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History

This section provides a comprehensive look at the history of boarding schools in the US. We’ll cover the evolution of private schools, as learn the importance of school mottoes and explore the history of 15 schools and their founders.

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The St. Grottlesex Schools

Updated November 18, 2021

by Robert Kennedy

Generous financial aid and a commitment to diversity are hallmarks of the 21st century release of St. Grottlesex. More here.

There is, of course, no such school as St. Grottlesex. The name is a conflation of the names of five prestigious private schools, four of which are affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Middlesex is non-denominational. While these schools were founded more than 100 years ago, they have all moved with the times. Generous financial aid and a commitment to diversity are hallmarks of the 21st-century release of St. Grottlesex. First-rate academics, superb athletic facilities and programs, and an abundance of extracurricular activities complete the picture.

St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire

"St. Paul's School is committed to educating the whole person and preparing students to make contributions to a changing and challenging world. The philosophy of St. Paul's School defines education as all of the structured experiences in which students participate: course work, athletics, activities, and our life together as a fully residential school. These opportunities involve valuable interaction between faculty, students, and staff."

Founded: 1856

Religious Affiliation: Episcopal

Head of School: Michael Hirschfeld

Endowment: $433 million

Grades: 9-12

School Type: Coed

Number of Students: 536

Number of AP Courses: 12

Percentage of Students of Color: 39%

St. Mark's School, Southborough, Massachusetts

"St. Mark's School educates young people for lives of leadership and service. Founded in 1865 as an intentionally small residential community, the School challenges its students to develop their particular analytic and creative capabilities by both inspiring their academic and spiritual curiosity and kindling their passion for discovery. We value cooperation over self-interest, and we encourage each person to explore his or her place in the

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School Mottoes

Updated April 11, 2022

by Robert Kennedy

Private school mottoes speak to the high-minded purposes for which most schools were founded.

Private school mottoes speak to the noble purposes for which most schools were founded. School mottoes typically are Latin phrases attributed to some of the great writers of antiquity. You will also find mottoes that are taken from scripture. What is special about a school motto is that it captures the essence of the school in a short phrase of just a few words. Here are some school mottoes and a bit about the schools to which they belong.

Admiral Farragut Academy, St. Petersburg, Florida
Admiral Farragut Academy's motto is Scientia Omnia Vincit which means “Knowledge Conquers All”. The Academy was originally founded in Toms River, New Jersey in 1933. It moved its campus to Florida in 1945. The school is co-educational and offers grades PK-12.

Choate School, Wallingford, Connecticut

Fidelitas et Integritas or "fidelity and integrity" is the original motto of Choate School which was founded by Mary Atwater Choate in 1896 as a school for boys.

Fenn School, Concord, Massachusetts
Fenn School, which was established in 1929, is one of several private schools which uses its motto as a powerful tool to guide its students. "At the heart of the Fenn philosophy is our motto, Sua Sponte. When boys begin to understand what it means, not just as a motto, but as a way of life, they are well on the way to embodying the Fenn character." The school's motto translates as "On one's own responsibility."

Foxcroft School, Middleburg, Virginia
Foxcroft's motto

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How Private Schools Evolved in the United States

Updated November 25, 2021

by Robert Kennedy

How Private Schools Evolved in the United States

Private schools came first. Then public education took root.

From the 1600s to the 1800s there was no such thing as public education. The 12 years of grade school through high school we are accustomed to in the 20th-century did not exist. Small private schools, not public schools, provided schooling for young people.

The Bible was the focus of learning in colonial times. Most lessons were practical ones learned in the home and in the fields. Robert Peterson's article Education in Colonial America explains how education worked back then.

Colonial education

Education in colonial days was quite stratified. Boys learned core subjects such as reading and math. Girls learned the domestic arts. Only white children received an education until slavery was abolished. Teachers were frequently well-intentioned men who themselves did not have much formal education. Yes, back then, most teachers were men.

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5 More Schools and Their Founders

Updated October 19, 2022

by Robert Kennedy

A private school in its infancy is quite different from the mature community it becomes over time. I wonder what the founders of these five schools would think about them today. I bet they would be very proud of their creations.

It is fascinating to delve into the beginnings of a private school. It's the time when the school is so malleable and so strongly influenced by its founder's zeal and lofty goals. The community is tiny compared to what it will morph into over the years, indeed over the centuries, in some cases. The hardships and sacrifices which are endured are almost unimaginable in this day and age. when new schools seem to pop out of a delivery box fully funded and all set to go.

I hope that you will explore these five schools against the backdrop which I have set out above. They are unique as private schools always are. They have great personalities, characters, and rich histories. Yet they share a common theme and purpose: to provide the very best well-rounded education for their students so that their graduates can make a difference in the world today.

Annie Wright School, Tacoma, Washington

Founded in 1881 Number of students: 436 Grades PK-12: Boys and girls day school PK-8. Girls boarding and day: 9-12 Religious Affiliation: Nonsectarian Setting: Urban

Overview: The school was established by an Episcopal bishop. James Paddock with the financial support of businessman Charles Wright. Bishop Paddock named the school in honor of Wright's daughter Annie. The school was a girls' school until the earthquake of 1949 damaged Lowell School, the local boys' school. AWS set up temporary quarters for boys. The coeducational program expanded to 8th grade in the 1970s.

AWS offers challenging academics as evidenced

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5 More Founders and the Schools Their Gifts Established

Updated February 10, 2021

by Robert Kennedy

5 More Founders and the Schools Their Gifts Established

Vision. Generosity. High-minded principles. These are the hallmarks of the benefactors of the five schools featured in this article.

In this article we examine five more remarkable private schools which were established with a vision and supported with munificence. The Phillips Family which established the Phillips Academies at Exeter and Andover back in the 18th century had the purest of motives in mind. They understood that a well-educated citizenry would ensure the future of the very young United States of America. "Above all, it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care; well considering that though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character, and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind." Echols, Edward (1970). The Phillips Exeter Academy, A Pictorial History" Exeter Press

What was taught in these early schools? Bear in mind that there were no schools in America when the colonists arrived. As a result, the early settlers did not have to follow traditions or laws governing the education of their children. Since freedom from religious oppression was the reason so many of the colonists had left England, they made sure that their religious teachings were the core of their academic curricula. Also on the list of subjects were useful skills such as simple arithmetic and spelling. Schools ran year round.

Milton Hershey and Stephen Girard founded their schools in a different time in our nation's maturation. The industrial revolution had worked its wonders in

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