16 minute read
A Brief History of the Academy, Part 2 of 2
The fall 2018 issue of 1794 included the first part of Cheshire Academy’s history, from its founding through the 1960s, with a focus on academic and community life. The article pointed to many defining moments of special insight and accomplishment, both individual and collective, that helped develop the Academy’s identity. This second installment brings the narrative to the present, a time of international vision and institutional health, and forward thinking and strategic approaches that address the challenges and opportunities of current society and culture.
While it is impossible to include all the milestones, every achievement — great and small — and all the people who made an impact, we have attempted to cover a range of highlights. In this brief article and on the pages that follow, you hopefully will get the “big picture” and a sense of the progress and advancement made through the decades. The points are intended to take you back, spark a distant memory, pull on a heartstring, bring a smile, and broaden your understanding of the truly remarkable legacy of our extraordinary Cheshire Academy.
The Academy prospered through the 1960s, reaching enrollments of up to 800 boys from all parts of the United States and many countries around the world. While academics and college prep were the focus, the school had many powerhouse athletics programs during this period. The 1964 football team was undefeated, and the mile relay team won gold medals in the prep division at the Penn Relays in 1964 and 1965. Some school records set by those teams still stand today. A lacrosse program began and many teams excelled in swimming, wrestling, and baseball. Tennis was notably strong as well. In 1967, Cheshire’s own Lenny Simpson ’68 was the youngest participant ever at the U.S. Open, before returning to CA for his senior year. Simpson, the developer and director of The One Love Tennis Foundation in Wilmington, North Carolina, and former CA trustee, returned to the Academy on a recent Martin Luther King Day to present a celebrated documentary film made by his Foundation about his mentor and friend, Althea Gibson — the first African- American to break the color barrier in professional tennis.
Throughout the 1970s, many boys’ soccer teams at peer schools dreaded their Cheshire match, as the CA teams featured highly developed players from Europe, South America, and the Middle East at a time when American soccer was in its infancy and lagging far behind much of the world.
Hurley Hall
1964 football
Zenith
Female boarding students in 1974.
Cheshire Academy once again welcomed girls, in 1970, which led to new programs and opportunities in the arts and athletics. One notable event in this period was an arts weekend in 1972 called Zenith. A group of students approached young English teacher Bob Gardiner and asked, “Instead of the essay project you assigned, could we develop an arts festival on campus?” Gardiner agreed to be the faculty advisor, as long as they put genuine effort into it. Gardiner said they eventually “blew him away” with their effort and the quality of the production. Members of that student leadership group recall an exciting weekend with visual art displays all over campus, a variety of dramatic performances, and music provided by a rock band named Fancy. It’s worth noting that several members of Fancy went on to professional careers as musicians and music producers: Bassist Paul Ossola ’67 eventually played for eight years in the “Saturday Night Live” house band before developing a studio career in Nashville. Vic (Bernadoni) Steffens ’70, the drummer and leader, won the New England Music Producer of the Year award in 2016. Larry Hartley ’72, who was the band’s “business manager,” learned hands-on about renting staging and lighting, arranging for food vendors, and engaging police supervision for the major traffic arriving on campus. Day students were allowed to stay on campus in tents, in imitation of the recent festival at Woodstock. And Andrew Fezza ’72, a celebrated industry leader and men’s fashion designer, also helped arrange the weekend events. Fezza was the inaugural inductee into the Cheshire Academy Arts and Letters Hall of Fame in 2018.
Talib Kwlei Greene ’93
In 1975, nine years after Head of School Arthur Sheriff retired, Dr. Ernest Beaulac affirmed the school’s focus on helping students develop their individual learning skills and unique personalities. With leadership from trustee John Collins, they restored the school’s base and gradually revived the school’s enrollment. Critical in this endeavor was hiring dynamic young faculty members attuned to the school’s fundamental mission of caring for students in multiple ways and expecting them to give their very best. Throughout these years, the most vital aspects of the school’s identity always held true.
Dr. Earnest Beaulac
Looking to continue the work of rejuvenating the school by drawing upon its traditional strengths, the school hired John Hyslop in 1986 to lead the way. Hyslop provided capable leadership for 13 years, attracting many strong, enthusiastic teachers to the school. He made efforts to recognize and support faculty excellence. In 1992, theater director Shelley Taylor-Boyd and a group of students created the Little Black Box Theater in the Arthur Sheriff Field House. In subsequent years, several student performers would go on to high level accomplishments in theater-related arts, including voice-over artist Christian Rosselli ’00, Netflix director Bellamy Forrest ’94, and hip-hop recording artist, entrepreneur, and social activist Talib Kweli Greene ’93, who shared the CA stage with actor James Van Der Beek ’95 and delivered impressive, multi-character performances in the ambitious 1993 production of Edward Arlington Robinson’s, “The Spoon River Anthology.”
