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Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private
college-preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher educat ...
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...
located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated with the Episcopalian tradition. Groton enrolls about 380 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades. It has one of the largest endowments of any prep school in the country at $477,000,000 as of June 30, 2021. Tuition, room and board, and required fees in 2014–2015 amounted to $56,700 (with books extra); 38% of the students receive financial aid. The school is a member of the
Independent School League Independent School League or ISL may refer to: * Independent School League (Illinois), a group of nine Chicago-area preparatory schools * Independent School League (New England) The Independent School League (ISL) is composed of sixteen New Englan ...
. There are many famous Groton alumni in business and government, including U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. For the 2020–2021 admissions cycle, Groton School reported an acceptance rate of 9%.


History

Groton School was founded in 1884 by the Rev. Endicott Peabody, a member of a prominent Massachusetts family and an Episcopal
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man. The land for the school was donated to Peabody by two brothers, James and Prescott Lawrence, whose family home was located on Farmers Row in Groton, Massachusetts, north of Groton School's present location. Backed by affluent figures of the time, such as his father,
Samuel Endicott Peabody Samuel Endicott Peabody (April 19, 1825 – October 31, 1909) was an American merchant and banker who was a partner in the London banking firm of J.S. Morgan & Co. Early life Peabody was born on April 19, 1825 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was a ...
, the Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks, the Rev. William Lawrence,
William Crowninshield Endicott William Crowninshield Endicott (November 19, 1826 – May 6, 1900) was an American politician and Secretary of War in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland (1885–1889). Early life Endicott was born in Salem, Massachusetts ...
, and
J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Par ...
, Peabody received pledges of $39,000 for the construction of a schoolhouse, if an additional $40,000 could be raised as an endowment. The endowment is $477,000,000 as of June 30, 2021, or well over $1,000,000 per student today.Facts about Groton School
/ref> Groton School received early support from the Roosevelt family, including future President Theodore Roosevelt, and filled quickly. Peabody served as headmaster of the school for over fifty years, until his retirement in 1940. He instituted a
Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
n educational system that included cold showers and cubicles, subscribing to the model of " muscular Christianity" which he himself experienced at
Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...
in England as a boy. Peabody hoped to graduate men who would serve the public good, rather than enter professional life. Peabody was succeeded at the end of the 1940 school year by the Rev. John Crocker, who had been for 10 years the chaplain for Episcopal students at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
. He himself was a 1918 graduate of Groton School; 15 members of his family were alumni. Crocker's tenure included the period of the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
. In September 1951, three years before the Supreme Court's '' Brown v. Board of Education'' decision outlawing segregation in public schools, Groton School accepted its first African-American student. In April 1965 Crocker and his wife, accompanied by 75 Groton School students, marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., during a civil rights demonstration in Boston. After 25 years as headmaster at Groton School, he retired in June 1965. After Crocker, the Rev. Bertrand Honea Jr., led the School from 1965 to 1969; Paul Wright from 1969 to 1974; the Rev. Rowland Cox from 1974 to 1977; William Polk from 1978 to 2003; and Richard Commons from 2003 to 2013. A South African,
Temba Maqubela Temba Maqubela (born 1958) is a South African educator and administrator. In July 2013 he began as the eighth Headmaster at The Groton School. He previously served as the Dean of Faculty and Assistant Head for Academics at Phillips Academy, And ...
, became the headmaster in July 2013. Groton School has changed significantly since 1884. Originally, it admitted only boys; the school became coeducational in 1975. Although most students in the early years were from New England and New York, its students now come from across the country and around the world. However, some traditions remain, such as the school's commitment to public service, its small community, and its attachment to the Episcopal Church. The school has been used as a setting for several novels including Louis Auchincloss' ''Rector of Justin'' (1964).
Curtis Sittenfeld Elizabeth Curtis Sittenfeld (born 1975) is an American writer. She is the author of a collection of short stories, ''You Think it, I’ll Say It'' (2018), as well as six novels: ''Prep'' (2005), the story of students at a Massachusetts prep sch ...
's ''Prep'' (2005) has prompted speculation that the fictitious Ault School, the main setting of the novel, is in fact Groton School, as they bear striking resemblances and Sittenfeld herself attended Groton. Media coverage of the school came in the spring of 1999, when three Groton seniors alleged they and other students had been sexually abused by students in dormitories in 1996 and 1997. The GRAIN (GRoton Affordability and INclusion) initiative, begun in 2014, froze tuition for three years and ensured that no applicant would be turned away for financial reasons. The tuition freeze, and subsequent tuition restraint, dropped Groton's tuition from #1 among 40 peer schools to #39. Currently, Groton is one of three secondary boarding schools in the country to offer free education to qualified students from families with household incomes below $75,000 a year.


Campus

Groton has a campus, including athletic fields, academic buildings and dormitories. The School's buildings include St. John's Chapel, the Schoolhouse, Brooks House and Hundred House Dormitories, the McCormick Library, the Campbell Performing Arts Center, the Dining Hall, the Dillon Art Center and De Menil Gallery. Other facilities include the Athletic and Recreation Center, Pratt and O'Brien Rinks and Tennis Center, the Bingham Boathouse, outdoor tennis clay courts and hardcourts, and faculty homes.


Students

George Biddle George Biddle (January 24, 1885 – November 6, 1973) was an American painter, muralist and lithographer, best known for his social realism and combat art. A childhood friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he played a major role in establi ...
, a 1902 graduate, wrote, "Ninety-five percent of the boys came from what they considered the aristocracy of America. Their fathers belonged to the
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Knickerbocker A Knickerbocker is a person from Manhattan (New York City, before 1898). A modern synonym is “New Yorker”. Knickerbocker or Knickerbockers may also refer to: People * Knickerbocker (surname), including a list of people with the surname, an ...
, the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
or the
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
Clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
. Among them was a goodly slice of the wealth of the nation". The Form of 2013 median SAT scores were 700 reading, 710 writing, and 700 math. Between 2008 and 2012, Groton graduates attended the following colleges most frequently (in order):
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...
,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
,
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
,
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
,
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
,
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
,
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
,
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
,
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, and the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
.


Abuse allegation

In Spring 1999, Middlesex County DA's Office began investigating the claim of three Groton seniors. They alleged they, and other students, had been sexually abused by students in dormitories in 1996 and 1997. During the school's investigation of the matter, another student brought a similar complaint to the school's attention. In 2005, the school pleaded guilty in criminal court to a misdemeanor charge of failing to report this younger student's sexual abuse complaint to the state and paid a $1,250 fine. The school issued an apology to the victims, and the civil suit stemming from the first student's complaint was settled out of court. In the fall of 2006, as part of the settlement, the School published a full apology to the boy who first alleged the abuse in 1999.


In popular culture

*
Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel ( Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flag ...
Logan Huntzberger This is a list of characters for the comedy-drama television series ''Gilmore Girls''. Main characters Lorelai Gilmore Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, is the only daughter of Richard and Emily Gilmore. She is the mother of Lorel ...
, played by Matt Czuchry, has a picture of Endicott Peabody from his time at Groton. Both characters Logan and
Christopher Hayden This is a list of characters for the comedy-drama television series ''Gilmore Girls''. Main characters Lorelai Gilmore Lorelai Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, is the only daughter of Richard and Emily Gilmore. She is the mother of Lorel ...
, played by
David Sutcliffe David Sutcliffe (born June 8, 1969) is a Canadian-American retired actor. He is known for playing Christopher Hayden on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' and Detective Aidan Black on the television series ''Cracked''. Early life Sutcliffe ...
, claim to have been kicked out of Groton.


See also

*
Saint Grottlesex The term ''Saint Grottlesex'' refers to several American prep boarding schools in New England. These schools have historically sent their graduates to the nation's most prestigious universities. All the schools are members of the Independent School ...


Notable alumni


References


Further reading

* Ashburn, Frank D. (1944). ''Peabody of Groton''. New York: Coward McCann. * Fentons, John H. (Jun. 13, 1965)
"Groton Headmaster Ends 25-Year Tenure."
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', p. 80. * Hoyt, Edwin P. (1968). ''The Peabody Influence: How a Great New England Family Helped to Build America''. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. * McLachlan, James (1979). "The Resurgence of the Gentleman: Groton and the Progressive Educational Ideal" (Chapter 9). In: ''American Boarding Schools: A Historical Study''. New York:
Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Ra ...
, pp. 242–98. * Cookson, Peter W. (Jr), and Caroline Hodges Persell (1987).
Preparing For Power: America's Elite Boarding Schools
'.


External links


School official website



The Association of Boarding Schools profile
{{Authority control 1884 establishments in Massachusetts Boarding schools in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Groton, Massachusetts Co-educational boarding schools Educational institutions established in 1884 Episcopal schools in the United States Education in Groton, Massachusetts Independent School League Private high schools in Massachusetts Private middle schools in Massachusetts Private preparatory schools in Massachusetts Schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts