The Emma Willard School, originally called Troy Female Seminary and often referred to simply as Emma, is an independent university-preparatory day and

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 ...

for young women, located in

Troy, New York Troy is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Huds ...

, on Mount Ida, offering grades 9–12 and postgraduate coursework. The first women's higher education institution in the United States, it was founded by women's rights advocate

Emma Willard Emma Hart Willard (February 23, 1787 – April 15, 1870) was an American woman's education activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women's higher education, the Emma Willard S ...

in 1814 (first in Middlebury, Vermont as Middlebury Female Seminary, later moved to Troy and renamed Troy Female Seminary). As of 2022, it had an

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance * Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to ...

of $179 million. In 2018, the school was ranked by ''

The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''The ...

'' as the #1 private school in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

Academics

Emma Willard is an independent college-preparatory day and boarding school enrolling students in grades 9–12 and post-graduate studies. Class sizes are kept at a 16-student maximum; the typical student to teacher ratio is 6 to 1. 83 percent of faculty hold advance degrees.

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

preparation is offered in all disciplines. Students also may enroll in college-level courses at neighboring

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

. Most students take five courses each semester. Classes meet four or five times each week for fifty minutes, though lab sciences, seminars, and AP sections meet for varying lengths of time. An ESL program offers intermediate and advanced-level curriculum for international students. Core requirements for graduation include a minimum of four units of English; three units of history, foreign language, mathematics; two units of lab science (one each in biology and physics), two units in the arts, and one-fourth unit in health. All students must fulfill a community service requirement and take physical education or its equivalent each semester in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades. Seniors must take at least ten weeks. Emma Willard offers inquiry-based classes across all disciplines. In the fall of 2005, Emma Willard began its Physics First program for all incoming ninth-grade students. It has students take a basic physics course in the ninth grade rather than the biology course that is standard in most public schools.

Educational philosophy

The guiding educational philosophy at Emma Willard School is based on three pillars: intellectual flexibility, purpose & community, and equity & justice. Students will be encouraged to develop fully in all areas of life, as a strong intellectual in a variety of disciplines, as a practitioner of their chosen passions, as a social member of the community, and as a responsible global citizen in her future. In keeping with that philosophy of personal development providing its own benchmarks, class rank is not provided. The grading system uses letter and number grades. It goes as follows: A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, etc., accompanied usually by a number indicating where on the spectrum the individual student falls. Emma Willard's independent-study program, Practicum, allows students to pursue coursework at area colleges, career internships, community service, and individualized athletic training and competition off-campus for academic credit. Over one-third of the students participate in Practicum each year. Emma Willard students worked to make Emma Willard School the first

fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and envir ...

high school in the United States in 2010.

History

Emma Willard School traces its roots to the Middlebury Female Seminary, founded by

Emma Hart Willard Emma Hart Willard (February 23, 1787 – April 15, 1870) was an American woman's education activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women's higher education, the Troy Female S ...

in 1814. In 1821,

moved her school to

, opening as the Troy Female Seminary, to provide young women with the same higher education as their male peers. Prior to the school's founding, young women had been unable to pursue the advanced curricular offerings in mathematics, classical languages and the sciences that were taught to their male counterparts. Her husband,

John Willard John Willard ( 1657 - August 19, 1692) was one of the people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. He was hanged on Gallows Hill, Salem on August 19, 1692. At the time of the first allegations of witchc ...

managed the school's finances and served as the in-house physician until his death in 1825. Having taught for several years, Emma Willard perceived the egregious disparity in what girls learned compared to boys. In 1819, Willard promoted a comprehensive secondary and post-secondary female educational institution, which would require funding by the State of New York. Her address to the office of New York's "innovative" governor

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely re ...

met with initial success. However, the New York State legislature at Albany, on hearing her request, responded with mixed sentiment, and ultimately rejected her proposal. Many of the wives of prominent men steadfastly supported and promoted her educational agenda to their friends and associates. Thereafter, the City's Common Council eventually raised $4,000 that would facilitate Willard's purchase of a suitable flagship building for her proposed seminary for young women. She had already obtained inexpensive accommodation in a nearby historic (already for the 1800s)

Waterford, New York Waterford is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 8,423 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is derived from its principal village, also called Waterford. The town is located in the southeast corner of Sa ...

