Walsingham Academy
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Upper School Director SEARCH PROSPECTUS Walsingham Academy WILLIAMSBURG, VA WWW.WALSINGHAM.ORG JULY 2017 Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions, LLC History of Walsingham Academy he first day of class at Walsingham Academy was September 16, 1947 at 601 College Terrace in Williamsburg, Virginia. This house, which has since served as a rectory for the priests at St. Bede Catholic Church, was built as a fraternity house. It was later Walsingham Academy is a Tbought by St. Bede parish for use as an USO residence for women. After the war, it was free to distinguished Catholic serve another purpose – a Catholic school. Christ-centered community for academic excellence. It was Father Thomas Walsh’s vision to have a Catholic school in Williamsburg, “because he felt that you reach parents most quickly through the children,” Sister Mary Emmanuel wrote in Walsingham’s chronicles. It was he who invited the Sisters of Mercy of Philadelphia to Williamsburg and offered the use of the USO building as a school. St. Bede Church of Williamsburg had the honor of housing the first Roman Catholic shrine of Our Lady of Mission Walsingham in America; because of this the Sisters of Mercy chose to name the Academy they Statement founded Our Lady of Walsingham Academy. Fifty-eight boarders and day students registered that first year. In June, there was one Located in picturesque graduate, Margaret Avery Leavitt ‘48, whose graduation was “celebrated with all the pomp Williamsburg, Virginia, and ceremony of twenty.” She said in her commencement address, “As Charter Members of Walsingham Academy was Walsingham Academy we are not a little conscious of the duty and privilege which is ours – built on the traditions of of placing the stamp of Catholic education upon this historic city of Williamsburg. In a spot academic excellence, faith and where priorities are so justly honored and held in esteem, to us it falls to wield the torch of a the development of the whole type of education whose tradition it is to place first things first.” child. Vibrant and challenging In 1951 the school was entering its fifth year and was bulging at the seams. There were 156 programs in academics, students in that house on College Terrace. Sister Mary Constance, the Principal, arranged for service, the arts and athletics the purchase of 62 acres on the historic road to Jamestown. The property was on the outskirts contribute to independent, of town. “There was nothing to see but woods when the Sisters became its owners,” Sister critical thinkers prepared to Emmanuel wrote. be responsible stewards of the Bishop Peter L. Ireton, Bishop of Richmond, broke ground on a wet day in June of 1951. world. They moved to the new school building on January 28, 1952. The old school continued to Walsingham students rise house boarders and the Sisters. By 1952 there were 215 students and ten Sisters. Less than five to the challenge of exploring years later, a new wing was added to the building on Jamestown Road with the addition of and developing their gifts; classrooms and boarding rooms for Sisters and boarders. Enrollment had risen to 389 by 1957. growing into responsible By 1963, the school enrollment was 789 including 315 in the Upper School. On November young adults; achieving 28, 1964, the new high school was dedicated and the students in grades 7-12 moved to a new personal success and acting building across the green. with integrity and compassion. The next addition to the school was in 1997 when an athletic complex, including a large gym, administrative offices, and classrooms was built. An addition was made to the Lower School in 1999 to accommodate a growth in enrollment, and modifications of the Upper School made better use of available space. Today, Walsingham Academy is home to over 550 students, with 220 in the Upper School. From its humble beginnings, Walsingham Academy had grown to be the premier independently Catholic, private college preparatory school in the Williamsburg area. 2 Walsingham Academy Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions, LLC FAST FACTS The Position The Upper School Director reports directly to Walsingham Academy’s President, Sr. Mary Jeanne Oesterle, SM. The Director ensures quality in the academic and student affairs programs in order to achieve the fullest attainment of the school’s overall Sisters of Mercy mission. As Chief Upper School Administrator, the Director serves as a role model for staff and students and bears ultimate responsibility for the integration of faith and learning within the school. The successful candidate will be a capable, accomplished and committed Catholic educational leader who embraces fully this Christ-centered, academically ambitious community of learners. 