Groton School
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| Groton School |
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| Motto | Cui servire est regnare ("whom to serve is to rule") |
| Established | 1884 |
| Type | Private Coeducational Secondary |
| Affiliation | Episcopalian |
| Headmaster | Richard B. Commons |
| Students | 352 |
| Grades | 8–12 |
| Location | Groton, Massachusetts USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Mascot | Zebra (unofficial) |
| Website | www.groton.org |
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, USA. It enrolls approximately 350 boys and girls, from the eighth (IInd Form) through twelfth grades (VIth Form).
The school is a member of the Independent School League and is one of the schools collectively known as St. Grottlesex.
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[edit] History
Groton School was founded in 1884 by the Rev. Endicott Peabody, a member of a prominent Massachusetts family and an Episcopal clergyman. The land for the school was donated to Peabody by two brothers, James Lawrence and Prescott Lawrence, whose family home was located on Farmers Row in Groton, Massachusetts, north of Groton School's present location. Backed by affluent figures of the time, such as the Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks, the Rev. William Lawrence, William Crowninshield Endicott, J.P. Morgan, and his father, Samuel Endicott Peabody, Peabody received pledges of $39,000 for the construction of a schoolhouse, if an additional $40,000 could be raised as an endowment. (The endowment is worth $289,000,000 today.)
Peabody served as headmaster of the school for over fifty years, until his retirement in 1940. He instituted a Spartan educational system that included cold showers and cubicles, suscribing to the model of "muscular Christianity" which he himself experienced at Cheltenham College in England as a boy. Peabody hoped to graduate men who would serve the public good, rather than enter professional life. The school's motto, "Cui Servire Est Regnare," taken from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, translates roughly as "Whose service is perfect freedom." A common but incorrect translation is "To serve is to rule." The dative relative pronoun "cui" may be translated as "to whom" or "for whom," leading to some confusion. However, "Cui" ("Whom") is generally understood to refer to God, therefore lending Groton's motto to its proper translation: "For Whom to serve is to reign", or "Whose service is perfect freedom."
The Rev. Endicott Peabody was succeeded at the end of the 1940 school year by the Rev. John Crocker, who had been for 10 years the chaplain for Episcopal students at Princeton University. He himself was a 1918 graduate of Groton School; 15 members of his family were alumni. During his tenure as headmaster at Groton School, the Rev. John Crocker was known for his courageous viewpoints. In September 1951, three years before the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregation in public schools, Groton School accepted its first African-American student. In April 1965 he and his wife, accompanied by 75 Groton School students, marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a civil rights demonstration in Boston. After 25 years as headmaster at Groton School, he retired in June 1965.
Groton School has changed significantly over the past 100 years. Although most students in the early years were from New England and New York, its students now come from across the country and around the world. However, some traditions remain, such as handshakes to end the day, the school's commitment to public service, its small community, and its attachment to the Episcopal Church.
[edit] Campus
Groton's 385-acre campus encompasses rolling forests, expansive meadows, a portion of the Nashua river, and various athletic fields, as well as academic buildings and dormitories. Most of the buildings on campus are situated around the Circle, which is the School's common green shaped like a circle. Tradition prohibits students from crossing the Circle to reach the opposite side of the campus. The School's buildings include St. John's Chapel, the Schoolhouse, Brooks House and Hundred House Dormitories, the McCormick Library (58,000 volumes and 100+ periodicals), the Campbell Performing Arts Center, the Dining Hall, the Dillon Art Center and De Menil Gallery. Other facilities include the Alumni House, New Athletic and Recreation Center, Pratt and O'Brien Rinks and Tennis Center, the Bingham Boathouse, outdoor tennis clay courts and hardcourts, and many faculty homes. The landscape was designed by famous architect Frederick Law Olmstead, who is noted for his design of Central Park and various other academic institutions.
[edit] Students
The students are divided into forms ranging from IInd form to VIth form (8th to 12th grade). Second and third formers live in Brooks House, part of Lower School, with their prefects; fourth, fifth, and the remaining sixth formers live in Hundred House, also known as Upper School, and in two dorms in Lower School. Each dorm has 2-12 prefects, and is headed and named after a faculty member who has an apartment that is connected to the dorm.
In the 2006-2007 school year there are 352 students, 175 boys and 177 girls; 306 boarders and 36 day students and faculty/staff children. A breakdown by Forms is as follows: IInd Form (8th grade) - 29; IIIrd Form (9th grade)- 71; IVth Form (10th grade)- 82; Vth Form (11th grade)- 88; VIth Form (12th grade)- 82.
In 2006, the median SAT I scores were 690 reading, 700 writing, and 690 math. Between 2002 and 2006, Groton graduates attended the following colleges most frequently (in order): Harvard University, Princeton University, Brown University, Georgetown University, Trinity College, Vanderbilt University, University of Edinburgh, Yale University, University of Virginia, Cornell University, Columbia University, Middlebury College, and Tufts University.
[edit] Traditions
Groton is an intimate community as 90% of students are boarders and most teachers live on campus in dorms or faculty housing. Classes are small, ranging from 12-14 students. There are regularly scheduled sit-down dinners during fall term and during spring term; at sit-down dinner, faculty and students dress up formally and sit down for a proper 45 minute dinner and are served by students assigned as waiters. On the school's birthday in the fall, sit-down dinner features a jolly singing of "Blue Bottles" (the tune is similar to "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"). At the request of the VIth form, the members of which yell "We want blue bottles!", the Vth form gathers at the entrance to the dining hall and, under the conductorship of the youngest faculty alumnus who sets the tempo of the song by swinging a large carving knife back and forth, counts down the age of the school. Following Thursday evening sit-down dinners, many students and faculty gather in the Webb-Marshall Room below the dining hall for an intramural debate featuring members of the school's Debating Society -- Groton's oldest extracurricular organization. These debates also feature the Triple Speak, a fun and lighthearted extemporaneous speech during which the speaker must address at first only a single random word, but then incorporate a second and, finally, a third random word, which are announced during the speech.
On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays the Groton community begins the day with chapel. Preceding daily chapel is a prelude played by the school's organist; the service then begins at eight o'clock with a period of silence followed by a prayer and reading from one of several religious faiths and then a chapel talk. A "chapel talk" is delivered by the Headmaster, the Chaplain, a faculty member, a musical ensemble, a club or student organization, or a student. Many students see giving a chapel talk in their VIth form year as a right of passage. Daily chapel concludes with a hymn and a postlude, which is also played by the school's organist. Students and faculty may opt to leave chapel during the postlude to do work program and to attend Roll Call.
Originally intended for taking attendance, Roll Call is now a general assembly where daily announcements are made. Led by one of the school's two Senior Prefects, the Brooks House Prefect, or the Hundred House Prefect (both of whom are members of the VIth Form and are elected by their peers), Roll Call usually features both clever and entertaining skits and serious announcements. Once a term, the Headmaster calls off class and announces a Surprise Holiday. Surprise Holiday is announced at Roll Call by the appearance of a bright green jacket, usually integrated into a skit. One day near the end of the year, the VIth form collectively will conduct a filibuster during Roll Call, causing the meeting to run well into (and sometimes right through) first period. However, since the installment of Mr. Commons as Headmaster, the administration has been less lenient, and the filibuster seems to be a dying tradition.
One of the most notable of the school's traditions is hand-shaking. Each day at Groton concludes with students shaking hands with their dorm heads and prefects. As part of the school's Prize Day (commencement) proceedings, every member of the VIth form shakes hands with both the entire faculty and all underclassmen. After examinations, a similar ritual takes place as all underclassmen shake hands with the faculty before leaving for summer vacation.
The tradition of the service of Nine Lessons and Carols dates back to the 1930s, only a few years after the service was introduced by King's College at Cambridge University (which is still the most famous Lessons and Carols service, broadcast on radio each year). Every year, students prepare a Christmas service of carols sung to the music of the school chamber ensemble and the school's 5000+ pipe Aeolian-Skinner organ. The nine lessons begin with the story of Adam and Eve's banishment from the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis and include readings from Isaiah, Luke, and Matthew. The last lesson, the first fourteen verses of the first chapter of the Gospel of John is always read by the Headmaster. This reading is used again as in the last of three readings for the Festival of Light on the first Sunday after Epiphany, where it is again read by the Headmaster.
[edit] Abuse Allegation
In 1999, Massachusetts State Police began investigating the claim of former students that they had been sexually abused by other students in dormitories in 1996 and 1997. Subsequently, another student brought a charge against the school. Six years later, on April 25, 2005, Groton School pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of failing to report students' sexual abuse complaints to the state. The School paid a $1,000 fine. In the fall of 2006 Groton School issued a full apology to the victims.
[edit] Sports
- Fall
- Boys: Soccer, Football, and Cross Country
- Girls: Soccer, Cross Country, and Field Hockey
- Winter
- Boys: Squash, basketball, and ice hockey
- Girls: Squash, basketball, and ice hockey
- Spring
- Boys: Crew, track, tennis, lacrosse, and baseball
- Girls: Crew, track, tennis, and lacrosse
Groton School is one of the thirteen original founders of the Independent School League, but it also competes with schools outside of the league.
Groton's traditional athletic rival is St. Mark's School. The day the two schools meet in athletic competition every term is called St. Mark's Day. Currently, Groton has tied the most recent fall, lost six winter seasons in a row, and has lost the most recent spring competition. As a side note, Middlesex's official school rival is St. Paul's School; however, Middlesex also has a Groton Day - Groton does not have a Middlesex Day.
[edit] Notable alumni
Notable alumni of Groton School include:
- Adrian S. Fisher, Deputy Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency;
- Andrés Velasco Brañes, Finance Minister of Chile
- Alexandra Paul, actress, star of Baywatch;
- Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr., career CIA officer, soldier, scholar, linguist, and grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt
- Ayi Kwei Armah, Ghanain novelist, short-story writer, essayist, considered one of Africa's most important writers;
- Bradford Washburn, photographer, director of the Boston Museum of Science from 1939-1980 and has been its Honorary Director (a lifetime appointment) since 1985;
- Bronson M. Cutting, United States Senator from New Mexico
- C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury, Under Secretary of State, Ambassador to France;
- Charlie Grimes, 1956 Olympic gold medallist in men's eights, rowing
- Carter Brown, late art historian;
- Christopher Isham, Chief of Investigative Projects, ABC News
- Curtis Sittenfeld, author, whose book Prep is set at a thinly-veiled version of Groton;
- Dean Acheson, Secretary of State under President Truman, presidential advisor to Johnson;
- Donald Beer, 1956 Olympic gold medallist in men's eights, rowing
- E. Roland Harriman, financier and philanthropist
- Elisabeth Waterston, actress, The Prince and Me
- Ellery Sedgwick, editor
- Emory Clark, 1964 Olympic gold medallist in men's eights, rowing
- Endicott Peabody, former Governor of Massachusetts;
- Erastus Corning II, mayor of Albany, New York
- Eugene Rostow, Under-Secretary of State under President Johnson, head of Arms Control Agency;
- F. Trubee Davison, Director of Personnel for the Central Intelligence Agency
- Francis Biddle, Attorney General under Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941-1945), Chief American Justice of the Nuremberg Trials
- Francis Keppel, Commissioner of Education under President Kennedy
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States;
- Frederick Sheffield, 1924 Olympic gold medallist in men's eights, rowing
- Fred Gwynne, actor;
- Fred Morgan, teacher at Sage Hill School, philanthropist;
- Fuller Potter, abstract-expressionist artist;
- George Biddle, artist
- George Herbert Walker III, former ambassador to Hungary and board member of the New York Stock Exchange
- Gordon Gund, formerly the principal owner of the NBA franchise, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the co-owner of the NHL franchise, San Jose Sharks
- Hardwick Simmons, former CEO Prudential Securities and NASDAQ
- Harry Mathews, poet;
- Harry Payne Whitney, businessman and thoroughbred horsebreeder
- Henry Nuzum, Olympic rower in men's double sculls, 8th place finish in 2000, 5th place finish in 2004
- Hiram Bingham IV, American Vice Consul in Marseilles, France during World War II
- Howard Kingsbury, 1924 Olympic gold medallist in men's eights, rowing
- James H. Smith, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air and Director of the International Cooperation Administration.
