PAST TRADITIONS, FUTURE VISIONS: Part III of The Storm King School's history

from On the Mountain Spring 2018

**1967 CONSTRUCTION OF WALTER ORR STUDENT COMMONS**

PAST TRADITIONS, FUTURE VISIONS: THE SCHOOL’S HISTORY PART III

The Sesquicentennial—The Storm King School’s 150 th anniversary—is upon us. In this special commemorative issue of On the Mountain, we bring you the third and final piece in our three-part historical narrative series. Here, we will visit the School’s most recent 50 years and, from this magnificent vantage point, look out toward a future for Storm King that has never been brighter.

In our previous issue, we journeyed through the School’s middle years that witnessed two world wars, the Great Depression, and a period of transformation in the 1950s and early ’60s. It was Storm King’s Centennial, and Frank Brogan had just arrived on the Mountain as the School’s 10th Headmaster. Mr. Brogan would soon discover that the emerging times of cultural change would influence Storm King heading into the ’70s and beyond.

1967-2018: Toward the Millennium to the Sesquicentennial

THE CENTENNIAL Shortly after his arrival on the Mountain with his wife, Maia, and their two children, Frank Brogan presided over the School’s Centennial celebration in 1967. Three administrations that had been overseen by the Board of Trustees headed by Stephen P. Duggan were honored—those of Burke Boyce, Warren Leonard, and now Frank Brogan. During the celebrations, former New York governor and Ambassador-at-Large Averell W. Harriman was present to dedicate the brandnew Walter Orr Student Commons.

Headmaster Brogan noted optimistically that many students “were claimed by a fair vision of the School as it could be—a caring community—who in quiet and private moments made their decisions to meet the School’s high expectations.” After realizing that traditional punishments, such as expulsion for major disciplinary infractions, were costing the School students it didn’t want to lose and demoralizing the School community, he solicited the commitment of every student to support decisions short of dismissal. Soon after, he was faced with deciding what to do about five decent boys caught in a third infraction (what he called a “no-choice” decision). “I was desperate, so I set up a one-week survival program with Outward Bound at Hurricane Island in Maine. It was to be a demanding test of their desire to demonstrate to the School the sincerity of their commitment. Gaining their parents’ permission, they volunteered, and two teachers agreed to accompany them,” Brogan said at the time. “The month was February, the chill factor went to 16 degrees below zero, and they were outdoors the entire time. When they returned, very dirty, very proud, they were embraced. No one disputed their right to remain at the School.”

The late 1960s and early ’70s were difficult with the Vietnam War in full swing, but Headmaster Brogan and his ways persevered, capturing the heartsand minds of students in innovative ways. When one student asked him who the commencement speaker would be that year, Brogan spontaneously responded that “everyone” would be. In that spring of 1970, a tradition was born of every senior being allowed to say his piece at graduation; all but one student spoke, and only two made negative statements. Many schools would follow suit with their own open commencement forums.

COEDUCATION ON THE MOUNTAIN During Brogan’s tenure, another major change was implemented: The Storm King School’s first three full-time female students were admitted in the fall of 1970. The local paper noted that “in its 104 th year, Storm King welcomed 130 boys from 15 states and five foreign countries, as well as three full-status coeds from the Cornwall community.”

Headmaster Brogan reminded everyone that the School had already admitted some young ladies on a temporary basis back in 1912 when heavy snowfall made it impossible for them to get to school in Cornwall. That year, though, the School sought them. Headmaster Warren Leonard had pushed for coeducation but had insufficient support 15 years earlier, and the concept had been discussed for many years. Economics played a role, and Storm King’s policy shift reflected a national trend in independent schools. Enrollments were down, and SKS was fortunate to be near capacity. By the end of the year, the coed population had grown to include 14 female day students. Five years later, Storm King welcomed its first female boarders.

**LEFT TO RIGHT: KASSIE SPACKMAN RANDALL ’73, LYNN CREVLING ’72, AND BARBARA HOFFMAN ZOHAR ’72**

In 1974, Thad Horton succeeded Frank Brogan as Headmaster, and for the next nine years, he worked toward ushering the School into the 1980s. A graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a multifaceted man, Horton moved through successful careers in TV-radio sports broadcasting and advertising, among other things, before he became the 11 th Headmaster of The Storm King School.

Horton was best known for his dedication to students and quest to make learning engaging and fun. “Far too many young people have long since lost whatever sense of joy and excitement school once held for them,” said Horton in one of his commencement speeches. “Our first job, then, is to restore fun at school, through imaginative course development; comfortable pupil/teacher relationships; informal, seminar-style classroom structure; then confidence, based on faith in both teacher and self; then success, based on work done with confidence, in a community of concern.” His words mirror the mission and values The Storm King School adheres to today.

