Our History
- Formative Years 1900-1906
- Cornwall Years 1906-1949
- Early Washington Years 1949-1985
- Rumsey Hall Today
Formative Years 1900-1906
On October 1, 1900, Mrs. Lillias Rumsey Sanford of Seneca Falls, 纽约创办了美国第二所私立的非宗派学前学校. It was called “The Terrace: Mrs. 桑福德男子学校”,学校坐落在莉莉亚斯·桑福德的父亲建造的拉姆齐大厅里. In its inaugural year there were seven students. This was to be a “home school” for boys under thirteen years of age. Its purpose was to prepare students for the new private secondary schools, many of which had been founded during the preceding fifteen years.
The 1900-1901 admission catalog described the program: "Great care will be taken to make the home life bright and happy, to cultivate in the young boys high ideals, and to control them by judicious means without harsh measures."
For the first year Mrs. Sanford acted as Head of School. Walter B. Wildman was hired in 1901 and served as Headmaster until 1906. Mr. 怀尔德曼是一位古典学者,1898年毕业于哈特福德的三一学院, CT, at the top of his class. He was a young man with a great deal of energy and strength of character.
For the next five years Mr. Wildman remained in Seneca Falls, working with Mrs. Sanford to develop a suitable curriculum for the school, 这也奠定了拉姆齐霍尔在预科学校校长眼中的声誉. 学校对五种表格的要求都是精心制定和实施的. The youngest students, those in the "Preparatory Form", were introduced to English, mathematics and geography; Latin was added in the Ist Form, mechanical drawing in the IInd Form, and US history in the IIIrd Form. 在四年级(也是最高年级),学生们学习英语作文和修辞学, prose literature, algebra, spelling, French or Spanish and Latin. In addition, they were expected to learn manners and etiquette, formal dancing, and piano, harp or violin. There was also an athletic program, 其中包括与塞内卡瀑布队和该地区其他学校的比赛.
1904-1905年的目录列出了22个“我们的男孩”,其中有6个或更多是走读学生. 大多数寄宿生来自纽约,有三个来自宾夕法尼亚, and one each from Utah, Alabama, Maryland and North Carolina. When Mr. 1906年春,怀尔德曼离开拉姆齐,到多布斯费里的麦肯齐学校任教, NY, Rumsey was well established both in size and reputation.
Cornwall Years 1906-1949
In 1906, Mrs. Sanford, who held the title of Director, 深刻地影响了拉姆齐霍尔学校未来43年的发展. 首先,她把学校从纽约州的塞内卡福尔斯搬到了康涅狄格州的康沃尔,直到1949年. She hired Louis Henry Schutte as Headmaster, replacing Walter Wildman. During Mr. Schutte's longest standing tenure as Headmaster, serving from 1906-1941, enrollment had grown to 65 students.
The unique working relationship forged by Mrs. Sanford and Mr. Schutte became the cornerstone of Rumsey Hall School in Cornwall, the embodiment of two passionate educators who shared the same vision. 许多传统至今仍然存在:拉姆齐从最早的日子起就为宣言颁奖,田径日从1912年开始每年都举办.
Mrs. Sanford died in 1940. 她的儿媳海伦·格里夫斯·桑福德接替她担任主任,直到1941年. Headmaster Schutte declined an option to purchase the school, and in 1941 it passed into the hands of John F. Schereschewsky Sr., popularly known as “Mr. Sherry." Mr. 雪莉和他的妻子贝蒂从他曾任校长的萨菲尔德正规博彩平台来到拉姆齐庄园.
雪利酒刚买下学校,第二次世界大战就爆发了. The country was in turmoil, and in 1943 Mr. Sherry left Rumsey Hall to join the Navy for two years. 他在两栖部队服役,并在诺曼底登陆期间指挥一艘登陆艇. During this time, David Griffin Barr自1914年以来,他一直是拉姆齐大厅的忠实教员,被任命为临时主任. Together with Mrs. Sherry, he led Rumsey Hall until Mr. Sherry returned. Mr. Barr remained as Headmaster until 1956. 继承了学校早期管理者制定的戒律,雪利和先生. 巴尔进一步定义和实践了教育整个孩子的哲学. 他们被认为是第一个建立“努力清单”作为衡量学生成功的标准的人,这是拉姆齐霍尔教育的基本标志,即使在今天也是如此.
