Blair Academy

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Blair Academy
Blair Academy Front Hill
Venite, Studete, Discite
("Come, Study, Learn")
Location
Blairstown, NJ
Information
Type Private, Boarding, Day
Religious affiliation(s) None (was Presbyterian)
Established 1848
Headmaster Christopher Fortunato
Faculty 64 (on FTE basis)[1]
Enrollment 452 (2012-13)[1]
Student to teacher ratio 7:1[1]
Campus Rural, 435 acres (1.76 km2)
Color(s) Blue      White     
Athletics conference Mid-Atlantic Prep League
Mascot Buccaneer
Rival Peddie School
Average SAT scores 620 verbal
610 math
Website www.blair.edu

Blair Academy is a private, coeducational, secondary boarding high school for students in grades nine through twelve. The school's campus is situated on a 435 acres (1.76 km2) hilltop in Blairstown Township, in rural Warren County, New Jersey, United States, approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of New York City.

As of the 2012-13 school year, the school had an enrollment of 452 students and 64 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7:1.[1] As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 448 students and 59.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7.5:1.[2]

Academics

Blair’s academic program follows the traditional four-year college-preparatory plan. Diploma requirements are governed by college entrance requirements, and they ensure that all students graduate with an exposure to a wide variety of disciplines.

The academic year is divided into two semesters. To graduate, a four-year student must successfully complete the following units (with each semester yielding 1.5 credits): English, 12; mathematics, 9; modern or classical language, 6; laboratory science, 6; world history, 3; U.S. history, 6; arts, 4.5; religion, 1.5; and health, 1.5. Electives include area studies in Africa, Asian history, politics and government, computer science, environmental science, and the philosophy of religion. A full complement of courses is offered in the visual and performing arts. In addition, for every year a student attends Blair, he or she must complete 3 units of physical activity or athletics.

Blair Academy offers a broad spectrum of courses, from the introductory level through Advanced Placement. Unique offerings include Mandarin Chinese, Architecture, Roman History, Video Production and Marine Science.

Individual participation is encouraged in small classroom sections, with an average class size of 11 students.

Athletics

Blair primarily competes in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (which includes Blair Academy, The Peddie School, The Lawrenceville School, The Hill School, Hun School of Princeton and Mercersburg Academy). Its traditional mascot is the "Buccaneer" (with the team called the Bucs) and the school colors are navy blue and white. Blair's traditional arch-rival is The Peddie School of Hightstown, New Jersey. Since 1903, Blair and Peddie have competed in football, and the rivalry constitutes New Jersey’s oldest continuous prep football competition.[3][4] Each November, the two schools vie for the coveted Kelley-Potter Cup by playing against one another in a fall sports competition.[5]

During the days leading up to Peddie Day, spirit abounds at Blair. The campus is bedecked with banners hanging from windows, often poking fun at Peddie's Falcon mascot (known to Blair as the Peddie Chickens). On Peddie Day “Eve,” a spirited pep rally, torch procession and stories-high bonfire pave the way for a day of athletic competition. The Bonfire at Blair in the past has been over 80 feet (24 m) tall,[citation needed] however fire regulations prohibit such large fires now. On Peddie Day held at Peddie in November 2013, Blair claimed the Kelly-Potter Cup for the fourth straight year.[6][4]

The most successful athletic program is wrestling.[7] Under previous head wrestling coach Jeff Buxton, the team won 31 consecutive National Prep Titles (from 1981–2012)[8] and produced a number of NCAA champions and Olympic gold medalist Robert B. Weaver. It is considered one of the most successful high school wrestling program in the nation, winning 10 National Team Championships.[9]

Over the past several years, Blair has developed a respected basketball program whose alums include three active NBA players: Luol Deng, Charlie Villanueva, and Royal Ivey.

Former Blair football player Dion Lewis was drafted in the 5th round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He has received numerous honors in 2010 such as, Sporting News Top 5 Heisman Trophy Candidate, Top 25 Overall Players (No. 6), All America Team (first team), All-Big East, as well as ESPN.com "Big East's 25 Best" No.1.[10]

Facilities

Almost all campus architecture is in the Richardson Romanesque style, and modern buildings reflect the features and themes of the older structures. At the center of the campus are the four major classroom buildings: Clinton Hall, Bogle Hall, Timken Library, and the Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts. Bogle Hall, dedicated in 1989, provides laboratories and classrooms for the math and science departments and includes a state-of-the-art computer laboratory and the 100-seat Cowan Auditorium. Armstrong-Hipkins Center for the Arts was dedicated in 1997. The renovated Timken Library, a state-of-the-art facility that includes classrooms and a computer center, opened in 1998. Annie Hall, a girls’ dormitory, opened in fall 1999. Expanded athletic fields and a roadway system were completed in 1997, the Romano Dining Room was completed in the fall of 2000, and renovation of Insley Hall was completed in 2001. A major expansion and renovation of the school's athletic and activities facilities and fields occurred between 2006 and 2009: a lighted, synthetic turf field for football and soccer, with new stands, press box, and 400 meter all-weather track; ten new tennis courts (four lighted), a new junior varsity baseball field, and expansion of the existing, natural grass fields. A renovation and expansion of the existing athletic center, including a new student center, concluded in March 2009. This facility, known as the Blair Commons, houses the school's bookstore, canteen, college counseling offices, four additional squash courts (total of seven), two additional gymnasiums, renovation of the third, main gymnasium, new and expanded wrestling facilities, new and larger aerobic facilities, and a new training room and locker rooms. Blair is also home to a nine-hole golf course.

Statistics

Enrollment

  • Total Enrollment: 452
  • Boarding: 351
  • Day: 101
  • Male/Female Ratio: 1.3/1
  • Number of Post-Graduates: 11
  • Percentage of Minority Students: 14%
  • Number of Countries Represented: 27 (16% of student body)
  • Number of States Represented: 23

Tuition and fees

For the 2013-2014 academic year, Blair charges $51,500 for tuition, room and board. Day students are charged $36,250, which covers tuition, study rooms, and meals at school.[11] According to Business Insider, Blair is the 26th most expensive boarding school in the United States.[12]

Faculty

  • Student/Faculty Ratio: 7:1
  • Headmaster: Christopher Fortunato[13]

Accreditation

School memberships

Endowment

  • Current Market Value (approximate): $145.7 million.

