Hackley School
| Hackley School | |
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| File:HackleySchoolLogo.gif | |
| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, preparatory school |
| Established | 1899 |
| Founder | Mrs. Caleb Brewster (Francis) Hackley |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | Upper School: 375 Middle School: 230 |
| Colour(s) | Black and Grey |
| Mascot | Hornets |
| Newspaper | The Dial |
| Yearbook | The Hilltop |
| Website | http://www.hackleyschool.org/ |
Hackley School is a private college preparatory school located in Tarrytown, New York and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Founded in 1899 by wealthy philanthropist Mrs. Caleb Brewster, Hackley was intended to be a Unitarian alternative to the mostly Episcopal boarding schools throughout the Northeast. Since its founding, Hackley has dropped its sectarian affiliations and changed from all-boys to coed. [1] Hackley is divided into three schools on the same campus: The Lower School, The Middle School, and The Upper School.
History
Founding
During the 1890s, the American Unitarian leadership in Boston became increasingly concerned about the lack of Unitarian presence in secondary and college preparatory education. Unitarians controlled Harvard University, its president, Charles Eliot, was the leading lay-person in the Unitarian movement, and the faculty included numerous Unitarians.[citation needed] This situation may have made them complacent regarding secondary schools, but in time, it became clear that Unitarians would have to send their children to schools run by other Protestant sects if they wanted quality college preparatory education.
An opportunity arose in New York when Mrs. Caleb Brewster Hackley, a wealthy widow and leading supporter of the Unitarian movement, decided to give her summer mansion in Tarrytown, New York to a charity. She resided in New York City, and was a member of the Church of the Messiah. Hackley was friends with the church's minister, who proposed using the mansion as a school for boys. In the winter of 1898-1899, she met with Dr. Samuel Eliot of Boston, who later became the President of the American Unitarian Association, and several other prominent Unitarians. Mrs. Hackley liked the idea of a college preparatory school to serve the Unitarian community and any families interested in a liberal religious environment and wanted to use her home for this purpose. She provided substantial funding to refurbish the mansion for school purposes and to operate the school for several years. In the spring of 1899, a Board of Trustees was formed and very shortly thereafter it selected its first headmaster. The first students arrived in the autumn of 1899 and resided in the Hackley home, today called Hackley Hall.
Expansion
The home and grounds quickly proved inadequate to support a preparatory school. In the fall of 1899, Theodore Chickering Williams and Mr. Seaver Buck, the first headmaster and the first master hired, respectively, searched for additional land. They found a large estate for sale on the current grounds of [Marymount College], and purchased it with funds from Mrs. Hackley. The buildings on the estate were torn down immediately, and within a short period, construction began on the buildings that would eventually join to form the Hackley quadrangle. The first buildings constructed were Goodhue Hall, now the Kaskel library, and the Minot Savage building. They were in use for the first time in 1902-1903. The remaining buildings, including the Sarah Goodhue King Chapel and the Headmaster’s house, were completed by 1908. The architectural firm of Wheelwright and Haven designed the new school buildings and Downing Vaux provided contouring and plans for the first playing field and track.
Theodore Chickering Williams helped plan the school buildings and the curriculum and style of education. He had been a Unitarian minister in New York and was recognized as an important classical scholar. From the beginning Hackley was technically a Unitarian school, although it welcomed students from all faiths. The majority of Hackley’s early graduates went to Harvard University.[citation needed] A vigorous interscholastic sports program began during the first years with football already at the center of action in 1900-1901.
Hackley Hall, Mrs. Hackley's mansion, became the lower school and was eventually sold. It no longer exists, although one can find on the Marymount campus old stone gates which provided the entrance to the Hackley home. Throughout Hackley’s history there have been eleven headmasters and three acting headmasters. Inscribed above one of Hackley's doors is the phrase "Enter Here to Be and Find a Friend."
On August 4, 2007, a fire, sparked by an intense lightning storm, destroyed Goodhue Memorial Hall, including the Kaskel Library and its 33,000 volumes (including 2,000 recently purchased volumes intended for the just-built library in the Lower School). While the fire gutted the roof and interiors, the stone facade of the building remained intact. Rebuilding the library is estimated to cost at least one million dollars. Also destroyed were three classrooms, as well as the entire Upper School Technology wing (formerly the English wing until 2000), with over one hundred computers, five rooms, and irreplaceable artworks, including a clay sculpture of Mathew Bridwell. Replacement of the technology wing is estimated at upwards of three million dollars. [1][2][3]
Interscholastic Sports
| Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| Cross Country (boys and girls) | Basketball (boys and girls) | Baseball |
| Soccer (boys and girls) | Swimming (boys and girls) | Golf |
| Field Hockey (girls) | Winter Track and Field | Boys Lacrosse (boys and girls) |
| Football (boys) | Collegiate wrestling | Softball |
| Tennis (girls) | Fencing (coed) | Tennis (boys) |
| Squash (boys and girls) | Outdoor Track and Field |
Alma Mater
The Hackley alma mater is sung each year by the entire school at the convocation that opens the school year.
Hail Alma Mater, sing we now thy praise and glory.
Hail to the spirit that will bless the free.
High on the hilltop where the seasons tell their story
Stand while the river floods and fills the sea.
Teach us to honor all thy paths of beauty.
Lead us forever in faith and in duty.
Sing we, Hail Alma Mater, may our voices ring forever,
Hackley, in honor of thee.
Administration
- Headmaster: Walter C. Johnson
- Upper School Director: Beverley Whitaker
- Middle School Director: Marcy Mann (interim)
- Lower School Director: Ronald A. Delmoro
Alumni
Noted alumni include:
- Alan Seeger 1906, poet
- Philip Johnson '23, architect
- Jim Kates '63 poet, translator
- Joe Klein '64, author, Primary Colors
- Peter Strauss '65, actor
- Gene Pressman '68 author Chasing Cool
- Alec Wilkinson '70 author The Happiest Man in the World
- Chris Berman '73, ESPN sportscaster
- Keith Olbermann '75, host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC and former anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter
- Andrew Jarecki '81, documentary filmmaker, Capturing the Friedmans
- Cathy Schulman '83, producer of Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Crash
- Dan Mackenzie '85, composer, Emmy Award Nominee, 2005
- Eugene Jarecki '87, documentary filmmaker, Why We Fight
- Jimmy Tate '87, actor, tap dancer
- Malcolm Forbes, editor of Forbes Magazine
- George Hamilton, actor
Faculty
Noted former faculty include:
- Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer
- Pavel Litvinov, Russian physicist, writer, human rights activist
Hackley in Media
- Brooks Brothers and Polo Ralph Lauren have both done catalogue shoots on Hackley's majestic campus.
- Hackley's campus was featured in the movies Presumed Innocent, Kuffs and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.