Westtown School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Westtown School | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania, PA, USA | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Quaker |
| Head of school | John Baird |
| Enrollment |
802 total |
| Faculty | 114 |
| Average class size | 15 students |
| Type | Private |
| Campus | Suburban, 600 acres |
| Athletics | 27 Varsity Teams |
| Mascot | Moose |
| Color(s) | Brown and White |
| Established | 1799 |
| Homepage | www.westtown.edu |
Founded in 1799 by Quakers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, who still own and operate the school, Westtown School is the second oldest continuously operating co-educational boarding school in the United States.
The school enrolls children from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th Grade. The boarding program is available from 9th through 12th Grades. Students are required to board in the 11th and 12th Grades.
Contents |
[edit] History
The school began in 1799 as an educational haven for Quaker children. At the time the campus was one day's coach ride west from Philadelphia.
During the Hicksite-Orthodox schism of 1827, and the subsequent Wiburite-Gurneyite split in the 1840s within Orthodox Friends, Westtown came under control of Orthodox, then Wilburite, Friends. Rival George School was founded in 1893 to serve as a parallel boarding school for Hicksite Quakers. Separate Wilburite and Hicksite Yearly Meetings in Philadelphia reunited in 1955, and by then the schools no longer had any doctrinal differences.
[edit] Campus
The main building was designed by Philadelphia Quaker Addison Hutton in 1886. It is a sprawling structure that is longer than one tenth of a mile. The western portion of the building is called "Girls End," and the eastern section is "Boys End," each containing dormitories for respective students. Aside from dormitories, the main building contains classrooms, faculty apartments, library, offices, communal gathering areas, kitchen and dining facilities. The 9th grade and 10th grade boarding students are placed in dorm rooms a short distance away from the main building, males in a building called Stone House, and females in a building called Balderston House. Near the Main Building is Industrial Hall, which is the largest building to ever be moved by mule-power, the Arts Center, Science Building, Meeting House, gymnasium and Field House, and staff housing.
The school campus is approximately 600 acres (2.4 km²). It is located in Westtown Township, Pennsylvania, 25 miles (40 km) west of Philadelphia, just outside West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is located across Pennsylvania Route 926 from Cheyney University and near the new Bayard Rustin High School, named after the late civil rights leader. The campus also has a man-made lake situated a short distance north the Main Building. The southern portions of the campus are reserved for farming, the produce of which are returned to the school for student meals.
[edit] Facilities
- Barton-Test Theatre: a student theatre for school performances and arts facilities.
- The Mary Hutton Biddle Library: the main school library with nearly 50,000 volumes.
- Historic Quaker Meeting House
- Computer facilities: more than 230 computers with Internet access on campus available for student use, about one computer for every four students.
- On-Campus Archives containing original resources dating back 240 years.
- Newly-completed Field House and school playing fields
[edit] Notable alumni
- Charles Polk, Jr. (1788 – 1857), served twice as Governor of Delaware.
- Martha Coffin Wright (December 25, 1806 – 1875) was an American feminist, abolitionist, and signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments -- sister to Lucretia Mott.
- John Howard Pugh (1827 - 1905), Member, United States House of Representative, representing New Jersey's 2nd congressional district (1877-1879).
- Richard T. James (1914 – 1974), with his wife, invented the Slinky.
- Edwin Bell Forsythe (1916 - 1984), Member, United States House of Representatives, represting the State of New Jersey (R).
- Herb Pennock, Class of 1915, Major League Baseball player and manager, baseball Hall of Fame
- Edward Binns, character actor in the 1950's through the 1980's, appearing in "12 Angry Men," "North by Northwest," "Patton," in television episodes of "Twilight Zone," "The Rockford Files," and "M*A*S*H," among many other film and television credits.
- Jim Fowler, Class of 1947, Conservationist and wildlife correspondent/show host - Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
- Piers Anthony, Class of 1952, best-selling author in the science fiction and fantasy genres.
- Garrick Utley, Class of 1957, the correspondent for CNN’s New York bureau, after serving three years as ABC News’ chief foreign correspondent and 30 years covering international news with NBC News.
- Holland Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, known for her film, television and theatre work. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Ruth Dunbar in Bosom Buddies, as Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and as Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half Men.
- Livingston Taylor, singer-songwriter.
- Mary Jean Eisenhower, the granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chief Executive Officer of People to People International [PTPI].
- Marysol Castro (b. September 29, 1976) is the weather anchor for ABC's Good Morning America Weekend Edition; since 2005, she has been the street reporter for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