Campus

  • The campus, set among 425 acres (1.72 km2) of rolling hills in the shadow of the Delaware Water Gap, is home to numerous grand old buildings and in 1992 was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historic and architectural significance.[16]
  • In the 1960s and 1970s, the campus was used in the summer by Camp Racquet, a tennis camp run by Charlie Lundgren, then the coach of the tennis team at Upsala College.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Blair at a Glance, Blair Academy. Accessed November 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ School Data for Blair Academy, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 12, 2013.
  3. ↑ Staff. "Hill-Hotchkiss, Peddie-Blair Battles Head Important Schoolboy Football Card Today", The New York Times, November 13, 1936. Accessed June 26, 2011. "The Blair-Peddle contest at Hightstown. NJ. will extend the oldest prep school rivalry in New Jersey. Blair and Peddle will meet for the thirty-fourth time since their uninterrupted series began in 1903."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Peddie Day". Retrieved 29 November 2012. 
  5. ↑ Tatu, Christina. "Peddie School takes top prize at annual Peddie Day tradition", New Jersey Herald, January 23, 2009. Accessed June 26, 2011. "Not the chilly weather, the spitting rain or the four-hour drive from his home in Annapolis, Md., could keep 89-year-old Art Richmond from Blair Academy's 105th annual Peddie Day, a day of sporting events between its rival the Peddie School in Hightstown."
  6. ↑ "Blair Academy Website". 
  7. ↑ "Blair Wrestling". 
  8. ↑ BA. "Blair at the Preps Year-by-Year". Blair Wrestling website. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame, accessed November 5, 2006
  10. ↑ "Dion Lewis". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2010-12-12. 
  11. ↑ "Blair Academy: Tuition & Financial Aid". Blair Academy. 
  12. ↑ Stanger, Melissa. "The 50 Most Expensive Boarding Schools In America". Business Insider. Retrieved 23 October 2013. 
  13. ↑ Head of School's Welcome, Blair Academy. Accessed September 12, 2013.
  14. ↑ Blair Academy, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. Accessed June 26, 2011.
  15. ↑ School Search, New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. Accessed July 29, 2008.
  16. ↑ NEW JERSEY - Warren County, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed June 26, 2011.
  17. ↑ Dahle, Stephanie. "Get Briefed: Jack Bogle", Forbes, January 12, 2009. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Bogle, who in 2004 was named one of Time magazine's 100 most powerful and influential people, serves on the board of trustees at his high school alma mater, Blair Academy, and has served on the advisory board for the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management."
  18. ↑ Deng's dedication breeds success, BBC Sport. Accessed December 6, 2006
  19. ↑ Frassinelli, Mike. "Chaplain did it his way and leaves a lasting impression", copy of article from The Star-Ledger, May 24, 2007. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Rising Canadian singer-songwriter Christine Evans, a Blair junior who last month won the Album of the Year honor in Vancouver, opened the service with a moving version of her song, It’s Up to You."
  20. ↑ Hudson, Beth. 's+Souders+upsets+nation's+No.+1+119-pounder&pqatl=google "Easton's Souders upsets nation's No. 1 119-pounder", The Morning Call, January 22, 2006. Accessed May 10, 2011. "He used a second period reversal to beat Sidney's Josh Moore and then topped Blair's Reid Fliehr, the son of professional wrestler Ric Flair..."
  21. ↑ "Caligula: Special 20th Anniversary - Cast and Crew of Caligula". Penthouse. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001. "Coming from a conventional background--he was born in Brooklyn, raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and educated at Blair Academy--Guccione became interested in less than conventional activities after he left school." 
  22. ↑ Staff. "84 BLAIR GRADUATES RECEIVE DIPLOMAS; John Reiley Guthrie Gets Two of Major Awards", The New York Times, June 14, 1938. Accessed May 10, 2011.
  23. ↑ Staff. "John Reiley Guthrie '42", Princeton Alumni Weekly, October 7, 2009. Accessed May 10, 2011. "John R. Guthrie, a four-star U.S. Army general, died May 25, 2009. Jack came to Princeton from Blair Academy. He joined Key and Seal, received honors in history, and was a major in ROTC."
  24. ↑ McQuiston, John T. "JAMES C. HAGERTY, 71, DIES; EISENHOWER PRESS SECRETARY", The New York Times, April 13, 1981. Accessed December 1, 2007. "After his family moved to New York City from Plattsburgh, when he was three years old, James Hagerty attended grade school in the Bronx and the Evander Childs High School before enrolling at Blair Academy, in Blairstown, N.J., for his last two years of high school."
  25. ↑ Staff. "Writers, Teachers, Historians", Blair Bulletin, Spring 2005, p. 5. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Though they graduated three years apart, Scott Rohrer ’76 and Andrew Heinze ’73 have at least four things in common. They are, obviously, both Blair graduates, they love history, they love to write and they teach. Scott received his B.A. in history and journalism and later an M.A. in American history. Andrew holds a B.A., an M.A. and a Ph.D. in history."