550 Total Students on Campus 225 Upper School Students The School Walsingham Academy is a school like no other. An independent Catholic school with traditional values, Walsingham welcomes students of all faiths. Development of the whole student is a guiding principal of this Sisters of Mercy school. Small class sizes ensure that each student interacts with his or her teachers in both group and individual settings. The school’s rigorous college preparatory curriculum prepares students for some of our nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities. Walsingham students explore, discover and develop their gifts, so that they can assume responsibility as mature participants in a pluralistic society. The next Director will be expected to embrace this unique ecumenical environment that makes Walsingham Academy so special. 38 Seniors Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions, LLC Walsingham Academy 3 Class of 2016 College Acceptances Averett University Baylor University Boston College Bridgewater College (2) Butler University Case Western Reserve University Catholic University of America (2) Christopher Newport University (3) Clark University College of Charleston College of William & Mary (3) East Carolina University Elon University Emory University Fairfield University Flagler College George Mason University (3) George Washington University Goucher College Hampden-Sydney College (4) Hofstra University James Madison University (9) Longwood University Academics Louisiana State University Lynchburg College (2) McGill University Walsingham Academy’s strong academic program is enhanced by vital programs in service, Michigan State University the arts and athletics. Our goal is to help all of our students grow into adults who act with Muhlenburg College North Carolina State University integrity and compassion through the discovery, development and use of their gifts. Thus they Old Dominion University (2) will both achieve their personal goals and be equipped to work for the betterment of their Pratt Institute Purdue University community and the world. Radford University (3) Randolph-Macon College (2) As a Christ-centered institution, Walsingham Academy prides itself on being a community Regent University of faith and service. To this end, the spiritual life of Upper School students is centered on the Samford University Savannah College of Art & Design theme of “Finding Purpose: A Community of Faith & Spirit” with three main focuses: Your Life School of the Art Institute of Chicago is Sacred, You Are Not Alone, and We Learn By Loving Others. Walsingham gathers monthly School of Visual Arts Seton Hall University as a school community to pray and celebrate together, and begins and ends each day with a Sewanee: The University of the South Shenandoah University prayer. Students take a theology class each year they are at Walsingham. St. John’s University Syracuse University “[To] connect the rich to the poor... the influential Texas A&M University to those of no consequence, and the powerful to the weak, The Ohio State University The Pennsylvania State University to do the work of God on earth.” University of Alabama (2) University of California-Davis - SISTERS OF MERCY MISSION STATEMENT University of Connecticut University of Georgia (2) University of Mary Washington (2) University of Maryland, College Park University of Melbourne The Arts University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill University of Richmond The arts are what make us most human, most complete University of San Francisco University of South Carolina (2) as people and cannot be learned through occasional University of Tampa or random exposure any more than math or science. University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Utah Walsingham’s vision for the Fine Arts is to educate University of Virginia (3) University of Washington students who will use their God-given abilities in creative Villanova University platforms. Whether it is on a canvas, in music, on stage, Virginia Commonwealth University (5) Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State or through an instrument, the goal is to equip students University (7) with the tools they need to be effective communicators Virginia Wesleyan College Wake Forest University (2) through the medium of art. Education and engagement in Washington & Lee University West Virginia University the fine arts at Walsingham Academy is an essential part West Virginia Wesleyan College Worcester Polytechnic Institute 4 Walsingham Academy Partners in Mission School Leadership Search Solutions, LLC FAST FACTS 12 Average Class Size The Arts (CONTINUED) of our school’s curriculum and an important component in the educational program of every one of our students. “You can’t just give someone a creativity injection. You have to create an environment for curiosity and a way to encourage people and get the best out of them.” - Ken Robinson Athletics 27 Walsingham Academy has a long and proud tradition in athletics, fielding competitive, Teaching Faculty interscholastic teams since the school’s founding in 1947. During Walsingham’s early years, the boys’ teams were known as the Apostles, while the girls competed under the name Mariettes, a dichotomy that lasted through the 1967-1968 school year. Today, the Trojans compete in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools (TCIS) and participate in state championships governed by the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA).