| Whitfield School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 175 South Mason Road Creve Coeur, MO 63141 |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 1952 |
| Faculty | 62 |
| Enrollment | 430 |
| Colors Mascot |
Green and White Warrior |
| Website | http://www.whitfieldschool.org/ |
Whitfield School was founded in 1952 and has grown immensely since 1952, most particularly under the leadership of Dr. Mary Leyhe Burke, who was succeeded by Mark J. Anderson in 2002. The school's academic mission is to foster excellent habits of mind, productive social skills, and personal integrity in an innovative, student-centered environment.
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In 1952, John Barnes and Allen Cole purchased Dumford Academy, located on Bartmer Avenue, thereafter continuing operations as Whitfield School. The school moved to its current location during spring break of 1957, at which point a residential house was converted into classrooms and also served as the home for Barnes and Cole. The house now serves as administrative offices as well as a meeting and congregating facility, and has come to be named the "Barnes and Cole Alumni House." The environment that they tried to create was one where learning was challenging, yet fun and a place where students had every opportunity to succeed. The school experienced major growth and changes, under the fourth head of school, Dr. Mary Leyhe Burke. Dr. Burke raised money to build a new building on the land which was directly adjacent to the house; this building was completed in the early 1990s. Whitfield then received major additions, as well as several renovations in the 90's and 00's. The last major construction project, completed in 2002, added new gymnasiums, locker rooms, a state-of-the-art weight room with coaches' offices, a new dance studio and a new music studio, as well as an atrium which would serve as an a strong visual presence on Ladue Road as well as an entrance to the Cady Athletic Center and Woods Hall. This project included backstage space for the theatre department, new computer commons areas, as well as a library, called the Intellectual Commons, which occupies the space of a former gym. A 2008 construction project expanded parking lot. In January 2010, Mark Anderson announced he will be taking his talents to Sanford School, a K-12 school in Hockessin, Delaware. A search is now being conducted to find his replacement. Principal Ruth Greathouse is now the Interim Head of School.
Whitfield School is based on a strong liberal arts core curriculum which requires all students to successfully complete courses in English, history, science, math and language every year, plus art and physical education for three years. The art requirement may be fulfilled through theater, drawing, ceramics, band, choir or photography. The math sequence is based on students' aptitude and effort; by senior year, students select from one of five math classes, ranging from AP Calculus BC to discrete math. Students may opt to take higher level math courses independently through the school. Students complete a minimum of four years of science, including biology, chemistry and physics, during high school and may take as many as seven science courses in high school. In addition, there are humanities and social science electives as well as art electives.
The Whitfield School Performing Arts department is composed of Amy Allen-Cano, Mary Schnitzler, and Keith Borzillo. Whitfield Performing Arts takes an experimental approach to the way that the mainstage shows are executed. An abstract space allows for the variation of the stage position, audience seating and hanging of lights and speakers. Whitfield School is part of the International Thespian Society and is chapter #5436. The school often employs professional costumers, lighting and sound technicians, and scenic designers. The school puts an emphasis on the performing arts and encourages students to either appear in shows or work backstage as a way to produce a well-rounded student.
Whitfield is recognized for its athletic teams, which compete with much larger schools and consistently outperform schools of similar enrollment. At the high school level, 75% of students participate in athletics. All students are guaranteed a spot on a high school team; coaches determine whether that space is at the varsity or junior varsity level. Playing time is not guaranteed, however, and is predicated on an athlete's aptitude and effort. If students don't choose to partake in the sport itself, they may be coaches' assistants, team managers, or videographers.
Whitfield School is known for its outstanding soccer team led by Coach Bill Daues and assistant coaches Mike Quante, Jeff Cacciatore, a former college and indoor soccer star, and Luke Cano. Since 2001 Whitfield's soccer team has won seven state championships, that's seven out of nine state championships in Missouri Class 1 soccer since there has been 3 classes. Whitfield has also been in the championship game nine out of the last ten years. In 2009, Whitfield regained the title after beating Springfield Catholic 1-0 in the final. In 2010, The Warriors took on Sprinfield Catholic again, and again they won 1-0 with a goal from Nick Doherty. Notable rivalries for soccer are John Burroughs School, Westminster, Bayless, Springfield Catholic, and Pembroke Hill.
Whitfield's wrestling team, coached by the best high school wrestling coach in the country, Charlie Sherertz, won state championships in February 2008 and 2009. Coach Sherertz encourages grapplers of all ability levels join the team, but demands high dedication from all participants.
Whitfield School won its first Wickenhieser Cup in varsity hockey in March 2008. In 2011, the Whitfield hockey team won the Founder's Cup by beating Parkway South High School 7-5, and Nick Kunin was named the MVP of the game.
Whitfield's varsity dance squad won the 2008, 2009, and 2010 state championship in the 1A division, and advanced to a national competition in 2008, where the team won first place in pom in the extra small division.
Whitfield's boys basketball team won the state championships in 2000. Two consecutive appearances in the state championship in 2009 and 2010 resulted in 2nd and 3rd places finishes, respectively.
Coached by Harold Barker, the varsity golf team won the 2010 and 2011 state championship. The team's 2011 campaign was highlighted by Mitch Rutledge who shot scores of 74 and 71 to capture medalist honors.
Whitfield has several publications, both traditional and innovative. All of the school's publications are extracurricular and student-run. Most publications are named after Greek works of literature.
The school's yearbook, The Iliad, is published annually and is completely designed by students with the help of a faculty advisor who oversees the meetings. The books are distributed on Field Day, where the day is spent more on signing yearbooks than on actual Field Day events.
The school's newspaper, The Odyssey, is published monthly and is student-run and edited, with a faculty advisor. This paper contains articles features articles about large-scale issues that impact society as a whole, movies and other forms of entertainment, and school-wide news and polls.
The school's online magazine, The Aeneid, is an experimental and innovative publication whose purpose has been re-defined several times. It offers more time-sensitive articles and more urgent issues than what the Odyssey might feature. The publication is entirely student edited and student run. It also has opportunities for people interested in technology because the magazine requires a staff of programmers to build and maintain the site.
The school's literary magazine, The Secret Voice, is published once a year and contains works of art and literature, submitted throughout the course of the year by students and faculty. These anonymous submissions are reviewed by a selection committee which decides, based on several factors, what should be included in that year's edition.
Whitfield's motto, "In Propria Persona," means "to one's own person."
The school embraces this slogan by allowing the students the freedom to participate in the activities that interest them most, thus building a foundation for their passions and interests. Whitfield has a long-standing belief that students shouldn't be forced into activities but rather should be encouraged to participate in a variety of clubs, teams, service projects, and organizations. Therefore, Whitfield does not have any sort of athletic or extracurricular requirement that must be fulfilled for graduation like other similar schools.
Whitfield is known for its relaxed environment in which most students opt not to use the lockers offered to all students. Instead students leave backpacks, gym bags, and even purses in the hallways.
Great pride is taken in Whitfield lunches prepared by a full, professional staff. Former students are known to visit the school only for the food. Lunches have been known to include salmon, pecan pie, and steak, though chicken fingers are a student favorite. In addition to the daily entrees, a full salad and sandwich bar is provided every day, giving students numerous healthy options.
Whitfield School was the only school in St. Louis with its own dog until she graduated in 2007. A golden retriever named Rascal replaced her as the school dog. Rascal is Whitfield's third dog.
A Field Day tradition is tug-o-war. The 6th graders face each other, 7th grade battles the 8th, freshmen take on the sophomores, and juniors are pitted against the seniors. All tug-o-war teams (except for the 6th grade teams, which is the entire 6th grade class), is made up of 10 people who are determined by the grade's student council representatives in a joint effort with that grade's head adviser. There have been some shocking upsets. The contest is announced and officiated by Charlie Sherertz, who is known to become very enthusiastic during the event.
During the annual Spirit Week, each class performs a lip sync which is just one of the many activities for which each class earns spirit points. There are also theme dress-up days when member of each class are encouraged to show their spirit by dressing up as the theme for that day, such as a particular decade, characters from a particular movie, or simply tacky clothing in general. The undisputed best Spirit Week ever was in 2004 when morning assemblies were so spirited that they lasted much longer than usual, delaying the start of classes. In following years, faculty instituted a flag system to limit the spiritedness, making it unlikely that the spirit week of 2004 will ever be topped.
All Whitfield students are provided with a laptop. The school hosts a campus-wide wireless network and high-speed wired connections throughout the building. Each student and family is provided an e-mail account for school use.
Whitfield's laptop program faced scrutiny in October 2007, when the St. Louis Post Dispatch ran an article titled "The Laptop Debate." The article contrasted the technology programs of several private schools in the Metro area, saying that Whitfield's laptop program offers more freedom. Whitfield's laptop program and its technology director, Alex Inmann, have been nationally recognized for the revolutionary program that takes advantage of open-source software and will likely become a model for future school laptop programs.
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