  26. ↑ Behind the Numbers: Royal Ivey, NBA.com. Accessed December 6, 2006.
  27. ↑ Martin, Douglas. "George P. Jenkins, a MetLife Chairman, Dies at 94", The New York Times, October 16, 2009. Accessed May 10, 2011. "George Pollock Jenkins was born in Clarksburg, W.Va., on Feb. 24, 1915. He graduated from the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J.; from Princeton as a Phi Beta Kappa economics major; and from Harvard Business School."
  28. ↑ Davis, Ken. "Dion Lewis, Noel Devine ready to take Big East, nation by storm", Sports Illustrated, August 6, 2010. Accessed March 22, 2011. "Even though Lewis played in Albany, N.Y., the heart of Big East territory, he didn't receive any scholarship offers until he transferred to New Jersey's Blair Academy and averaged 12.3 yards per carry there. Even then, Lewis had to send videotapes to 20 schools before Pitt actually took notice. His parents were ready to pay his tuition to give him the opportunity to become a walk-on when Pitt assistant coach Jeff Hafley noticed Lewis as he was recruiting another player at Blair Academy."
  29. ↑ "Former CNN Executive Focused on Politics & Journalism at Skeptics", Blair Academy, March 22, 2013. Accessed May 7, 2013. "On Tuesday, March 26, Blair welcomed Stuart Loory '50, former vice president at CNN and executive vice president of Turner Broadcasting in Russia, as he returned to campus to address the Society of Skeptics."
  30. ↑ Ziment, Dan. "Serving Up Some New Hell with Tucker Max", The Emory Wheel, September 24, 2009. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Before he decided to devote his time only to his stories, Max built a very impressive resume. After graduating from Blair Academy, a prep school in New Jersey, he attended the University of Chicago, where, despite the school’s prestigious academic reputation, the parties were simply not up to his standards."
  31. ↑ Staff. "Mocco captures NCAA title", The Record (Bergen County), March 23, 2003. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Mocco, a sophomore from North Bergen who competed for Blair Academy, scored a 7-3 decision over the Air Force's Kevin Hoy at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships Saturday before 16,436 at Kemper Arena."
  32. ↑ Albert Greig Rutherford, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed March 22, 2011.
  33. ↑ Davis, Jeff. "Rozelle: Czar of the NFL", p. 143, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007. ISBN 0-07-147166-9. Accessed May 10, 2011. "'I went to a school called Blair Academy, in Blairstown, New Jersey, near Princeton,' Ed Sabol said. 'I spent two years at the school. I was on the swimming team there and set a world scholastic record for the 100-yard freestyle.'"
  34. ↑ Blagden, Nellie. "Talk About a Steady Job—Miss Ellen Has Toiled at Blair Academy for 69 Years", People (magazine), September 26, 1977. Accessed March 22, 2011. "Other Blair graduates of the Miss Ellen era include Stewart Cort, retired chairman of Bethlehem Steel, class of 1930, Bob Guccione of Penthouse, 1948, and John Sebastian of the rock group Lovin' Spoonful, 1962."
  35. ↑ Samuel Studdiford Stratton, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed March 22, 2011.
  36. ↑ Satterfield, Lem. "Fighting sports homophobia", The Baltimore Sun, June 16, 2011. Accessed March 12, 2012. "As a high school wrestler, Taylor attended the prestigious Blair Academy, in Blairstown, N.J., where he started as a 152-pound sophomore, a 171-pound junior and a 189-pound senior, winning National Preps crowns each of those seasons."
  37. ↑ Staff. "Taki Speaks at Skeptics", Blair Academy, April 9, 2008. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Taki Theodoracopulos ’55 was the featured Society of Skeptics speaker on April 8 and addressed the topic, 'On the Evils of the Press.' He joked that after re-thinking the focus of his presentation, originally billed, 'On the Freedom of the Press,' he felt compelled to revise the title. Taki also shared some amusing tales of his student years at Blair."
  38. ↑ Staff. Alumnus of the Year 1995: William R. Timken ’53, Blair Academy. Accessed May 10, 2011. "Though the current generation of Blair students know William R. Timken by way of Timken Auditorium, his classmates, his fellow Trustees, and his many Blair friends know Bill as among one of the most loyal and enthusiastic of Blair alumni."
  39. ↑ Charlie Villanueva, Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed November 10, 2007.
  40. ↑ Duarte, Joseph. "Texas All-American Durant to declare for NBA draft", Houston Chronicle, April 10, 2007. Accessed March 22, 2011. "Barnes has signed three recruits for next season, headlined by Gary Johnson, a 6-7 power forward Aldine. The Longhorns also will welcome Alexis Wangmene, a 6-8 power forward from Blair Academy in New Jersey and Clint Chapman, a 6-10 forward from Canby, Ore."
  41. ↑ Biography, MatthewZiff.com. Accessed May 7, 2013. "During his high school years at The Blair Academy, Matthew kept active with acting classes, as well as performing in stage productions, not only as an actor, but also as a director."

External links

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Coordinates: 40°59′06″N 74°57′50″W / 40.985°N 74.964°W / 40.985; -74.964

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