In the late 40’s Mr. Sherry and Mr. Barr found themselves faced with a momentous decision. In Washington, CT lay the vacant campus of the former Romford School for Boys, a casualty of wartime hardship. 由该地区几位知名人士组成的华盛顿财团正在为校园寻找新的居住者. Sherry to see if he might consider it as a home for Rumsey Hall.
This vacant Washington campus held several attractions. 在康沃尔,有限的空间一直是一个问题,阻碍了学校的进一步扩张. Also, 拉姆齐霍尔并不拥有它所占据的建筑,不得不从康沃尔镇租用它们.
Early Washington Years 1949-1985
当华盛顿财团提议承担将学校从康沃尔搬到华盛顿的费用时, Mr. Sherry and the Board of Trustees accepted the offer. 拉姆齐霍尔1948届的学生是最后一批在康沃尔接受教育的学生,因为这所学校即将搬到它的第三个也是最后一个地点.
Co-education was introduced in the 1949-1950 academic year, 拉姆齐霍尔学院成为同类学校中最早停止招收男生的学校之一. 新建筑工程在五六十年代继续进行,学校的入学人数稳步增加到175名学生.
In 1965 Mr. Sherry’s son, John F. Schereschewsky Jr. ’47, became Headmaster. A Harvard graduate like his father, Mr. Sherry Jr. 作为一名教师、教练和管理者,他热切地接受了拉姆齐的生活方式. For four years, Mr. Sherry Sr. and Mr. Sherry Jr. led Rumsey Hall as Director and Headmaster, respectively, 使拉姆齐学院的招生人数和声誉达到前所未有的高度.
Their collaboration ended in 1969 when Mr. Sherry Sr. died from a heart attack and Mr. Sherry Jr. succeeded his father as Director. Louis G. Magnoli, a teacher and administrator at Rumsey since 1957, was appointed Headmaster. Mr. Sherry Jr. and Mr. 在动荡的20世纪70年代初,Magnoli坚持他们对传统教育价值的信念. By 1977 this belief, combined with sound leadership, earned them widespread respect and admiration, as well as a resurgence in applications for admission. The untimely death of Mr. Sherry Jr. during a hunting accident in 1977 left Mr. Magnoli at the helm alone, a position he filled admirably.
Mr. Magnoli was well-loved as a teacher, coach and Headmaster. 他监督了主楼的翻新和新体育馆的建设. With an eye to the future Mr. Magnoli inaugurated a mandatory course in basic computer literacy. 他还制定了导师计划,每个学生都被指派一名教员作为他或她的永久导师. From 1957 until 1985, Mr. Magnoli played an integral part in every aspect of life at Rumsey Hall.
Rumsey Hall Today
Mr. Magnoli’s successor, Thomas W. Farmen, 既保留了拉姆齐霍尔的传统,又应对了当今世界儿童教育面临的挑战. Mr. Farmen came to Rumsey Hall in 1974 as a science teacher. 在1985年成为校长之前,他曾担任多个职位, including Chair of the Science Department, Director of Athletics and Director of Secondary School Placement. Under his administration, 拉姆齐霍尔继续其传统,提供一个具有挑战性的项目在一个支持, family-like atmosphere. Enrollment in 1985 stood at 155 students.
In 1995, a village-like architectural scheme was initiated. The Upper School courtyard replaced the existing driveway, 迪克家庭图书馆项目完成,并开始了一系列设施改进. In 1997, the J. Seward Johnson Sr. 美术中心、Garassino家庭教室大楼和Satyavati科学中心落成. 1999年,学校购买了47英亩的相邻财产,并赠送了14英亩的相邻土地,以纪念拉姆齐的百年纪念. 这两件礼物使校园的规模扩大了一倍,并激发了当前校园总体规划的创作.
自2000年以来,学院一直致力于一项雄心勃勃的计划,以改善其设施, including the construction of the Dane W. Dicke Family Math and Science Buildings, Cutler Cottage, Scott Evans Seibert ’92 Memorial Field and Roy Football Field. The Cornell Field, 为了适应学校不断增长的入学人数,重建了帕维克球场和新宿舍场. The Maxwell A. Sarofim