Wyoming Seminary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wyoming Seminary is a private college preparatory school located in the Wyoming Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in Kingston and Forty Fort. It is near the Susquehanna River and the city of Wilkes-Barre. "Sem," as it is often called locally, is divided into a lower school of pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and an upper school of high schoolers. Both divisions are coeducational.

Students in grades nine through postgraduate have the option to board. Slightly more than one-third of the student body lives on campus.

1 History
2 In the present
3 Diversity
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Wyoming Seminary was founded by Methodist Church leaders in 1844. At the time, it was common practice to call any academy or school a "seminary." While the school remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it does not primarily educate students for the ministry or priesthood.

Its first class contained 31 students — 17 boys and 14 girls from Pennsylvania and New York.^[1] At the time, Kingston was a rural village, and the school raised livestock, grew its own produce, and built a smoke house with which to preserve meat for the winter.

After the industrial age began, the school grew. In the wake of the region's new mining and manufacturing concerns, a dedicated business school was created and a college preparatory program was established.

In 1892, the Wyoming Seminary football team participated in the world's first nighttime football game, playing against Mansfield University (then Mansfield State Normal School). The game ended at halftime due to insufficient lighting, with neither team scoring.^[2]

In 1951, Wyoming Seminary merged with the Wilkes-Barre Day School. As a result it became the region's only independent school to offer a complete program ranging from nursery through secondary school.^[1]

In the 1960s, the business and music schools were dissolved, leaving the college preparatory program as the secondary school's focus.

[edit] In the present

98% of those who graduated from Sem successfully graduated college. 44% of teachers at the Lower School hold master's degrees. Its current president is H. Jeremy Packard, who recently announced he would retire by the end of the 2006-07 school year. In November, Dr. Kip Nygren was announced as the new president of the school.

The school's 19th century buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[3]

The school's Madrigal Singers, a 28-voice choral group, have gained recognition for their proficiency. The group has toured worldwide — most recently touring Asia in 2006.^[4]

[edit] Diversity

Wyoming Seminary claims to have the most diverse student body of any school in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Students come from 14 states and the District of Columbia and from 23 other countries such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, South and North Korea, Libya, Pakistan, The People's Republic of China, Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and others.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Zbiek, Paul J. Luzerne County: History of the People and Culture. Lancaster, PA: Strategic Publications, 1994. 116-117.
^ Bailey, Chester P.. Night Football Game – 1892 (html). Tri-Counties Genealogy & History. Retrieved on December 26, 2006.
^ National Register of Historic Places — Pennsylvania — Luzerne County (html). National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved on December 26, 2006.
^ Barber, Ryan. Two-week tour of Asia worth singing about (html). Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. Retrieved on December 26, 2006.