Hackley School

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Hackley School
Motto Come here to be and find a friend.
Established 1899
Type Private, preparatory school
Founder Mrs. Caleb Brewster (Francis) Hackley
Students Upper School: 375
Middle School: 230
Grades K-12
Location Tarrytown, New York, United States
Colors Black and Grey
Mascot Hornets
Yearbook The Hilltop
Newspaper The Dial
Website http://www.hackleyschool.org/

Hackley School is a private college preparatory school located in Tarrytown, New York and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Founded in 1899 by wealthy philanthropist Mrs. Caleb Brewster, Hackley was intended to be a Unitarian alternative to the mostly Episcopal boarding schools throughout the Northeast. Since its founding, Hackley has dropped its sectarian affiliations and changed from all-boys to coed.[1] Hackley is divided into three schools on the same campus: The Lower School, The Middle School, and The Upper School.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Founding

During the 1890s, the American Unitarian leadership in Boston became increasingly concerned about the lack of Unitarian presence in secondary and college preparatory education. Unitarians controlled Harvard University, its president, Charles Eliot, was the leading lay-person in the Unitarian movement, and the faculty included numerous Unitarians.[citation needed] This situation may have made them complacent regarding secondary schools, but in time, it became clear that Unitarians would have to send their children to schools run by other Protestant sects if they wanted quality college preparatory education.

Mrs. Caleb Brewster Hackley, a wealthy widow and leading supporter of the Unitarian movement, decided to give her summer mansion in Tarrytown, New York to a charity. She resided in New York City, and was a member of the Church of the Messiah. Hackley was friends with the church's minister, who proposed using the mansion as a school for boys. In the winter of 1898-1899, she met with Dr. Samuel Eliot of Boston, who later became the President of the American Unitarian Association, and several other prominent Unitarians. Mrs. Hackley liked the idea of a college preparatory school to serve the Unitarian community and any families interested in a liberal religious environment and wanted to use her home for this purpose. She provided substantial funding to refurbish the mansion for school purposes and to operate the school for several years. In the spring of 1899, a Board of Trustees was formed and very shortly thereafter it selected its first headmaster. The first students arrived in the autumn of 1899 and resided in the Hackley home, today called Hackley Hall.

[edit] Expansion

The home and grounds quickly proved inadequate to support a preparatory school. In the fall of 1899, Theodore Chickering Williams and Mr. Seaver Buck, the first headmaster and the first master hired, respectively, searched for additional land. They found a large estate for sale on the current grounds of [Marymount College], and purchased it with funds from Mrs. Hackley. The buildings on the estate were torn down immediately, and within a short period, construction began on the buildings that would eventually join to form the Hackley quadrangle. The first buildings constructed were Goodhue Hall, now the Kaskel library, and the Minot Savage building. They were in use for the first time in 1902-1903. The remaining buildings, including the Sarah Goodhue King Chapel and the Headmaster’s house, were completed by 1908. The architectural firm of Wheelwright and Haven designed the new school buildings and Downing Vaux provided contouring and plans for the first playing field and track.

Theodore Chickering Williams helped plan the school buildings and the curriculum and style of education. He had been a Unitarian minister in New York and was recognized as an important classical scholar. From the beginning Hackley was technically a Unitarian school, although it welcomed students from all faiths. The majority of Hackley’s early graduates went to Harvard University.[citation needed] A vigorous interscholastic sports program began during the first years with football already at the center of action in 1900-1901.

Hackley Hall, Mrs. Hackley's mansion, became the lower school and was eventually sold. It no longer exists, although one can find on the Marymount campus old stone gates which provided the entrance to the Hackley home. Throughout Hackley’s history there have been eleven headmasters and three acting headmasters. Inscribed above one of Hackley's doors is the phrase "Enter Here to Be and Find a Friend."

[edit] Destruction of Goodhue Memorial Hall

On August 4, 2007, a fire, sparked by an intense lightning storm, destroyed Goodhue Memorial Hall. The Kaskel Library and its 27,000 volumes (including over 2,000 recently purchased volumes), artwork, and non-book resources (CDs, DVDs, videos, magazines) and supplies meant to stock the new Lower School Library were lost. Both side wings of Goodhue Memorial Hall were also destroyed: The Upper School technology wing (which served as the English wing until 2000) lost over one hundred computers, four rooms, and irreplaceable artworks, including a clay sculpture of Mathew Bridwell and student-created artwork. The wing that currently holds the English department lost two classrooms and the department offices. While the fire gutted the roof and interiors, the stone facade of the building remained intact; rebuilding Goodhue is estimated to cost several million dollars.

[2]

[edit] Academics

To earn a high school diploma, students in Grades 9-12 must complete 4 years of English; 3 years in a single foreign language (Hackley offers French, Spanish, Chinese, or Latin, with additional elective classes in Italian, German, Russian, and Greek); 3 years of the required history sequence that includes United States History: Colonization to 1900, and The Twentieth Century World; mathematics through Algebra II and Trigonometry; 3 years of science that must include Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (part of the [Physics First] program); 1 year of production-based or visual arts; and 1 year of Health in sophomore year. Hackley offers classes at and beyond the AP level in many of these subjects.

Additional courses and electives are offered, including Modernist Literature, Seminar in Creative Writing, History of Western Theater, Seminar in Moral Philosophy, Economics, History of Media & Culture, Art History, Calculus, Finite Mathematics, Statistics, Organic Chemistry, Marine Biology, Ecology, Etymology, Computer Science, Electronic Publishing, Studio Art, Three-Dimensional Sculpture and Design, Architecture and Design, Ceramics, Photography, Digital Painting and Design, Music Theory, Seminar in Music Listening, Acting, Seminar in (music) Composition, and Opera and Jazz, and Student Teaching (where high school students assist in lower school classes).

Physical Education is offered each semester to those not enrolled in a sport. It takes place after school and serves as a way to wind down and relax after the school day, in addition to teaching Hackley students how to live a healthy lifestyle. The Physical Education program offers varied activities in fitness, lifetime, and group sports as well as outdoor education, including Kayaking, Squash, Rock Climbing, Pilates, and Yoga.

[edit] The Music Institute

The Music Institute at Hackley School represents a partnership between professional musicians of the area, Hackley School, and the Hackley community. The Institute offers both group and one-on-one lessons in all instruments, drama, and voice – and at all levels. Lessons are taught on Hackley’s campus and can be arranged during the school day or after school – depending upon each student’s schedule.

[edit] Interscholastic Sports

Hackley School is a part of the Ivy Preparatory School League in athletics.

Fall Winter Spring
Cross Country (boys and girls) Basketball (boys and girls) Baseball
Soccer (boys and girls) Swimming (boys and girls) Golf
Field Hockey (girls) Winter Track and Field Lacrosse (boys and girls)
Football (boys) Scholastic wrestling Softball
Tennis (girls) Fencing (coed) Tennis (boys)
Squash (boys and girls) Outdoor Track and Field

[edit] Boarding Program

The Upper School’s five-day boarding program provides a combination of school and academic concentration during the week coupled with family and home life on the weekends. The program houses up to thirty co-ed students and provides the opportunity to attend boarding school while still maintaining contact with one’s family.

The small community of boarding students enjoys separate, single sex wings that share common lounges and study halls. Students are directly advised by six faculty members who live on the boarding corridor, and they enjoy close relationships with all the campus’ residential faculty.

While only a small portion of the student population takes part in the five-day boarding program, this element of the school life shapes the entire community, creating a true residential culture that extends from evening library hours to breakfast and dinner on campus. The boarding atmosphere benefits boarding and day students alike through the relationships it forges between students and faculty, and the sense of “home” and community it offers to all.

Boarding students are encouraged to participate in many extracurricular activities. Those interested in athletics participate in a full sports program that includes sixty-two teams, numerous playing fields, six tennis courts, four squash courts, a fitness center, an indoor swimming pool, a new football and track & field facility, and a new 3.2 mile cross country trail. Boarding also makes it easy for students to participate in evening activities at Hackley, including drama rehearsals, music performances, Community Council, and community service programs.

[edit] Alma Mater

The Hackley alma mater is sung each year by the entire school at the convocation that opens the school year.

Hail Alma Mater, sing we now thy praise and glory.
Hail to the spirit that will bless the free.
High on the hilltop where the seasons tell their story
Stand while the river floods and fills the sea.
Teach us to honor all thy paths of beauty.
Lead us forever in faith and in duty.
Sing we, Hail Alma Mater, may our voices ring forever,
Hackley, in honor of thee.

[edit] Administration

  • Headmaster: Walter C. Johnson
  • Upper School Director: Andrew King
  • Middle School Director: Alona T. Scott
  • Lower School Director: Ronald A. DelMoro

[edit] Alumni

Noted alumni include:

[edit] Faculty

Noted former faculty include:

[edit] Hackley in Media

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Ivy Preparatory School League