Landon School
The Landon School is a private, nonsectarian, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3-12, with an enrollment of approximately 675 students. The school sits on 75 acres (300,000 m2) in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.
Background
Paul Landon Banfield founded the Landon School with the help of his wife, Mary Lee, in 1929. The school's first location was a former residence in the Sheridan-Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C., now home to the Embassy of Estonia. Banfield moved Landon to its present 75-acre (300,000 m2) campus in Bethesda in 1935. The farmhouse, stables, and barn from the previous use of the Bethesda property still stand on the campus.
Landon's mission statement reads,
"Landon School prepares talented boys for productive lives as accomplished, responsible and caring men whose actions are guided by the principles of perseverance, teamwork, honor and fair play."
The school's motto is "Virtute et non vi", meaning, "By virtue, not by force."
Landon School's headmasters have been:
- Paul Landon Banfield: 1929-1970
- Hugh Riddleberger: 1970-1981
- Malcolm Coates: 1981-1989
- Damon F. Bradley: 1990-2004
- David M. Armstrong: 2004–present
The school prides itself on its student-initiated and student-run honor code, begun in the early 1960s.
Athletics
As of 2009, Landon has won 45 Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) tennis championships and 26 IAC lacrosse championships. Consistently ranked among the top 20 programs in the country and several times #1, lacrosse is Landon's most well-known sport. Landon has won 127 total IAC championships in their respective varsity sports as of 2009.
Landon's Varsity Lacrosse Team, coached by Robinson Bordley, won national championships in 1999, 2001, and 2002. Many Landon graduates have gone on to captain National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 lacrosse teams, including University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, Cornell University, Princeton University and University of Maryland. Several Landon graduates have been All-Americans in NCAA Division 1 and Division II lacrosse, and the class of 2005 featured thirteen Division 1 recruits. The school has 29 graduates currently playing Division 1 lacrosse.
Landon currently offers varsity sports in football, soccer, cross country, basketball, ice hockey, wrestling, swimming, riflery, lacrosse, baseball, track and field, tennis, water polo, rugby, and golf, as well as intramural programs including squash, fencing, and Ultimate Frisbee.
The arts
The Upper School has a two-year requirement for either music, art, or theatre.
The school's musical groups include a jazz band, concert band, string ensemble, handbells, and various choirs for younger students. Studio art classes include ceramics, digital art, drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, and architecture.
Some highlights of Landon's Arts curriculum:
The Landon Symphonette is a compendium of musicians from the school, as well as other local area high schools and colleges who play together with professionals. In its 16th Season (as of 2006-07) under the direction of Richard Weilenmann, the Landon Symphonette has become a mentoring orchestra in the Washington metropolitan area. William H. Hudnut III, a former mayor of Indianapolis, supports the symphonette both financially and physically, by being the announcer at concerts. Participation in the orchestra is attained through recommendation by the students’ music teacher or private instructor, and a required audition from the Symphonette director. Among the professional musicians participating as guest soloists with the orchestra is violinist Hidetaro Suzuki, veteran of international violin competitions and former concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
The Landon Art Gallery includes temporary exhibits of everything from Landon student work to professional showings, and artwork by artists from other local-area schools. The gallery is alternately used for recitals, small-scale musical productions, poetry readings and faculty performances. It was established by original curator and former-Landon teacher Ellie Johnson. The current gallery curator is prominent Washington, D.C. artist and Landon art teacher Thanasi Papapostolou.
Academics
Some highlights of Landon's academic curriculum:
All Landon juniors are required to take two semesters of Humanities, Landon's interdisciplinary course designed to introduce students to the rudiments of Western culture and civilization. The course is a study of major ideas and influences that have shaped European culture from the Classical to Modern eras through analysis of history, literature, art, and music.
In its third annual Advanced Placement Report to the Nation 2007, published on February 7, 2007, the College Board recognized Landon School for its exemplary program in Advanced Placement Microeconomics. Faculty member John Bellaschi and his Advanced Placement students ranked first in the nation in the small-size school evaluation category (<300 students in grades 10-12). Landon was one of five schools in the nation recognized by the College Board’s 2007 report.
Built in 1962, Landon's Buchanan Library is dedicated to Wiley T. Buchanan, a former Landon parent and trustee. The Library features a collection of more than 27,000 volumes, including a reference and literary criticism section.
Cheating scandal
In the fall of the 2002-2003 school year, ten Landon students were caught cheating on their SATs. Among these students were eight who admitted to the offense one month later after rumors had spread throughout the school.[1] Those eight students were suspended for the remaining month of the fall semester, though they were allowed to take their fall semester exams. Two other students were pressed to withdraw from Landon or face expulsion.[1]
This punishment, which was harsher than the one recommended by the Student Council under the school's honor code,[2] was criticized by family members. The parents of one of the two withdrawn students sued the school, claiming their son was not given the chance to confess along with the other eight individuals. The family alleged that the others were "tipped off" to the rumors and were encouraged to initiate a confession of guilt in order to receive a more lenient punishment.[3][4] On May 21, 2003, a Montgomery County judge dismissed the lawsuit, citing lack of jurisdiction over disciplinary matters in private schools.[4] Five of the students who were suspended were members of the lacrosse team, including a co-captain and the coach's son.[4] The nature of the suspension—which allowed the students to take their final exams for the semester[3]—meant that they could return to school in good standing in time for the spring lacrosse season.
The episode was chronicled in an in-depth story in the October 1, 2003 issue of Washingtonian Magazine.
Faculty
Landon uses the teacher-coach model, in which its faculty also serve as advisors and coaches to the students. All head coaches at the school also teach a subject. Many assistant coaches do the same, however it is common to bring in outsiders to help assist on a team without teaching.
Notable alumni
- Joseph Bailey - Former CEO, Miami Dolphins[5]
- Yannique Barker - aka Stacks, rapper, CEO of SoBe Entertainment[6][7]
- Michael D. Barnes - Former Congressman (D-MD)[8]
- Lt. General Devol "Rock" Bret - Fighter Pilot WW II, Korean War, Commander Allied Air Force Southern Europe[9]
- Alan Brinkley - Historian and Columbia University provost[4][5][10]
- Ryan Curtis - NCAA Lacrosse All-American, member of USA Lacrosse national team, head coach of Vermont lacrosse[11][12]
- Donald Dell - Former Davis Cup player and coach, and subsequently, a prominent sports agent[13]
- Bill Eacho - US Ambassador to Austria[14]
- Ahmet Ertegün - Atlantic Records founder and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame honoree[4][5]
- Ian Healy (lacrosse) - Former College Lacrosse player for the University of Maryland, and former Major League Lacrosse Player
- Fred Hetzel - Southern Conference Hall-of-Famer, former #1 NBA draft pick, played six seasons in NBA[15][16]
- Rush Holt - Physicist and Congressman (D-NJ)[5]
- George Huguely - Accused murderer of University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love[17][18]
- Greg Jaffe - 1999 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting[19]
- Ken Jenkins - NFL running back from 1983 to 1986 with Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins; finished third in league in combined return yards in 1985[20][21]
- Rufus G. King - Chief Judge, DC Superior Court, 2000-2008[4][22]
- Knight Kiplinger - Editor-in-Chief of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine[5]
- Gregory S. Martin - Retired U.S. Air Force four-star general, Distinguished Service Medal recipient, former Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe[23][24]
- James McEwan - World class whitewater canoeing specialist, bronze medalist at 1972 Summer Olympics[25]
- Doug McKelway - television journalist[26]
- Fred McNair - Former #1 ranked Professional Tennis Doubles player[27]
- Hassan Nemazee - Currently serving 12 years in Federal prison for fraud, and founder and CEO of Nemazee Capital Group[28]
- Maury Povich- Host of Maury, a syndicated talk show[5][10]
- John Jacob Rhodes III - Former Congressman (R-AZ)[5]
- Rich Roll - Ultraman Triathlete[29]
- Tom Scott - Co-Founder of Nantucket Nectars[5]
- Teddy Sears - Actor, plays Richard Woolsley on the television series Raising the Bar[30][31]
- John Shiffman - 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist in National Reporting[32]
- Topper Shutt - Chief Meteorologist, WUSA-TV[33]
- Mike Stevens - Television, film writer and producer[34]
- Thomas Tamm - US Justice Department Attorney, Illegal Wiretapping Whistleblower[35]
- Matt Ward - Tewaaraton Trophy winner and NCAA Lacrosse All-American, currently plays for the Washington Bayhawks[36][37]
- Charles Whitebread - Noted legal scholar and professor of law[38]
- Win Wilson - World class swimmer, member International Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame, author of Good Swimming[39]
References
- ^ a b "Eight at Landon School Admit Cheating on SAT." Brigid Schulte, The Washington Post, November 23, 2002
- ^ "8 Students Suspended For SAT Cheating." Susan Levine, The Washington Post, November 27, 2002
- ^ a b "Ousted Student Sues Landon: Teen Alleges Favoritism in Penalties for SAT Cheaters." Linda Perlstein, The Washington Post, February 8, 2003
- ^ a b c d e f "Our sons have something to say." Harry Jaffe, Washingtonian October 2003
- ^ a b c d e f g h Murphy, Carolyn; Stander, Lynn (2005). "We Knew Them When". Bethesda Magazine (September/October 2005). http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/sept05/when.php.
- ^ https://payments.wikimedia.org/index.php/Special:PayflowProGateway?_cache_=true&uselang=en&masthead=none&form_name=TwoColumnLetter5&text_template=2010/JimmyLetterA&language=en&utm_source_id=18&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=100test1110&utm_source=2010_testing50_1step&country_code=USShort, Paul (21 April 2009). "Yannique Barker, or Stack$ and Brooke Hogan Fling Getting Serious". The Inquisitr. http://www.inquisitr.com/22450/yannique-barker-or-stack-and-brooke-hogan-fling-getting-serious-p2s/. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Hettermann, Josh (9 February 2009). "Landon News Sits Down With Budding Local Artist, Evan Bliss '96". The Landon News (Landon School). http://evanbliss.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/eb-landon.pdf. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "BARNES, Michael Darr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000160. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Max J. Kalm. "An Officer and a Gentleman Retired". NaplesNews.com. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/jul/01/officer-and-gentleman-retired/.
- ^ a b Ball, Sarah (2010). "Sticks, Stones, and Scandal: Should the murder of UVA lacrosse player Yeardley Love reflect badly on the sport, or on schools?". Newsweek (11 May 2010). http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/11/sticks-stones-and-scandal.html.
- ^ "Landon Lacrosse History". Landon School. http://www.landon.net/page.cfm?p=915. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ University of Virginia Athletics Men's Lacrosse. "Player Bio: Ryan Curtis". UVA Athletics. University of Virginia. http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/curtis_ryan00.html. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Donald Dell ’56 Inducted into Hall of Fame". Landon School. 21 July 2009. http://www.landon.net/page.cfm?p=913&newsid=227. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "austria.usembassy.gov". http://austria.usembassy.gov/ambassador.htm. l
- ^ Bijan C. Bayne (7 July 2010). "Landon’s Fred Hetzel Named to Southern Conference Hall of Fame". DC Basketball Blog. http://dcbasketball.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/landons-fred-hetzel-named-to-southern-conference-hall-of-fame/. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Fred Hetzel". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hetzefr01.html. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ University of Virginia Athletics Men's Lacrosse. "Player Bio: George Huguely". UVA Athletics. University of Virginia. http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/huguely_george00.html. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Ujifusa, Andrew (5 May 2010). "Landon School alumnus charged with murder". The Gazette. http://www.gazette.net/stories/05052010/bethnew221807_32549.php.
- ^ "Greg Jaffe". Random House. http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=83548v.
- ^ Lowell Davis (30 July 2009). "Boston's Biggest Burger". Lowell's Blog. Landon School. http://www.landon.net/page.cfm?p=370&eid=2630. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Ken Jenkins". DatabaseFootball.com. http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=JENKIKEN01. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Superior Court of the District of Columbia. "The Honorable Rufus G. King, III, Chief Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia". (Official Biography). http://www.dccourts.gov/dccourts/docs/DCSC_Bio_King.pdf. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "General Greg Martin '66". Landon School. http://www.landon.net/page.cfm?p=1799&pback=1783. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "General Gregory S. Martin". (Official Biography). U.S. Air Force. http://www.af.mil/information/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6314. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Free, Bill (18 May 1992). "In a splash, Olympics disappear for paddlers - Final U.S. berths won on Savage River". Baltimore Sun. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-05-18/sports/1992139074_1_canoe-and-kayak-mcewan-kayak-team.
- ^ "Doug McKelway". (Official Biography). WJLA / ABC 7 News. http://www.abc7dc.com/talentbios/getbio.cfm?id=70. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ "Junior USTA Interscholastic Championships". USTA Yearbook. United States Tennis Association. http://www.usta.com/About-USTA/Organization/Yearbook/23068_2008_USTA_Yearbook__Junior_USTA_Interscholastic_Championships/. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "About Hassan Nemazee". (Official Biography). Nemazee Capital. http://www.nemazee.com/about_hassan_nemazee.html. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "www.richroll.com". http://www.richroll.com/.
- ^ Lowell Davis (19 August 2008). "Summer '08 - Lowell in the Big City". Lowell's Blog. Landon School. http://landonunited.org/page.cfm?p=370&eid=69. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Katherine Thurston (October 2002). "Teddy Sears". About One Life to Live Fans Guide. http://onelifetolive.about.com/library/bios/blsears_bio.htm. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "National Reporting Finalists". The Pulitzer Prizes. http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/National-Reporting. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
- ^ "Topper Shutt | Chief Meteorologist". WUSA9.com. Gannett Company, Inc.. http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=37279. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "www.imdb.com". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0828623/.
- ^ "www.historycommons.org". http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=civilliberties&startpos=300&civilliberties_surveillance=.
- ^ University of Virginia Athletics Men's Lacrosse. "Player Bio: Matt Ward". UVA Athletics. University of Virginia. http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/ward_matt00.html. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "Spring 2002 All-Met Lacrosse". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/hssports/longterm/allmets/spring02/lacrosse.htm.
- ^ Nelson, Valerie J. (23 September 2008). "latimes.com". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/23/local/me-whitebread23.
- ^ "www.landon.net". http://www.landon.net/page.cfm?p=1156.
External links