Emma Willard School
Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary[3] and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and boarding school for young women, located in Troy, New York, on Mount Ida, offering grades 9–12 and postgraduate coursework.[4]
Emma Willard School
Troy Female Seminary
Private, college-prep, day and boarding
Gaudet Patientia Duris
(Patience Rejoices in Adversity)
1814
45 (FTE)
356 (2022-2023)
12
8.1
137 acres
Black
Red
White
Jesters
55 acres (22 ha)
Fred M. Cummings
Georgian, Jacobethan Revival
August 30, 1979
The first women's higher education institution in the United States, it was founded by women's rights advocate Emma Willard in 1814 (first in Middlebury, Vermont, as Middlebury Female Seminary, later moved to Troy and renamed Troy Female Seminary).[5] As of 2022, it had an endowment of $179 million.[6] In 2018, the school was ranked by The Post-Standard as the #1 private school in Upstate New York.[7]
Academics[edit]
Emma Willard is an independent college-preparatory day and boarding school enrolling students in grades 9–12 and post-graduate studies. Class sizes are kept at a 16-student maximum; the typical student to teacher ratio is 6 to 1. 83% of the faculty hold advanced degrees.[4] Advanced Placement classes are no longer offered as the school switched to their own system of advanced courses called Advanced Studies (AS) classes.
Most students take five courses each semester. Classes meet three times each week for fifty to seventy minute periods, though seminars, art classes, and other elective sections may for varying lengths of time. An ESL program offers intermediate and advanced-level curriculum for international students. Core requirements for graduation include a minimum of four units of English; three units of history, foreign language, mathematics; two units of lab science (one each in biology and physics), two units in the arts, and one-fourth unit in health. All students must fulfill a community service requirement and take physical education or its equivalent each semester in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades. Seniors must take at least ten weeks.
Emma Willard offers inquiry-based classes across all disciplines. In the fall of 2005, Emma Willard began its Physics First program for all incoming ninth-grade students. It has students take a basic physics course in the ninth grade rather than the biology course that is standard in most public schools.
Educational philosophy[edit]
The guiding educational philosophy at Emma Willard School is based on three pillars: intellectual flexibility, purpose & community, and equity & justice.[8] Each student is encouraged to develop fully in all areas of life: as a strong intellectual in a variety of disciplines, as a practitioner of her chosen passions, as a social member of the community, and as a responsible global citizen in her future.
In keeping with that philosophy of personal development providing its own benchmarks, class rank is not provided. The grading system uses letter and number grades: A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, etc., usually accompanied by a number indicating where on the spectrum the individual student falls. Emma Willard's independent-study program, Practicum, allows students to pursue coursework at area colleges, career internships, community service, and individualized athletic training and competition off-campus for academic credit. Over one-third of the students participate in Practicum each year.
Emma Willard students worked to make Emma Willard School the first fair trade high school in the United States in 2010.
Co-curricular pursuits[edit]
Co-curricular pursuits include sports, choir, orchestra, a cappella groups, the student newspaper, a literary arts magazine (Triangle), model UN, county-champion Mock Trial team, speech and debate, quiz team, various clubs, and the yearbook, among others.
As it is a fair trade school, students from EcoEmm Fair Trade Club study global social justice issues and help educate the community, as well as sell fair trade goods at the school. Students also sign petitions fighting human rights abuses worldwide. Each year, students and faculty take service trips to countries in the developing world so Emma's women can see the world and make the changes they discuss in their classrooms throughout the year. Emma Willard is also the first boarding school to become a member of the international Round-Square program. In 2009, students and faculty traveled to Africa and to Casa de los Angeles in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to care for the children of poor working mothers.
Traditions[edit]
Every year the senior class conduct a play called Revels. The plot mimics a medieval Christmas celebration set in a manor house. The parts are kept secret until the play. The first Revels performance was in 1915.[13] The seniors also control a triangular patch of grass in the center of campus called the Senior Triangle. Only seniors and alumnae are permitted to walk on the grass unless invited by a senior or alumna. Juniors "take over" this patch of grass after the seniors leave for senior retreat at the end of the year during Triangle Takeover.[14]
Juniors receive their class ring through their ring sister, who dresses them up throughout Ring Week and gives a half a quote to a member of the faculty for them to find before the week commences with Ring Dinner in which the ring is presented.[15]
Other traditions include hall tea where once a week students gather with their halls to bond;[16] Eventide, the winter concert; sophomore tree decorating; Peanuts and Shells (a version of secret Santa); May Day, in which freshman participate in a maypole dance and a May Queen who is voted on by the student body is crowned; and Principal's Play Day, a secret day chosen by the head of school in which class is cancelled.[14]
Student demographics[edit]
Girls currently hail from 24 states, and over 36 foreign countries.[4] In fall 2010 enrollment increased by 3%; the total student population was 319 (203 boarding, 116 day).
It has a diverse population: of the 339 students, 55 are students of color (according to guidelines established by the National Association of Independent Schools), 88 are international students, and 45 have an alumna or current sister relationship to the school.[17]
It maintains 13 Davis Scholarships, and 10 Capital District Scholarships.[18]
Of the 440 applicants for fall 2010, 149 (34%) were offered admission and 102 enrolled.
As of 2019, 42% of students are on financial aid.[19]
Campus[edit]
Emma Willard's 137-acre (55 ha) campus on Mount Ida, above the city of Troy, contains 30 buildings. The three oldest buildings, all of collegiate Gothic style, include a cathedral-like reading room, classrooms, offices, a main auditorium, a dance studio, a lab theater, three residence halls, dining facility, a student center, and a chapel.[17] The buildings were designed by the Olmstead Brothers.
A modern art, music, and library complex opened in 1967. The library holds more than 34,000 volumes and 77 print and online periodical subscriptions.[24]
Athletic facilities include a gymnasium with two basketball/volleyball/ indoor tennis courts, full facilities for fitness training and aerobic dance, a weight room, an aquatics center housing a competition-size pool, three large playing fields, and an all-weather track.[25]
The three-story Hunter Science Center houses laboratories and teaching facilities for chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics.[26] Approximately 75 percent of the faculty reside on campus in houses and apartments.
There are two main dormitory halls, Kellas and Sage.[27] There are 10 residential faculty members. Students may also live in Cluett House, a "residential experience for students who are interested in creating positive world change".[27]
The school was used as a filming location for the films The Emperor's Club (as St. Benedict's Academy) and Scent of a Woman (as Baird School).[28] In both films, the school is portrayed as an all-boys school, and becomes co-ed in the later-years section of The Emperor's Club. It is also the setting in the novel City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Athletics[edit]
Emma Willard has thirteen interscholastic sports teams: badminton, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, tennis, cross country, swimming, diving, basketball, lacrosse, softball, crew, and track (indoor and outdoor).[29] In 2019, there were 29 athletic coaches and affiliated personnel at Emma Willard.[29]
Facilities include an aerobics studio, pool, weight room, two athletics fields, an all-weather track, seven tennis courts, two pickleball courts, and woodlands with paths for biking or running.[25]
Affiliations[edit]
Emma Willard School is a member of the International Coalition of Girls' Schools, The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), the New York State Association of Independent Schools, and the National Association of Independent Schools.
Sexual abuse[edit]
In April 2017, Emma Willard released a comprehensive report on sexual misconduct by faculty members that spanned almost seven decades.[30] As a result, the school established the "Healthy Boundaries Initiatives"[31] to address the prevention of and response to sexual misconduct and abuse. Changes and revisions were made to policies, procedures, and programming, and the school stated its commitment to safety on campus and within the community.[32][33][34]