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St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)

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For other schools with a similar name, see St. Albans School

St. Albans School is a private college preparatory school for boys, in Washington, D.C.. The School's motto is "For Church and Country" and its mascot is the Bulldog. It is named after St. Alban, traditionally regarded as the first British martyr. The name is commonly abbreviated "STA." It enrolls approximately 550 boys between grades 4 and 12 and is affiliated with the National Cathedral School for Girls (NCS) and the co-ed Beauvoir School, for PK-3 students, all located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral on Mount St. Alban in Washington.

St. Albans has a reputation of being one of the most rigorous and prestigious schools in the country; graduates include Former Vice President Al Gore, and Senators Evan Bayh and John Warner, and Fox News host Brit Hume, among many other notables. Children of many American politicians and business leaders attend, leading GQ Magazine to name Mason Lecky, the admissions director, number 42 in the 2007 "The 50 Most Powerful People in DC"

The School was founded in 1909 by Harriet Lane Johnston, niece of President James Buchanan, as a school for boy choristers at the Washington National Cathedral, a program that the school continues today.

64 percent of the faculty at the school have advanced degrees, as well as nationally-recognized and award-winning teachers. The school also maintains one writer-in-residence, who teaches English classes while developing their work. The School’s seventh headmaster is Vance Wilson.

School philosophy

St. Albans School is a college preparatory school for boys, chartered by the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation (PECF), and is run in the Episcopalian tradition but welcomes students of all faiths. The School is dedicated to fostering the spiritual, intellectual, and physical development of its students. St. Albans challenges its students to achieve excellence and to embrace responsibility, and it expects them to act always with honor and to respect and care for others.

Spiritually rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, St. Albans strives to develop in its boys awareness and love of God and a sense of moral responsibility. The School believes that the spiritual growth of its students gives meaning to their intellectual and physical endeavors. Toward this end, St. Albans seeks to provide an understanding of the Christian faith, as expressed through the Episcopal tradition. As an Episcopal School with a pastoral commitment to all, St. Albans welcomes boys of all faiths and respects the religious beliefs of all members of the School community.

The objective of the School's rigorous academic program is to teach each student strong skills of analysis and expression; to instill core knowledge in the arts, sciences, and humanities; to foster the ability to think critically, creatively, and independently; and to inspire intellectual curiosity and a passion for learning. Through its varied academic and extracurricular offerings, St. Albans encourages its students to develop their unique talents and to pursue knowledge that will serve both the individual and society.

An integral part of the curriculum, the required athletic program seeks to instill values and to teach skills for life-long fitness and health. Through participation in sports, each boy develops strengths of body and character. Emphasizing discipline, teamwork, competitive spirit, and sportsmanship, the athletic program teaches important lessons for life's challenges.

St. Albans School is a diverse family that welcomes and values individuals from all backgrounds. Such diversity is essential to a vital community of learning and growth. In nurturing the hearts, minds, and bodies of its students, St. Albans prepares boys for fulfilling lives of responsibility, leadership, and service to others.

St. Albans School Honor Code

St. Albans has an honor code that students are expected to follow.
"Recognizing that honesty is of primary importance in an educational institution, St. Albans requires its students to observe an Honor Code in all aspects of School life. Lying, cheating, and stealing are violations of the Code; violators make themselves liable to expulsion. Any student who has violated the Code is expected to report his offense to a member of the Student Council or of the faculty. Any student who has knowledge of a violation should speak to the offender and ask him to report himself as soon as possible. If the offender fails to do so, the student is urged to report him to a member of the Student Council, the Dean of Students, or a member of the faculty."

Athletics

St. Albans competes in the Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC), a league of private schools in the Washington, D.C. area. Other members of the league are The Bullis School, Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia), Georgetown Preparatory School, Landon School, and St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. The School fields Varsity teams in fourteen sports: cross country, football, soccer, aquatics, basketball, indoor soccer, ice hockey, wrestling, track and field, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, golf and crew.

Trivia

  • Outside the main entrance of the school sits a bush that is supposedly a cutting from the Glastonbury Thorn. The tree has been replaced several times with younger cuttings from the original stock, even as recently as 2003.
  • The school prayer was taken aboard the Apollo 11 mission, in 1969, and read by St. Albans alumnus Michael Collins '48.

Extracurriculars and clubs

St. Albans has one official student newspaper, The Saint Albans News. Founded in 1930, it is one of the oldest, continuously published student newspapers in the country. The Independent is an unofficial newspaper founded by St. Albans and NCS students in response to alleged censorship by the School administration of the official newspaper. Students publish several books annually: a yearbook called the "Albanian," a collection of Chapel Talks called "Grace," and a collection of student literature called "Gyre." ClosePerspectives is a newsmagazine that features in-depth reporting on stories related to campus life as well as broader news issues and is published by the PECF.

St. Albans has a coordinate performing arts program with NCS that puts on eight productions each year, including dance, drama, and musical performances. In recent years, the schools have won several National Capital Area Cappies for individuals, staging, and technical accomplishments.

The school also sponsors many political clubs, and competitive groups such as "It's Academic", Fed Challenge, JETS, and a math team. Fundraising groups have been common in recent years, and most dances held at the school donate their profits to charity, including a tsunami relief concert which featured the band, The Walkmen, which includes four St. Albans alumni.

The Upper School has a student council that primarily serves on the disciplinary councils and organizes social events. Each Form has three prefects, one of whom is the class president. There is also a Head Prefect, always a sixth form student.

The St. Albans "Skip Grant" program seeks out to accept and support nontraditional students from a diversity of socioeconomic and ethnic groups. This program, previously called the "RISK Program," was begun by former St. Albans teacher Brooks Johnson and is now named after the program's second director, former teacher, coach and athletic director, Oliver "Skip" Grant. Currently, the "Skip Grant" program is led by Malcolm C. Lester, English teacher and Head Lacrosse Coach at St. Albans.

St. Albans also has a rich tradition of aquatic sports. The Lawrence Pool, a 6 lane, 25 yard pool with a 1 meter diving board, houses the St. Albans and NCS Swimming and Diving programs in the winter. Other local schools and club teams rent the pool and hold meets there as well.

Notable alumni

The School of Public Service

School of Public Service (SPS) is a leadership program that begins with an intensive four-week summer academic session held in Washington, DC from June 17th to July 14th. Only 30 rising high school seniors are selected to participate in SPS, located at St. Albans School on the grounds of the National Cathedral. SPS admits both male and female students who have already shown a great deal of interest in public service, as well as an ability to positively influence others. While in the program, the students gain experiences designed to heighten not only an interest in public service but also their probability of entering into and succeeding in a career in civic leadership. Students study at the highest level of scholarship, using Harvard and other case studies that are more commonly used at the graduate level. No credit is given to SPS students; rather they are motivated by their interest in public policy and their desire to be contributing members of the group. For more information about this unique program, click on School of Public Service

Expansion and renewal

In 2004, the school announced plans to construct Centennial Hall, rebuild the athletic fields, renovate the entire Upper School, and construct a new academic building to join the existing buildings together with its Centennial Hall project. The school hired the firm SOM; with lead architect Roger Duffy to design a replacement. It features a minor extension of the building, covering a service road, and an underground performing arts center.

Construction is expected to be largely done for the 2009 Centennial Celebration.

References

External links

St. Albans School homepage



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