullpen," is located in the bottom floor of Weeks. This computer lab is open to the public but also holds Baylor's computer science and computer applications classes in private computer classrooms.
- Barks Hall is one of Baylor's oldest buildings. It is the home to Baylor's lower school; however, the top two floors of Barks belong to Hedges Library, Baylor's school library which is the largest high school library in the country[citation needed].
- Academic Hall is the home of Baylor's sixth grade. The bottom floor of academic hosts Baylor's Spanish classes and at least one French class. Academic used to be home for Baylor's lower-school, but in 2001, Baylor accepted its first sixth grade class, and ever since then, Acadmeic Hall has been known as "the sixth grade building". The bottom floor of Academic is home to Baylor's second largest computer lab.
- Trustee Hall is one of Baylor's oldest buildings. It was formerly a girls dorm, but now the top two floors are offices, and the bottom floor has English, Math, and German classes. Baylor's Writing Center is also located at the bottom of Trustee.
- Baylor's Chapel actually has several floors located below the main chapel. These are Baylor's main locations for Math classes, but The Chapel is also home to Baylor's Board of Trustees' meeting room. The main chapel, located on the top two and three floors of the building, is also where weekly assembly and chapel services are held. The Alumni Chapel, which was the old chapel, is half of the top floor, and it is home to Baylor's upper-school study hall.
[edit] Student life facilities
- The Frierson Student Center is a place for students to spend their free time. Student have the choice of playing tabletop shuffleboard, playing Bayloropoly, playing ping-pong, playing air hockey, playing foosball, getting a kickball to play four square, watching TV, eating in "The Grill," renting movies, using the computers to surf the internet or check their e-mail, or just hanging out with friends on one of the many clusters of couches.
- The Guerry Dining Hall is where Baylor's students and faculty eat. Baylor's dining hall offers a wide variety of choices with a salad bar, a pizza bar, a sandwich bar, a soup bar, a dessert tray, a cereal table, and three main course lines.
[edit] Art facilities
- Ireland Fine Arts Center is Baylor's fine arts building. Ireland hosts Baylor's pottery, drawing, painting, print making, and lower-school art classes. Ireland overlooks the Tennessee River.
- Roddy Performing Arts Center is home to Baylor's performing arts. Dance, drama, photography, and film classes are located in Roddy. Roddy has its own black box theater that holds over 200 people, dance studio, and dark room.
- Baylor's Music Building is a music studio with acoustically engineered rehearsal rooms, private practice rooms, a piano room, and a music library for Baylor's instrumental and vocal programs. The Music Building hosts Baylor's choir, band, orchestra, and lower-school music classes.
[edit] Residential facilities
- Lowrance Dorm is one of Baylor's three girls dorms. Lowrance overlooks the Tennessee River, and is home to students of all grades. Lowrance is also where Baylor's infirmary is located.
- Hunter Hall is home to Baylor's admission and administrative staff. Hunter is located at the center of campus and is also a girls dormitory. There are only two classrooms in Hunter.
- Probasco Hall is one of two of Baylor's boy dorms. Probo, as it is commonly referred to, is Baylor's oldest building and has only recently been somewhat renovated (a paint job and new furniture in the TV lounge); it has been transformed from a white trashy heap, to a prestigious, uncomfortable, hotel lobby. The basement of Probo is home to Latin, English, and History classes.
- Riverfront Dorm is Baylor's newest building. It is a girls dorm that overlooks the Tennessee River. Riverfront is Baylor's only dorm that is fully residential (i.e. no classrooms or offices).
- Lupton II, III, and Lupton Annex are the home to Baylor boys from all grades. Lupton also overlooks the Tennessee River. Latin, French, English, Math and History classes are also held in the bottom two floors of Lupton. Lupton Annex and Lupton are connected at the third and fourth floors.
[edit] Athletic facilities
- The Field House is Baylor's main home for athletics. It has three basketball courts made of a multi-vercitile surface, a cardio-weight room, several men's and women's locker rooms, several coaches' offices, the training room, Duke Arena (Baylor's main basketball court), and the meeting room for Baylor's Honor Council. The newest addition to the Field House is Baylor's new Aquatic Center, which is without question one of the finest in the nation.
- The Parry Center is home to Baylor's Walkabout program. Walkabout keeps their supplies and clothing in the Parry Center. There is also an indoor climbing gym located directly behind the Parry Center.
- Baylor's Alexander Guerry Tennis Center is Baylor's state-of-the-art tennis center. It boasts 12 outdoor courts and 7 indoor courts.
- Heywood Stadium is home to Baylor's football team in the fall, and Baylor's track and field team in the spring.
- Baylor also has its own Short Game Center where Baylor's six-time state championship golf team can practice.
- The Lower Fields are home to Baylor's varsity and junior varsity baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Baylor's cross country loop is also located at the Lower Fields.
- The Luke Worsham Memorial Wrestling Arena is Baylor's new wrestling arena. It was built in the structure of Baylor's former swimming pool, but is now a state-of-the-art wrestling arena.
[edit] Sports/Athletics
Baylor was recently named the leading high school sports program in Tennessee and in the top 25 nationwide by Sports Illustrated. Baylor's mascot is a tiger, and its colors are red and grey. Baylor competes in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) and its varsity sports are:
[edit] The Honor Council
Baylor students must abide by the rules of Baylor's honor council. Baylor School's honor council is based on the honor code at the University of Virginia. When students enter the school, they sign a pledge: "the Honor System is an understanding among Baylor student that they do not want among them one who will lie, cheat, or falsify information. I understand this principle, and I recognize that I shall be expected to live in accordance with it." After entry to Baylor, before every test, Baylor students sign their name, pledging "I hereby pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on this test." Students who are charged with violating the honor code must stand trial with the Honor Council, consisting of two freshman, three sophomores, four juniors, and five seniors. Punishments for violation of the honor code range from a warning to expulsion.
[edit] Notable alumni and faculty
[edit] Alumni
- David M. Abshire, 1944, former ambassador to NATO, former director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and adviser to president Ronald Reagan.
- Robert Cooper, 1975, Tennessee Attorney General.
- Bill Dedman, 1978, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner.
- William Duff, 1945, author, FBI counterintelligence specialist.
- Arthur Golden, 1974, author, Memoirs of a Geisha.
- John Hannah, 1969, NFL football player for the Patriots, Hall-of-Famer.
- Tom Jolly, 1973, sports editor, The New York Times.
- Jon Kinsey, 1972, former mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- David Lowance, 1958, kidney transplant specialist, Emory University.
- Sandlin Mattice, Jr., 1972, judge, U.S. District Court.
- Alan Murray, 1973, assistant managing editor and columnist, The Wall Street Journal.
- Blaire Pancake, 2001, Miss Tennessee 2006.
- Wendell Rawls, Jr., 1960, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner.
- Roscoe Tanner, 1969, professional tennis player, Australian Open winner, Wimbledon runner-up.
- Morris Weinberg, Jr., 1968, former federal prosecutor, defense attorney.
[edit] Faculty
- Bill Curry, ESPN commentator, former NFL player and coach, winner of the NCAA's Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year.
- Dr. Dan Kennedy, Cartter Lupton distinguished professor of mathematics, only high school teacher to chair the AP Calculus test development committee.
[edit] Traditions
As an outgrowth of the Baylor-McCallie rivalry, each year, during the school week prior to the football game, the school engages in Spirit Week, during which time students may forgo wearing the uniform to wear themed costumes. The most commonly recurring of these themes is "Red Day," in celebration of the school's color, in which the theme is to dress in as much red as is humanly possible. Prizes are awarded to whichever student is deemed by the school to be wearing the most red.
Every year Baylor's Habitat for Humanity chapter hosts a festival known as "Habifest" to help raise money for the house Baylor builds every other year. It consists of many different activities including "dunk the teacher," a moonwalk, and several activities related to construction.
[edit] Other Information
Perched in the quad overlooking the campus is a statue of the mythological character Icarus, placed in memory of a student, Johnson Bryant, who died in a car wreck while a student at Baylor. The statue stands as a reminder to students to always find balance to avoid a similar fate.
[edit] External links
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Educational institutions established in 1893 | High schools in Tennessee | Private schools in Tennessee | Round Square schools | Preparatory schools in Tennessee | Boarding schools in Tennessee
