ST. ANDREW'S SCHOOL (DELAWARE)

'St. Andrew's School' is a coeducational boarding school located in Middletown, Delaware in the United States, which enrolls students in grades nine through twelve.
St. Andrew's was founded in 1929 by A. Felix duPont (1879-1948), a member of the prominent Du Pont family. A small Episcopal preparatory school, St. Andrew's originally was a school for young men of all socio-economic classes but has evolved to about 285 students of all races and both genders. The school has an endowment of 190 million dollars with over $700,000 per student. Still, it is socio-economically diverse, having dispensed 3.1 million dollars in financial aid in 2005.
Half the student receive some form of financial aid. They also offer financial assistance to upper income families, so they get the full range of family economic situations, not just the dumb bell effect of just rich and poor. The $38,000 tuition is high but in keeping with the cost of top schools. They accepted 1/4 of applicants in 2007.
It offers an average class size of eleven and state-of-the-art facilities, including the new O'Brien Arts Center, constructed in 2004. Additionally, the school has made plans to build athletic facilities in the next three years.
''Dead Poets Society'' was filmed there. The film portrays an ugly, competitive, dark, elitist and mean culture consistent with many of the negative stereotypes of American boarding schools in literature and cinema.
In contrast to that portrayal, St. Andrew's prides itself on its "counter-cultural" philosophy. The whole school strives to create an idyllic community. It is a bright, positive, inclusive nurturing environment. Student/faculty relationships are centered around trust and friendship. Many of the teachers are young and they are all zealous about connecting to the intellectual development of the students. It is a happy, turned on, safe place where teenagers thrive and grow into scholars athletes and artists.
The St. Andrew's honor code is the source of much of the trust between the faculty and students. It is not uncommon for a master to leave his classroom while his/her students are taking an exam.

Contents

Educational Philosophy

History

Athletics

Film Appearances

Notable alumni

External links

Educational Philosophy

The purpose of St. Andrew's School is to provide secondary education of a Christian character at a minimum cost consistent with modern equipment and highest standards. The school cultivates in its students a deep and lasting desire for learning; a willingness to ask questions and pursue skeptical, independent inquiry; and an appreciation of the liberal arts as a source of wisdom, perspective and hope. Students are encouraged to model their own work on that of practicing scholars, artists and scientists and to develop those skills necessary for meaningful lives as engaged citizens.
St. Andrew's offers a full course curriculum in the liberal arts. The culmination of a student's English career is the Senior Exhibition. In the Senior Exhibition, a student will read a work of literature provided by his or her instructor, develop a thesis on that work of literature in the form of a 7-12 page paper and defend the thesis before members of the English department. Although the academic experience at the school is rigorous across the board, the mathematics and science departments are often given secondary focus compared to the humanities.

History

Athletics

All St. Andrew's students are required to participate in a sport at the thirds, junior varsity or varsity level. Teams that frequently win state championships include the varsity girls' lacrosse team, winning the state title from 2002-2005, and the varsity tennis teams. The varsity boy's lacrosse team took states in 2004. In addition, the St. Andrew's rowing program is consistently competitive in both national, and world-wide rowing competitions. In 1997, the St. Andrew's womens rowing team won the School/Junior Eights class in the Henley Women's Regatta in England. St. Andrew's traditional, conference rivals include the Wilmington Friends School, Tatnall School and Tower Hill School. Every year, the football team battles the Tatnall Hornets for the coveted cannon and often the conference title in the Cannon Game. Athletic rivals in other sports include the Hill School, Sanford School, Salesianum, Middletown High School and Westtown School.

'Fall Interscholastic Sports' ★ Cross Country (M/W) ★ Field Hockey (W) ★ Football (M) ★ Volleyball (W) ★ Soccer (M/W)

'Winter Varsity Sports' ★ Basketball (M/W) ★ Squash (M/W) ★ Swimming and Diving (M/W) ★ Wrestling (M)

'Spring Varsity Sports' ★ Baseball (M) ★ Crew (M/W) ★ Lacrosse (M/W) ★ Tennis (M/W)

Film Appearances

The 1989 film Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams was filmed almost entirely on the school grounds.
The episode of The West Wing entitled "Two Cathedrals" (#44) was partly filmed at the school.

Notable alumni

★ Admiral Dennis C. Blair (1964) - Retired Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command; President/CEO of the Institute for Defense Analyses

★ William R. Brownfield (1970) - United States Ambassador to Venezuela for President George W. Bush

★ Gardner A. Cadwalader (1966) - Rowed at 1967 Pan American Games and the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City

★ Roy Foster - Irish academic, educator and historical writer

★ Alex Handy - (1996) Journalist and writer

★ Richard Myers - Singer for punk rock group Richard Hell and the Voidoids

★ Edward Strong (1966) - Producer of Tony-winning musicals ''Jersey Boys'', ''Titanic'' and ''Big River''

★ Kirk Varnedoe (1963) - American art historian and writer

★ Tom Verlaine - Guitarist and singer for 1970s art punk group Television

★ Loudon Wainwright, Jr. - ''Life (magazine)'' columnist

★ Loudon Wainwright III (1965) - American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor

★ George Welch (1936) - first pilot to break the sound barrier (before Chuck Yeager)

★ Michael J. Whalen (1984) - Emmy Award-winning composer

★ William H. Whyte (1935) - author of ''The Organization Man''

★ John Witwer (1958) - Colorado state representative

★ Michael Zimmer - Columbia University Heavyweight Rowing Head Coach

External links

★ St. Andrew's School website

★ St. Andrew's School Library website