, landmark farm. There, she rented two nondescript long and narrow stone structures, former pre-Colonial

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

estate's outbuildings in a picturesque setting along the mighty

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk ...

. The property's border still abuts the Erie Canal's first but long-defunct stone lock, near a major point of the Mohawk's primary arterial confluence into the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

. However, in early 1821, a critical funds shortage from to a brief economic downturn that had affected the region forced her to close her

Waterford Academy "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. Toward the close of 1821, Willard secured $4,000 in funding and relocated to Troy, downstream from Watertown along the Hudson River.

The Albany Academy The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselae ...

for Boys had been established in March 1813, just downstream from Waterford and her temporary school;

(RPI) opened in 1824. She was able to formally found the Troy Female Seminary "for young ladies of means", becoming "the first school in the country to provide girls the same educational opportunities given to boys". From its establishment in 1821 until 1872, the seminary admitted 12,000 students. The Troy Female Seminary promoted the education of young girls as well as women teachers in training. The seminary provided tuition on credit for students who could not afford it, with the agreement that those students would be teaching assistants and eventually become teachers themselves. That type of on-credit tuition led to the growing reputation of the Troy Female Seminary as the demand for female teachers increased during the nineteenth century. Willard advocated for publicly supported female seminaries by asserting the necessity of educating as many women as possible in the United States, a task, she pointed out, that was too large for private institutions alone to undertake. Willard also promoted educational reform by emphasizing that women were capable of intellectual evidence in any field and demanded for women to be trained for professions.Scott, Anne F. "The Ever Widening Circle: The Diffusion of Feminist Values from the Troy Female Seminary 1822–1872" ''History of Education Quarterly'' 19 (1979): 3–25 The school was immediately successful, and it graduated many great thinkers, including noted social reformer and suffragist

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...

. Willard remained the head of the seminary until 1838, when she handed it over to her son. In 1895, the school was renamed The Emma Willard School for Girls. In 1910, a new campus was built for the school on Mount Ida.

Educational philosophy and academics

Her educational philosophy for the Troy Female Seminary was to "educate the women for responsible motherhood and train some of them to be teachers," with a curriculum that was similar to the contemporary men's colleges. The curriculum included courses in mathematics, science, modern languages, Latin, history, philosophy, geography, and literature. The Troy Female Seminary School also provided the services of Normal Schools by giving women the opportunity to become teacher's assistants and spread women's education throughout the United States. The alumnae of the Troy School were unusual among contemporary women in their pursuit of work beyond the "private sphere" of the home. These alumnae established numerous Normal Schools, institutions that promoted the study of arts and sciences, and expanded into other professions involving the sciences and law.

Co-curricular pursuits

Co-curricular pursuits include sports, choir, orchestra, a cappella groups, the student newspaper, a literary arts magazine (''Triangle''), model UN, county-champion Mock Trial team, speech and debate, quiz team, various clubs, and the yearbook, among others. As it is a

school, students from EcoEmm Fair Trade Club study global social justice issues and help educate the community, as well as sell fair trade goods at the school. Students also sign petitions fighting human rights abuses worldwide. Each year, students and faculty take service trips to countries in the developing world so Emma's women can see the world and make the changes they discuss in their classrooms throughout the year. Emma Willard is also the first boarding school to become a member of the international Round-Square program. In 2009, students and faculty traveled to Africa and to Casa de los Angeles in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to care for the children of poor working mothers.

