Avon Old Farms

Avon Old Farms School
Address
500 Old Farms Road
Avon, Connecticut
United States
Information
Type Private, boarding
Motto Aspirando et Perseverando
(Aspiring and Persevering)
Founded 1927
Headmaster Kenneth H. LaRocque (Papa Ken)
Faculty 60 teachers
Gender All-boys
Enrollment 406 students (9–12, PG)
81% Boarding
Average class size 11 students
Student to teacher ratio 6:1
Campus 900 acres (3.64 km²)
Color(s) Crimson and Navy Blue
Athletics 15 varsity interscholastic sports teams (36 interscholastic teams total)
Mascot Winged Beavers
Rival Salisbury School Westminster School
Average SAT scores (2012) 1700
Endowment $47 million
Acceptance rate 48% (2015)
Website www.avonoldfarms.com

Avon Old Farms School is a single-sex boarding school for boys located in Avon, Connecticut. Theodate Pope Riddle was one of the first female architects in America and was the creator of Avon Old Farms. The school was originally run by the Pope-Brooks Foundation, which was founded in part by Theodate.[1] It opened in 1927 and closed for a period during World War II to serve as a convalescent hospital for blind veterans. The current headmaster is Kenneth H. LaRocque. Avon Old Farms is in the Founders League.

History

Avon Old Farms School was founded by Theodate Pope Riddle, Connecticut's first licensed female architect. She founded the school in 1927. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and the ideals of the old New England farm, Riddle designed and supervised the building of the school over a span of 10 years, from 1918 to 1927, which cost her over $7,000,000 to complete.

The original stone and oak architecture is modeled after English Cotswold and Tudor styles using traditional English methods with many of the materials hewn from the school's property. The school sits upon 900 acres, with the Farmington River to the east.

In the founding years, Avon combined English and American secondary school traditions with a radical modern curriculum. Riddle closed the school during World War II when it was converted to Old Farms Convalescent Hospital for blinded Army veterans.

Avon re-opened as a boys' school in 1948.

The school has grown from 48 boys at its opening in 1927 to 400 boys in grades 9–12 and postgraduates. The school mascot is the winged beaver, and the school’s motto is "Aspirando et Perseverando," from the Latin, to aspire and to persevere.

Athletics

Avon ice hockey teams have won eight Division 1 New England Championships (four between 2004 and 2008). In the 2015–16 season, the Winged Beavers won the Founders League and landed third in the USHR standings.[2] Avon produced NHL players such as Hockey Hall of Fame member Brian Leetch, as well as Jonathan Quick, Chris Higgins, Cam Atkinson, and Nick Bonino. Coach John Gardner has a record of 603–178–29.[3] On December 21, 2009, Avon played Taft School in the first hockey game played at Fenway Park.[4] In 2012 Jonathan Quick joined fellow alumni Brian Leetch (1994) as a winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Avon's lacrosse team was coached by Skip Flanagan.[5] After Coach Flanagan left the school, Ted Garber became head coach. In 2015 the Avon lacrosse program saw its best team yet. Avon's varsity team finished with a 15-2 record. They also won the Western New England and the Founders League. The 2015 team was also rated as the number one team in New England and one of the best programs in the "Elite 25" by USA Today[6]

Football alumni Michael Cox went on to play for the UMass Minutemen. Cox was later drafted by the New York Giants football team on April 27, 2013, during the 2013 NFL Draft. Former Boston Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves was a baseball alumni who played primarily for the Milwaukee Brewers. Other notable football alumni include Chicago Bear Khaseem Greene, Chargers backup quarterback Mike Hermann, and former New York Giants lineman Jack Calcaterra.

The Hartford Whalers held their training facilities at Avon Old Farms from 1991 to 1997 when they relocated to North Carolina.

Refectory 
AOF life 
Inside the Brown Auditorium 
Village Green 

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ Katz, Sandra (2003). Dearest of Geniuses: A Life of Theodate Pope Riddle. Windsor,CT: Tide-Mark Press. p. 242. ISBN 1-55949-828-5.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ http://www.hockeyjournal.com/Article.php?ArtID=87973
  4. ↑ Topic Galleries - Courant.com
  5. ↑ Under Armour, Inc. - Coaches For Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic Selected
  6. ↑ http://www.avonoldfarms.com/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=804
  7. ↑ http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=19160
  8. ↑ http://articles.courant.com/2008-05-12/sports/springer0512.art_1_springer-s-father-bats-prospect
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Coordinates: 41°46′43″N 72°50′24″W / 41.7785°N 72.84°W / 41.7785; -72.84

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