Wooster School

Wooster School is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory grade 4 through grade 12 school in Danbury, Connecticut, in the United States. The school was founded in 1926 by Aaron Coburn.[1] It is named for General David Wooster, who fought at the Battle of Ridgefield for the Colonial side in the American Revolution.[2] Girls were first admitted to the school in the fall of 1970.[3] In 1990, Wooster School phased out from being a boarding school, as it had been since its inception.[4]

Wooster School
Location
Danbury
,
Connecticut

United States
Information
TypePrivate, Co-ed
Religious affiliation(s)Episcopal
Established1926
FounderRev. Dr. Aaron C. Coburn[1]
Head of SchoolMatt Byrnes
Faculty61
Enrollment372 (as of 2016-17)
Student to teacher ratio7:1
Color(s)White, Maroon, and Black
Athleticsinterscholastic sports teams Housatonic Valley Athletic League
MascotThe General
Team nameGenerals
WebsiteWooster School official site

Its motto is Ex Quoque Potestate, Cuique Pro Necessitate, roughly, "From each according to ability, to each according to need".

Notable alumni include award-winning folk singer and guitarist Tracy Chapman;[5] the painter Andrew Stevovich;[6] trial attorney Cyrus Mehri;[7] developer Marc Vandenhoeck;,[8] songwriter Griffin Anthony,[9] Zachary Cole Smith, singer and frontman of DIIV;[10] and Neil Rudenstine, president of Harvard University for a decade in the 1990s.[11][12]

The school has earned 5 stars on the "Great Schools" web site.[13] It is a member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools,[14] and other prep school groups.[15]

The school was the first prep school to actively recruit minority candidates as a "feeder system" for elite Ivy League colleges, such as Harvard University.[16]

General information

Date Founded: 1926 – Rev. Aaron C. Coburn

Headmaster: Matt Byrnes, the tenth head of the school

Religious affiliation: Episcopal heritage, although Wooster serves students from many faiths and religious traditions

Accreditation: New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Memberships:

• Connecticut Association of Independent Schools

• National Association of Independent Schools

• Independent Curriculum Group

• Positive Coaching Alliance

• Mastery Transcript Consortium

Size of campus: 127 acres (0.51 km2)

Number of school buildings: 15

School song: The hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past (based on Psalm 90)

Enrollment information

Enrollment: 366 boys and girls in grades 4 - 12[17]

Faculty

Number of full-time faculty: about 55

Recent notice

From 2001 to 2004, Wooster School made some improvements to its physical plant, notably the addition of a new gymnasium and a middle school.[18][19]

One of the National Association of Episcopal Schools' top two educator awards is named for former School Head John D. Verdery.[20][21]

The school's library received a grant of over $6,000 from U.S. Senator Chris Dodd's office to improve its Internet access through the E-rate grants.[22]

Wooster School students co-founded, and are hosts to, YRTA (Youth Reacting to AIDS), the first teen-run organization to increase awareness of AIDS and to assist persons living with AIDS.[23]

References
  1. "Aaron Cutler Coburn, Priest". The Living Church. Vol. 25. December 20, 1942. p. 17. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  2. Danbury Historical Society web site
  3. "History -- Wooster School". Wooster School. 2019.
  4. Polk, Nancy (1991). "Private Schools Struggle to Survive". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 12.
  5. Darling, Cary. "Doing it her way: Tracy Chapman goes against the grain with her reflective songs", The Orange County Register, May 25, 1990. Accessed October 19, 2007. "She was a student at Wooster High School in Danbury, Conn., with a budding taste for folk music and a flair for songwriting who corralled her courage and hit the pavement."
  6. Diehl, Carol (2007). Andrew Stevovich: Essential Elements. Anita Shreve, John Sacret Young, Valerie Ann Leeds. Lenox, MA: Hard Press Editions. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-889097-70-1.
  7. FindJustice.com web site. Retrieved October 22, 2007. "His parents' educational aspirations led Mr. Mehri to the Wooster School. 'My years there had a formative influence on me,' he says. 'There probably isn't another prep school that has such a genuine commitment to diversity. Wooster really led the way in that respect. They had already integrated by the 1950s and the idea of diversity was embedded in the culture.' "
  8. New Jersey News story on school board candidates. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  9. https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Danbury-native-returns-for-concert-4165060.php
  10. http://www.stereogum.com/1693522/how-does-it-feel-diivs-zachary-cole-smith-rolls-on/franchises/cover-story/
  11. Gewertz, Ken. "Rudenstine's journey to Harvard began at 14", Harvard Gazette, May 17, 2001. Accessed October 20, 2007. "Now he was about to enter the Wooster School, a private, college-preparatory institution. Although it was located in Danbury, Conn., his hometown, he would live at the school rather than at home."
  12. Catherine E. Shoichet, Rudenstine's Book Hits Shelves, June 05, 2001, found at Harvard Crimson web site. Accessed October 22, 2007. "In a 1998 speech given at the Belmont Hill School in Belmont, Mass., Rudenstine spoke of the root of his passion for reading—a meeting with a high school adviser during his first term as a scholarship student at the Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut. “I don’t remember trying to articulate for myself, at the time, what this entire experience actually meant to me,” he says."
  13. Great Schools web site
  14. Connecticut Association of Independent Schools web site
  15. Private School Report web page
  16. Michael Lerner, Plan Seeks Applications From Southern Negroes, Harvard Crimson, February 20, 1963, found at The Crimson web site. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  17. Wooster School - Danbury, Connecticut
  18. TSKP Architecture Firm web site
  19. The Stamford Hospital Web site. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  20. Daphne Mack, Episcopal educators gathered in Hollywood for biennial conference: Peter Cheney roasted and three educators honored, Episcopal News Service, November 28, 2006, found at Episcopal Church, USA, Official web site. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  21. National Association of Episcopal Schools, Awards, found at NAES official web site. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  22. Senator Chris Dodd's Government official web site. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  23. Danbury Community Network official web site, YRTA page. Retrieved October 22, 2007.

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