As a result of a generous gift from an alumnus, the lower school was added in 1994, resulting in a kindergarten through post-graduate program for the first time in the Academy’s long history. In 1999, Jerry Larson followed John Hyslop as Head of School and navigated a critical effort to rearticulate its student-centered mission in more modern terms. Larson led the faculty in a formal examination of “the art and science of teaching,” and development of the Eight Pillars of Bowden character education program. The Pillars — respect, responsibility, caring, citizenship, civility, morality, fairness, and trustworthiness — provide a vocabulary for interactions in all areas of school life. Both of these initiatives made a positive impact in many ways and are part of the everyday experiences of today’s Academy students. The Pillars are often referenced both formally and informally in many of the “teachable moments” that occur around the campus each day, both inside and outside of the classroom.
In 2000, the Board of Trustees made a decision to eliminate the lower grades, and eventually the middle school, to better focus the school’s resources on the upper school. The visual arts department moved into the lower school building, with plenty of classrooms, studios, and display areas to showcase the impressive works of art by the Academy’s many talented students and faculty, a highlight of campus tours today.
Ralph Van Inwagen and Doug Rogers followed Larson as Heads of School. Rogers led the adoption of the International Baccalaureate® Programme, a rigorous program of study and a fast-growing global organization. The IB Program emphasizes creativity, synthesis, personal initiative, service, and international understanding, all of which blend perfectly with CA’s global community, and is a feature that distinguishes the school from many of its peers. All students at CA take one or more IB courses, and especially motivated students can select the full IB Diploma, taking all IB courses and meeting several other academic requirements that can lead to up to one year of college credits.
In 2018, Julie Anderson, a longtime faculty member and academic leader, was appointed the first fully tenured female Head of School. Anderson has served the Academy for more than 17 years as a teacher, department chair, advisor, dorm head, and Dean of Faculty. In the words of retired senior master Bob Gardiner, “Julie understands Cheshire Academy in the way Arthur Sheriff did … She really has a deep feeling for what the school is supposed to be.”
Some historians describe the past as something entwined and subtly hidden within the present. Examining the fascinating history of Cheshire Academy allows us to see those moments when a particular voice or collective spirit rose to define and lead the school towards the excellence it enjoys today. Sometimes the voice was that of a student such as Gideon Welles, at other times a leader such as Dr. Horton, Dr. Bowden, or Dr. Larson, and many times it was that of a charismatic teacher such as the revolutionary Bronson Alcott, Eri Woodbury, or Morris Sweetkind, a celebrated scholar and author, whose books remain in print today.
The Academy honors the contributions of community members, including current senior masters Karen Smith and Chip Boyd, and recent retirees Ann Moriarty, Bevan Dupre ’69, and Bob Gardiner, in whose names, respectively, a most improved student award, a social science award, an award for citizenship, and an excellence in teaching award are given each year. And the legacies and support of so many alumni, students, parents, faculty, and friends are celebrated throughout campus in the naming of significant buildings, spaces, and features, or through the scholarships, awards, and chairs named in their honor.
Throughout the last 225 years, a passion for all kinds of excellence and a deeply felt belief in the value of all individuals have driven the progress of the school. More than being known as the 10th oldest boarding school in the country, Cheshire Academy has been a leader in the independent school world, admitting people from previously excluded groups far ahead of peer schools on many occasions. The international nature of the school, sparingly begun in 1817, is now a defining feature of the Academy. Diversity, so valued at many schools today, was a way of life at Cheshire Academy long before it was even consciously considered at many other institutions. The school today consistently enrolls students from more than 25 countries, 15 U.S. states, and 51 Connecticut towns, resulting in a remarkably vibrant, diverse, and interesting school culture. Moral vision and social purpose have always informed the school’s thinking and practice, and today its ethos reflects the enduring benefits of that long commitment to an intelligent, humanistic mission. As Head of School Anderson noted in a recent article about the Academy’s history, published in a local newspaper, “As a community, we can be most proud of the overall quality of our alumni as human beings and positive contributors to society here and abroad.”
Karen Smith
Julie Anderson and Jemimah Frempong ’18
For more than two centuries, the school has endured challenges and embraced opportunities inherent in a history that dates back to the earliest days of the United States, and has enjoyed many periods of prosperity and security. Always sensitive to the needs and problems of the world around it, Cheshire Academy has evolved into an International Baccalaureate® World School with an explicit mission to develop open-minded, passionate, global citizens with a humanistic understanding of society and fluid and highly tuned problem-solving skills.
The Academy today embraces the finest moments of its rich and diverse past, while we marshal the kind of passion, skill, and commitment needed to move forward in the 21st century. The enthusiastic student body is led by a talented faculty, supported and cared for by a dedicated staff, board of trustees, parents, and alumni. Cheshire Academy students and alumni inspire optimism for the nation and the world; they indeed become the capable, thoughtful leaders and citizens of tomorrow.
Angela Robinson ’82
As we proudly celebrate a significant milestone in our history, we also affirm with confidence the hopes, aspirations, and ambitions of generations of educators and students who came before us, and those in 2019 who are poised to make a meaningful impact on the world.
