Norwich Free Academy

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The Norwich Free Academy
Motto Tradition & Innovation
Established 1854
Type Public (often described as Independent)
Head Superintendent Mark E. Cohan, Ph.D.
Location Norwich, Connecticut, USA
Campus 11 buildings
Enrollment About 2400
Athletics Eastern CT Conference Class LL
Colors Red & White
Homepage http://www.norwichfreeacademy.com

The Norwich Free Academy (commonly called "NFA") founded in 1854, is a high school located in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. The Academy serves as the primary high school for Norwich and the surrounding towns of Canterbury, Bozrah, Voluntown, Sprague, Lisbon, Franklin, Preston and several others. It was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2001, despite having an ERG of H, the second-lowest level of affluence that the rating provides for. The class of 2006 was the 150th graduating class.

The Norwich Free Academy is within the Norwich school district, but it operates without control from either the City of Norwich or the Norwich Public Schools, which until 2005 maintained a separate, more traditional public high school. The Academy therefore describes itself as an independent school. The Connecticut State Department of Education does not list NFA in its list of non-public schools [1] and therefore considers Norwich to be a public school because the state of Connecticut oversees the school [2]. Norwich is a member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools [3].

Contents

[edit] Academics

Students graduating from the Norwich Free Academy are required to meet the academic requirements of the school and pass the State of Connecticut Department of Education CAPT standardized test. The Academy offers Advanced Placement classes in many subjects, some of the most popular being Chemistry, Computer Science, English Language, English Literature, Physics, Calculus, Statistics, Psychology, European History, and American History. World Languages available for study include Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, Greek, and Latin. Other classes popular among students are Anatomy, Humor, Gothic Literature, Shakespeare, Public Speaking, Journalism, Video Production, Marine Biology, Clay, Metal & Jewelry, Drafting, Woodworking, Band/Orchestra, and Culinary Arts.

Norwich Free Academy students go by different grade names than the majority of U.S. High Schools. The names correspond as follows:

  • Freshmen - Junior
  • Sophomores - Lower
  • Junior - Upper
  • Senior - Senior

It should be noted that though these are Norwich Free Academy's official terms, many students opt to use the more commonly used terms, or simply use class years to avoid confusion.

[edit] Campus

NFA is located at 305 Broadway[4] across from Park Church and the Chelsea Parade (known as “The Green” by students). The Campus consists of 13 buildings including two gymnasiums. It is also home to an artificial turf field, a television studio, a museum and art gallery (one of the few schools in the country that has these), and a student-run restaurant called The Brickview Inn.

A strong point of the campus is the diversity, with over 2500 students and 32 languages spoken. The large number of minority students is often attributed to the draw to the region provided by the nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino. Student involvement on campus has many manifestations, the largest of which is Project Outreach, a community service organization. Other popular clubs on campus include the Student Advisory Board, the Geography Club, the Science/Environmental Club, The Ski Club, Playshop (the drama and theater club), the Asian Cultures Club, The Math Team, The Junior Classical League, The French Club, Russian Club, Spanish Club, GSA, SADD, Culture Club, Movie Club, The Announcer’s Club (which produces a live, daily television show each morning) and many more.

[edit] Buildings

[edit] Alumni Hall

Named in honor of numerous alumni who contributed to its construction, this is the newer gymnasium. This concrete building is where all indoor sporting events and many assemblies/dances are held.

[edit] Levanto House

This building is used for all alumni affairs, and should not be confused with Alumni Hall. It is named in honor of a former superintendent, Joseph Levanto.

[edit] Bradlaw House

Main building for most math and computer related classes. There are also Tech Ed classes in the basement, and painting and sculpture classes held on the main floor. The structure was named after a former teacher, Paul Bradlaw, progenitor of the Academy's formerly successful and renowned bookmaking program. In 2005, the Bradlaw House had a major addition put on it. (See Sidney E. Frank Center for Visual and Performing Arts).

[edit] Converse Art Gallery

The gallery and building is named in the memory of Colonel John Converse. The Converse building holds various art, English, marine biology and mathematics classes on the first floors and basement. Capped with a large pyramid skylight for a roof, the upper floor is home to the Converse Art Gallery on the third floor, showcasing quite a bit of student work as well as that of other local artists.

[edit] Cranston House

The freshmen building, formerly known as Commercial, holds very few classes for upperclassmen. Contains the cooking classroom, as well as The Brickview Inn, a student run alternative to the cafeteria located in the basement of the building. Classes include all freshmen level academics, as well as some economics classes.

[edit] The Brickview Inn

The Brickview Inn was originally opened on the third floor of the Bradlaw House before it moved its facilities. It gained the name because of the prominence of the red brick that composed the nearby Tirrell House, Slater Hall and Converse Art Gallery. Now located in the basement of the Cranston House, the Brickview is managed entirely by the student body. The Restaurant Management class uses this as their classroom, with the seniors who elect to take the course managing, shopping for, cooking and serving the food to guests. The Brickview serves gourmet and often exotic meals to students on Tuesdays and Thursdays from October to May. The restaurant has a homestyle theme, with paintings on the walls and various plants.

[edit] Latham Science and Information Center

Latham is home to many science classrooms. A number of modernized physics and chemistry labs are located in this building. There are also a few meeting rooms and offices However, Latham's most notable point is the Land Library upstairs. Spanning two floors, the library contains a comprehensive selection of books ranging from fiction to nonfiction, volumes of poetry, biographies, references, archives and mircofilm. It also has numerous computer terminals for online information.

The building is named after Nathaniel Latham, and the Library after Edwin H. Land, the inventor of the Polaroid, both alumni.

[edit] Norton-Peck Library

This former mansion served as the original school library until Latham was constructed and connected to the house. The Peck and Land Libraries are now one building. Originally, the Peck Library set aside one room in the house for a certain subject of book. After the library moved its collection to the more modern facilities of Land, the Peck Building was converted to use for office space and conference rooms. Occasionally, school clubs use the rooms as meeting spaces.

[edit] Norton Gymnasium

This is the older of the two gymnasia, under which the female locker room and weight rooms are held. A large multipurpose classroom utilized for CPR training, dance, and some PE classes are located on the second floor.

[edit] Slater Hall and Museum

Named in honor of John Fox Slater, it holds the theater, where many plays and concerts have been held. In the basement, there are various classes as well as the campus safety department. Above the theater, Slater Museum resides. This museum marks NFA as one of the few high schools in the nation with an active historical institution on campus. The museum contains a collection of plaster casts of famous Roman, Greek and Egyptian statues. The museum also contains numerous exhibits of colonial and historic artifacts, as well as a collection of representationalist paintings, smaller sculpture and ethnic art. [5]

[edit] Sidney E. Frank Center For Visual and Performing Arts

This building was completed in 2005 as an addition to the Bradlaw building. It has become the new home to the instrumental and vocal music programs, located in the Eva Virginia Smith Instrumental Music Suite. There are a few math and social studies classrooms in this building as well. A small student art gallery is located in the lobby.

[edit] Tirrell Building

Also called Main or Main Building, it holds the TV studio and cafeteria, as well as the language classrooms, health classroom, and many science classrooms. While many students believe that this and Slater are the original two buildings, neither are right, as an older, structurally unsound, building stood where Tirrell does now. Tirrell is named after former superintendent Bill Tirrell. [6]

[edit] Varsity Sport Teams at Norwich Free Academy

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] External links

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