Traditions

Every year the senior class conduct a play called Revels. The plot mimics a medieval Christmas celebration set in a manor house. The parts are kept secret until the play. The first Revels performance was in 1915. The seniors also control a triangular patch of grass in the center of campus called the Senior Triangle. Only seniors and alumnae are permitted to walk on the grass unless invited by a senior or alumna. Juniors "take over" this patch of grass after the seniors leave for senior retreat at the end of the year during Triangle Takeover. Juniors receive their class ring through their ring sister, who dresses them up throughout Ring Week and gives a half a quote to a member of the faculty for them to find before the week commences with Ring Dinner in which the ring is presented. Other traditions include hall tea where once a week students gather with their halls to bond; Eventide, the winter concert; sophomore tree decorating; Peanuts and Shells (a version of secret Santa); May Day, in which freshman participate in a maypole dance and a May Queen who is voted on by the student body is crowned; and Principal's Play Day, a secret day chosen by the head of school in which class is cancelled.

Student demographics

Girls currently hail from 24 states, and over 36 foreign countries."Emma Willard School Profile." https://bbk12e1-cdn.myschoolcdn.com/ftpimages/1098/misc/misc_173685.pdf In fall 2010 enrollment increased by 3%; the total student population was 319 (203 boarding, 116 day). It has a diverse population: of the 339 students, 55 are students of color (according to guidelines established by the National Association of Independent Schools), 88 are international students, and 45 have an alumna or current sister relationship to the school. It maintains 13 Davis Scholarships, and 10 Capital District Scholarships. Of the 440 applicants for fall 2010, 149 (34%) were offered admission and 102 enrolled. As of 2019, 42% of students are on financial aid.

Notable alumnae

'' List of Emma Willard Alumnae'' * Eunice Newton Foote: the first scientist known to have experimented on the warming effect of

sunlight Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...

on different gases * Laura Benét: Poet and author *

: Leader of the women's suffrage movement *

Olivia Slocum Sage Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, known as Olivia Sage (September 8, 1828 – November 4, 1918), was an American philanthropist known for her contributions to education and progressive causes. In 1869 she became the second wife of robber baron Russel ...

: Founder of

the Sage Colleges The Sage Colleges were a private educational institution comprising three institutions in New York State: Russell Sage College, a women's college in Troy; Sage College of Albany, a co-educational college in Albany; and the Sage Graduate Sc ...

Mary Arthur McElroy Mary McElroy (; July 5, 1841 – January 8, 1917) was the sister of the 21st president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, and served as a hostess (acting as the first lady) for his administration (1881–1885). She assumed the ...

: Sister and First Lady during her brother

President Chester Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A ...

's term *

Lily Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Lily Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Lilian Warren Price) (June 10, 1854 – January 11, 1909) was an American heiress and socialite during the Gilded Age. Early life Lilian Warren Price was born on June 10, 1854, in Troy, New Yor ...

(born Lillian Price of Troy, NY): American heiress and socialite, also known as the Duchess of Marlborough during her marriage to

George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, DL (13 May 1844 – 9 November 1892), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1857 and Marquess of Blandford between 1857 and 1883, was a British peer. Early life Marlborough was born in Engl ...

and Lady William Beresford during her marriage to Lord William Leslie de la Poer Beresford * Cynthia Roberts Gorton: writer * Nancy Fowler McCormick: Philanthropist, member of the

McCormick family The McCormick family of Chicago and Virginia is an American family of Scottish and Scotch-Irish descent that attained prominence and fortune starting with the invention of the McCormick Reaper, a machine that revolutionized agriculture, helped b ...

Nancy Scott Nancy Scott (August 18, 1931 – August 19, 2005)Robert Hurwitt"Nancy Scott -- arts critic" ''SF Gate'', August 27, 2005. was an influential American theater/movie critic who worked for the ''San Francisco Examiner'' newspaper from the late 1970s ...

: Wife of American entrepreneur and founder of Marshall Field and Company,

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...

Frances Adeline Seward Frances Adeline Miller Seward (September 25, 1805 – June 21, 1865) was the First Lady of New York and the wife of William Henry Seward, a senator in the New York legislature, Governor of New York, a senator from New York and United States Secr ...

: Wife of

William Henry Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...

. *

Annie Jack Annie L. Jack (1 January 1839 - 15 February 1912) (née Hayr) was a Canadian writer. She was the first Canadians, Canadian professional female garden writer. Biography Born in Northamptonshire, England, to John Hayr on 1 January 1839. In 1852, A ...

, the first Canadian professional woman garden writer *

Solita Solano Solita Solano (October 30, 1888 – November 22, 1975), born Sarah Wilkinson, was an American writer, poet and journalist. Biography Early life Sarah Wilkinson came from a middle-class family and attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, Ne ...

: American writer, poet, and journalist * Jennifer von Mayrhauser: Emmy-nominated costume designer who has received an Obie for Sustained Excellence *

Justine Johnstone Justine Olive Johnstone Wanger (January 31, 1895 – September 4, 1982) was an American stage, and silent screen actress, pathologist and expert on syphilis. Working under her married name, she was part of the team that developed the modern ...

: Broadway and silent movie star * Sara Lee Schupf : Namesake of Sara Lee baked goods *

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning actress *

Jane Wales Jane Wales (born 1948) is an American non-profit executive and former US government official who has served on the boards of directors of and founded many institutions. She is the Vice President of the Aspen Institute, and was the CEO of the World ...

: CEO of the

Global Philanthropy Forum The Global Philanthropy Forum (GPF) is an initiative of the World Affairs Council which acts as a peer-learning network of philanthropists — grant-makers and social investors — committed to advancing equity and opportunity in the d ...

, president and CEO of the World Affairs Council and vice president of Philanthropy and Society at the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

, co-host of the NPR interview show ''It's Your World'' *

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...

: United States Senator from New York *

Ruth Pine Furniss Ruth Pine Furniss (1893–1957) was an American writer who published several short stories and novels. Biography Ruth Kellogg Pine Furniss was born on March 2, 1893, to Charles LeRoy and Grace Eddy Kellogg Pine in Lansingburg, New York. She atte ...

: Author of short stories and novels * Molly Paris: Civil rights attorney *

Clara Harrison Stranahan Clara Harrison Stranahan (, Harrison; pen name, C. H. Stranahan; April 9, 1831 – January 22, 1905) was an American author and the founder of Barnard College. Long identified with the higher education of women in the United States, she was at one ...

, author; founder and trustee of

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Jean Buttner Jean Buttner was the Chairman of the Board, President, CEO, and COO of Value Line, Inc. and Arnold Bernhard & Co., Inc. Buttner had held these positions since 1986. She was forced to step down and relinquish all executive titles with Value Line a ...

: businesswoman, former CEO of Valueline and trustee of

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. Histo ...

Kendra Stearns O'Donnell Kendra Stearns O'Donnell (born 1944) is an American educator and painter who served as the 12th principal of Phillips Exeter Academy. Biography She attended Emma Willard School, graduating in 1960, Barnard College, graduating in 1965, and Colum ...

: first female head of

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

Mary Lake Polan Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

: First female chair of clinical department at

Stanford University Medical School Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. Th ...

* Elizabeth L. Colton: Founder/executive director, International Museum of Women, San Francisco * Jessica Todd Harper: photographer *

Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (born 23 October 1964) is an American children's book writer. She is the author of more than forty books ranging from picture books through middle grade and young adult. Both her fiction and non-fiction work often incorporat ...

: children's book author * Erminnie A. Smith: geologist and an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution's

Bureau of American Ethnology The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior D ...

* Peggy Ellliot Wayburn: author, wife of environmentalist and recipient of the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

Edgar Wayburn *

Sarah Brown Ingersoll Cooper Sarah Brown Ingersoll Cooper (December 12, 1835 – December 11, 1896) was an American educator, author, evangelist, philanthropist, and civic activist. She is remember as a religious teacher and her efforts to increase the wide interest in kinder ...

: philanthropist and educator * Martha Reed Mitchell: philanthropist and socialite * Harriet Maria Allen Jackson: water-colourist and mother of American painter,

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

veteran, geological survey photographer and an explorer

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of Am ...