CAMPUS
During this time, considerable time and resources were also invested in the development and stewardship of the Academy’s campus. This includes the Charles Harwood ’40 Student Center, the David Markin ’48 Tennis Courts, Markin Hall, Woodbury Hall, the three faculty houses along Sheriff Way — the Joseph E.B. Johnson ’38 House, the Eddie J. Hart House, and the Jerome Sullivan House — as well as the construction of the Library and Humanities Building. John J. White ’38 stepped up with the lead gift to the John J. White ’38 Science and Technology Center and loyal trustees like Frank Motter ’61 spearheaded many campus improvements, including the newest girls’ dormitory that carries his name. The Armando Simosa ’08 Turf Field, a gift from his parents, Armando Sr. and Maria Simosa, raised the athletic profile of the school and ushered in the many current successful sports teams that practice and compete on that field as well as the Armando Simosa ’08 Athletics Performance Complex in the Arthur Sheriff Field House. The complex has added a combination of a newly renovated strength and conditioning room and a brand new fitness center, and has contributed greatly to health, wellness, and athletics on campus.
History of Girls at Cheshire Academy
Cheshire Academy has served as the springboard to success for many intelligent and inspirational female students over the years.
Dr. Suzanne Austin ’70 is now the Senior Vice Provost of the University of Alabama Birmingham. Angela Robinson ’82 became the youngest Superior Court judge in Connecticut history in 1988 and Alexis Holmes ’18 broke multiple Penn State track and field records during her freshman year, and was part of a 4x400m Pan-Am Games relay team that broke a World U20 record this past July. Holmes later transferred to Kentucky.
Cheshire Academy provided a high-quality education for female students when it opened its doors more than two centuries ago. The school’s original constitution in 1796 stated that “female education may be attended to in this institution, by such instructors and under such conditions as the trustees shall direct.” There are not many records from that time because of the loss of many historical documents due to several fires across our 225 years. Cheshire Academy does have some early alumni directories that show girls attended the school in the early part of the 1800s.
In 1836, a new constitution was drafted and it stated that “The Academy shall be designed exclusively for boys.” The local townspeople were understandably upset by this and they tried to petition the state legislature to allow girls to attend, but they were met with failure. The school moved toward a more military-styled academy after this time. There were many changes in the school over the next century, but the school remained a school for boys until the late 1960s.
Students in 1974.
In the fall of 1969, girls were once again allowed to attend Cheshire Academy, but only as day students. The arrival of girls on campus affected virtually all aspects of Cheshire Academy life,
from academics and clubs to sports. There were many milestones in those first few years. The girls joined the Pep Club and started a cheerleading squad. Lisa Joan Calli ’73, from Northford, Connecticut, was elected the first female class officer.
The spring of 1970 saw the first softball team coached by Mr. Jose Millares. The team played four games, two each with Hamden Hall and the Foote School. At the Senior Awards Banquet, the team presented their coach with a trophy in recognition of the team’s appreciation for “his patience, trust, and cooperation in welding together a historic first girls’ athletic team.”
In the spring of 1974, girls started playing on the tennis team. In the fall of 1975, Cheshire Academy had its first field hockey team.
Some other milestones were in 1970-71, when Beth Parsons ’71 was elected first Senior Class Secretary and Gail Forman ’72 was named Junior Class Secretary. That year, the sophomore class had girls as Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Within several years of girls being admitted as day students, their names began appearing as the award winners for many of the academic prizes being handed out.
Throughout the early 1970s, there was talk of allowing girls to board, but there was some resistance to this idea. In the school’s student newspaper, the Academy Review, there were several articles and editorials encouraging the Board of Trustees to accept girls as boarders. One teacher remarked “Girl boarders will be a refreshing improvement at the Academy.” Then in January of 1975, The Roosevelt School, a small coed boarding school in Stamford, closed. Then Cheshire Academy Head of School, James Crosby, made arrangements for the students and faculty to move onto campus temporarily while they tried to relocate their school. The girls and female faculty were housed in Hurley Hall and the boys and the male faculty in Von der Porten’s first floor. Initially, students had their own classes and teachers but, in time, what started as temporary support became a permanent solution, and many of the students became part of Cheshire Academy. By the
end of that January, Cheshire Academy was accepting applications for boarding girls and moved the school into a new era of coed boarding by the fall of 1976.
In 2002, a new dorm was built for girls near the Field House. This dorm was later named Motter Hall. This was a commitment to strengthen the support for girls living on campus.
The first women’s group — The Coleman Group — held its inaugural meeting on Feb. 12, 2004. It was named in honor of Marion Moore Coleman, who was the historian for Cheshire Academy and the author of the only book published on the school’s rich history. A room in the library was financially supported by the Coleman Group and named after her. It is the first room on campus in Cheshire Academy’s history to be named after a woman. Marion Moore Coleman said, “If there is one thing to be learned from my life, it is that you should pursue a field you enjoy working in and not settle for anything less.”
Since its inception, the group has sponsored a number of informative symposiums. The various topics presented were: Women in Sports and Title IX, The Creative Life: Women in the Arts, Women in a Global Workplace, Women in Careers in Science & Math, Careers in Social and Psychiatric Services and Women in Leadership. The Senior Recognition and Pin Ceremony is held annually by the group in May.