- James C. Auchincloss, United States Representative from New Jersey
- James Lawrence, 1928 Olympic gold medallist in men's coxed fours, rowing
- James Waterston, actor, Dead Poets Society
- Jim Cooper, United States Representative from Tennessee
- John Bross, CIA official
- John Hay Whitney, Ambassador to Britain, newspaper publisher;
- John Parker, fourth place finish at the 1988 Olympics in men's eights, rowing
- Jonathan Brewster Bingham, United States Representative from New York
- Joseph Alsop, important and famous political journalist after World War II
- Joseph Grew, Ambassador to Japan before WWII, Under Secretary of State;
- Joseph Medill McCormick, United States Senator from Illinois
- Kermit Roosevelt, successful businessman, service in both World Wars, son of Theodore Roosevelt,
- Laurence Curtis, United States Representative from Massachusetts
- Lawrence Terry, coach of the 1936 Olympic gold medal-winning men's coxed four in rowing
- Louis Auchincloss, author, winner of the National Medal of Arts
- Marshall Green, Ambassador to Indonesia, Assistant Secretary of State for Far East;
- McGeorge Bundy, National Security Advisor under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson;
- Newbold Morris, President of the New York City Council under Mayor Fiorello La Guardia
- Peter Gammons, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, baseball writer and commentator
- Quentin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Jr.'s brother and son of President T. Roosevelt, fought and died in World War I;
- Quentin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt's grandson and nephew of Q. Roosevelt, above, killed in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances in China in 1948;
- Richard Bissell, CIA Deputy Director for Plans, Bay of Pigs planner, father of U-2; formed the basis for Matt Damon's character in the "The Good Shepherd"
- Richard Whitney, President of the New York Stock Exchange, convicted embezzler
- Robert C. Scott, United States Representative from Virginia
- Robert Greenhill, CEO Greenhill & Company Investment Bank;
- Sam Waterston, actor;
- Stanley Rogers Resor, Secretary of the Army, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy;
- Stephen Hill, Executive Vice President at Black Entertainment Television and trustee of Groton School;
- Sy Cromwell, 1964 Olympic silver medalist in rowing
- Ted Patton, 1988 Olympic bronze medallist in men's eights, rowing
- Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., son of President Teddy Roosevelt, Led the D-day assault on Utah Beach;
- Tom Rush, singer/songwriter;
- Tracy Barnes, CIA officer, one of the planners of the Bay of Pigs
- W. Averell Harriman, former New York governor;
- Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Chair at the Council on Foreign Relations
- William Bundy, McGeorge Bundy's brother, foreign affairs advisor to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson;
- William Payne Whitney, philanthropist and businessman.
[edit] Sources
- Ashburn, Frank D., Peabody of Groton, Coward McCann, Inc., New York, 1944.
- Hoyt, Edwin P., The Peabody Influence, Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1968.
- Fenton, John H., "Groton Headmaster Ends 25-Year Tenure," New York Times, June 13, 1965, p. 80.
[edit] External links
- School official website
- Groton School Admissions Video on SchoolFair.tv
- Groton School statistics provided by boardingschoolreview.com
Categories: Groton School alumni | Boarding schools in Massachusetts | Educational institutions established in 1884 | High schools in Massachusetts | Independent School League | Private schools in Massachusetts | Preparatory schools in Massachusetts | Episcopal schools in the United States of America