EMBRACING THE ARTS AND THE OUTDOORS Dr. Rients and Suzanne Van der Woude, residents of Mountain Road, announced in December 1981 that 70 acres of Storm King Mountain land, contiguous to the campus on the western side, would be donated to the School. With a significant grant from Girard B. Henderson ’23, the Henderson Outdoor Recreation Program was launched, further expanding the tradition of embracing the School’s natural setting and immersing students in the outdoors. From regular hikes in Black Rock Forest to weeklong camping trips in New England, the program we now call Outdoor Education introduced students to mountaineering, rock climbing, rafting, wilderness first aid, and outdoor photography, among other skills. These significant developments came at the end of Horton’s tenure and sealed his legacy to the School and the surrounding community.

In 1983, Thad Horton was succeeded by Headmaster James T. Dowell, who served for the next three years. His tenure saw The Storm King School formalize its membership as one of 15 founders of the Black Rock Forest Consortium in 1984, permanently preserving the 3,800 acres of wild mountain forest for the public’s benefit.

1984 was also an important year for the arts at Storm King—the year when the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre was dedicated as the result of a generous gift from SKS alumnus Walter Reade Jr. ’35, whose eponymous movie theatre chain had grown to more than 70 locations around the world. A facility was now available on campus for the study and practice of dramatic arts, a program that incorporated everything from sound and lighting to set and costume design, voice, and stage performance, which has provided countless opportunities for Storm King students to flourish. It also offered a 230-seat venue for allschool gatherings that could include parents and friends.

Headmaster John Suitor Jr., who served from 1987 to 1997, presided over a decade that included more important dedications—that of a new roll-top observatory built around a late 19 th -century telescope bequeathed to the School, and the renovation of the Cobb House, the former residence of the Cobb family and descendants of the School’s second Headmaster, on the north edge of the campus. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Karl Soderlund, the home was acquired by the School in 1990 and expanded to become the Allison Vladimir Art Center, named after Ms. Soderlund’s daughter. Since then, the visual arts program at The Storm King School has thrived with courses ranging from painting to printmaking, pottery, and sculpture to digital design and video production.

ENTERING THE MILLENNIUM Phillip Riley, who was Headmaster from 1997 to 2004,was heralded as the man who returned Storm King to athletic prominence. The year of the millennium saw the boys varsity basketball team win the New England Preparatory Schools Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) title, repeat as conference champions in 2001, and experience a near-miss repeat win in 2002. Three years later, in an epic soccer match that went scoreless for 120 minutes, the boys varsity team was named NEPSAC cochampion alongside Chase Collegiate School. Effectively, the title match was called a draw.

Helen “Steevie” Chinitz became Storm King’s first female head of school in 2004, marking a moment in time when girls were well represented, not only within the student body, but across the faculty and staff. Steevie’s administration also established the Mountain Center, predecessor of today’s Academic Support Program, where students with learning differences could receive additional, intensive help in smaller classes. Ms. Chinitz retired in 2012 to be replaced by Paul Domingue until 2014.

THE SESQUICENTENNIAL AND BEYOND Jonathan W. R. Lamb, the current Head of School, was appointed to succeed Domingue in 2014. Under Lamb’s vision and leadership, The Storm King School has entered yet another era of transformation, reaching historic heights on all fronts: enrollment, signature academic programs, experiential learning, the arts, athletics, and campus improvements. As the School approaches the culmination of its Sesquicentennial celebrations at the end of the school year in 2018, a new academic center is on the drawing board which will embrace the modern concept of STEAM teaching and learning—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics— as students are prepared for the rapid advances of the 21 st -century economy.

Ultimately, The Storm King School will continue to thrive, as it has for the past 150 years, by doing what it has always done impeccably: inspiring students toward academic strength and confidence with a caring faculty and community who embrace character, balance, and trust. Today, Storm King’s legacy lives on through its thousands of alumni who have left the Mountain and taken their successful places throughout the world. This legacy will endure for the next 150 years as long as Storm King continues to reflect on its rich history while it moves forward in meeting the challenges of the 21 st century and beyond.

ALMA MATER

In the shade of Storm King Mountain stands our Alma Mater true.

Oh Storm King School we proudly honor,

Let us offer praise to you.Sing her glory and her beauty,Let praise sound from hill to vale.Beloved is our Alma Mater,Storm King School to you all hail.—Jean Brosseau

This article is from:

On the Mountain Spring 2018