Chestnut Hill Academy

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Chestnut Hill Academy
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Information
Religion None
Headmaster Francis P. Steel, Jr. '77
Enrollment

577
Faculty 77
Average class size ~55
Student:teacher ratio 7:1
Average SAT scores 600
Type Private
Campus Urban/Suburban
Athletics Inter-Academic League
Mascot Blue Devils
Color(s) Light Blue and Dark Blue
Established 1861
Homepage [1]

Chestnut Hill Academy, commonly referred to as CHA, is a Pre-K to 12 all-male independent college preparatory school located in northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Contents

[edit] History

The school's current home on 500 West Willow Grove Avenue was formerly known as the Wissahickon Inn. Built by Henry H. Houston (1820–1895), the Inn opened for business in 1884. Across the street, Houston also built the Philadelphia Cricket Club, and additional land across the street originally played host to the Devon Horse Show (when it was known as the Philadelphia Horse Show). These became popular attractions for those in the Philadelphia area and brought much business to the Inn.

Wissahickon Inn
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location: 500 W. Willow Grove Ave.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built/Founded: 1880
Architect: Hewitt,George W.; Hewitt,William D.
Architectural style(s): Queen Anne
Added to NRHP: December 06, 1979
NRHP Reference#: 79002333[1]
Governing body: Private

In 1897, the Inn's business began to decline when the Philadelphia Horse Show relocated, and improved transportation caused guests to seek more distant travel spots. In 1898, Chestnut Hill Academy moved to the Wissahickon Inn from its previous residence on 8030 Germantown Avenue. The school and the Inn functioned simultaneously, the school making use of the inn's facilities during its off season, and the Inn doing business when students had gone home for the summer. The Wissahickon Inn closed in 1901, and Chestnut Hill Academy took permanent possession of the property.

The Wissahickon Inn is listed on National Register of Historic Places, and the school retains many of the Inn's original structures today.[2]

[edit] Academics

As quoted by the school's official website:

"Chestnut Hill Academy is a Pre-K to 12 college preparatory boys’ school. We believe in a traditional liberal arts and broad-based academic curriculum where each boy is exposed to a wide variety of disciplines, programs, activities and opportunities. We balance this approach with an understanding of what is best for boys, fully integrated and complimentary technology, and knowledge of the latest research in current teaching methods. CHA is proud to provide a developmentally appropriate and academically challenging program across the divisions."[3]

[edit] Athletics

Chestnut Hill Academy's athletic teams play in the Inter-Academic League (Inter-ac) which, since its inception in 1887, remains the nation's oldest interscholastic athletic conference.

While the nickname for all CHA teams has been the Hillers since before 1900, a more popular choice, the "Blue Devils", has been the school's de facto mascot since the 1960s.

Chestnut Hill emerged as one of the most vaunted soccer programs in Pennsylvania under celebrated coach Jim Talbot during the late 1980s, winning eight consecutive Inter-Ac championships between 1987 and 1994.

The Blue Devils would go another five seasons before their next Inter-Ac title, winning consecutive league crowns in 1999 and 2000 under Bob DiBenedetto. Among the star players on these teams were Dan Gargan '01 (Georgetown/Colorado Rapids) and Jeff Larentowicz '01 (Brown/New England Revolution).

In addition to success in soccer, the school has reeled off several MASA and Inter-Ac squash titles within the last 5 years. In the last 5 years, the squash program has been the most successful athletic program at CHA.

Also, the CHA Crew teams has gained a reputation for excellence sending several boats to Nationals, and with several collegiate and Olympic level rowers hailing from CHA, such as J. Adam Holland. Despite its small size, the team is ranked highly, with 12 of 13 boats making it to the finals in the 2006 Philadelphia City Championship.'

Robotics has also been one of the most successfully teams, in 2004 capturing the title of second in the world.

[edit] The Arts

CHA is well-known for its visual and performing arts programs.

The Upper School division's performing arts groups is known as The Players, and works in coordination with Springside School, the all-female sister school located down the street. The Players put on two productions a school year, which are generally met with rave reviews (by the actors themselves). There is a Middle School drama program for grades 7–8, also working with Springside, which has two productions during the winter time when The Players are not in season.

The main performance space at CHA is the Albert B. Conkey Center for the Performing Arts, well-known to the CHA community as "the Rec." The facility previously served as a stable for the Wissahickon Inn.

Students are encouraged to train in music and singing throughout their school careers. Boys in grades 3–8 may participate in the CHA Boychoir, which performs a concert in the winter season and a musical production in the spring. CHA has a primarily 9th grade sing group called the Bluetones, which is a step down from the Hilltones. CHA also has its own men's a cappella singing group, exclusive to students in grades 10–12 who pass an audition. Called the "Hilltones," the group is often featured performing at major school events and functions, as well as in concert and on tour outside of school. The Hilltones also frequently perform with Springside School's a cappella group, called "Laurelei." Together, the Hilltones and Laurelei form a coed SATB ensemble known as the Chamber Singers.

[edit] Miscellaneous

CHA has just initiated a massive campaign with the hopes of completing a brand new fully functional fieldhouse by 2009/2010, and a brand new science facility by 2008/2009.

The school was one of the filming locations for the motion picture Stealing Home. The film's director Steven Kampmann is a graduate of CHA, and the film featured then-student Thacher Goodwin as the young version of Mark Harmon's character.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

Philadelphia Portal
  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  2. ^ Chestnut Hill Academy
  3. ^ Chestnut Hill Academy

[edit] External links

v • d • e
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Park Service logo