Alma Lutz Alma Lutz (1890–1973) was an American feminist and activist for equal rights and woman suffrage. She was also the biographer of key women in the women's rights movement. Early life Alma Lutz was born in Jamestown, North Dakota to Mathilde (Baue ...

: feminist and activist for equal rights and woman suffrage * Constance Roseblum: biographer and author, editor for ''

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 ...

'' *

Susan Daitch Susan Daitch is an American novelist and short story writer. In 1996 David Foster Wallace called her "one of the most intelligent and attentive writers at work in the U.S. today." Biography Susan Daitch graduated from Barnard College and attende ...

: writer and novelist * Mary Heimann: historian and professor at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

Melissa Zink Melissa Zink (1932-2009) was an American artist. An active member of the Taos, New Mexico art scene, she blended storytelling with sculpture, and described the enchantment of books and the imaginary worlds they evoked as the focus of her work. ...

: artist and sculptor

Campus

Emma Willard's 137 ac (55 ha) campus on Mount Ida, above the city of Troy, contains 30 buildings. The three oldest buildings, all of

collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...

style, include a cathedral-like reading room, classrooms, offices, a main auditorium, a dance studio, a lab theater, three residence halls, dining facility, a student center, and a chapel. The buildings were designed by the

Olmstead Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law O ...

. A modern art, music, and library complex opened in 1967. The library holds more than 34,000 volumes and 77 print and online periodical subscriptions. Athletic facilities include a gymnasium with two basketball/volleyball/ indoor tennis courts, full facilities for fitness training and aerobic dance, a weight room, an aquatics center housing a competition-size pool, three large playing fields, and an all-weather track. The three-story Hunter Science Center houses laboratories and teaching facilities for chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. Approximately 75 percent of the faculty reside on campus in houses and apartments. There are two main dormitory halls, Kellas and Sage. There are 10 residential faculty members. Students may also live in Cluett House, a "residential experience for students who are interested in creating positive world change". The school was used as a filming location for the films '' The Emperor's Club'' (as St. Benedict's Academy) and '' Scent of a Woman'' (as Baird School), as well as episodes of ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

'' on Showtime. In both films, the school is portrayed as an all-boys school, and becomes co-ed in the later-years section of ''The Emperor's Club''. ''Homeland'' uses the campus as C.I.A. headquarters. It is also the setting in the novel ''City of Girls'' by

Elizabeth Gilbert Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir, '' Eat, Pray, Love'', which has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also ma ...

Athletics

Emma Willard has thirteen interscholastic sports teams: badminton, field hockey, soccer, volleyball, tennis, cross country, swimming, diving, basketball, lacrosse, softball, crew, and track (indoor and outdoor). In 2019, there were 29 athletic coaches and affiliated personnel at Emma Willard. Facilities include an aerobics studio, pool, weight room, two athletics fields, an all-weather track, seven tennis courts, two

pickleball Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...

courts, and woodlands with paths for biking or running.

Affiliations

Emma Willard School is a member of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), the New York State Association of Independent Schools, and the National Association of Independent Schools.

Sexual abuse

In April 2017, Emma Willard released a comprehensive report on sexual misconduct by faculty members that spanned almost seven decades. As a result, the school established the "Healthy Boundaries Initiatives" to address the prevention of and response to sexual misconduct and abuse. Changes and revisions were made to policies, procedures, and programming, and the school stated its commitment to safety on campus and within the community.

Notes

References

* Scott, Anne Firor. "What, Then, is the American: This New Woman?" ''The Journal of American History'' 65 (1978): 679–703. * Scott, Anne Firor. "The Ever Widening Circle: The Diffusion of Feminist Values from the Troy Female Seminary, 1822–1872." ''History of Education Quarterly'' 19 (1979): 3–25. * Woody, Thomas. ''A History of Women's Education in the United States.'' New York: Octagon Books, 1929.

External links

*
Emma Willard School, Emma (Hart) Willard Collection, 1809–2004

Renovations to the historic building site

The Association of Boarding Schools profile
{{Authority control Georgian architecture in New York (state) Preparatory schools in New York (state) Boarding schools in New York (state) Private schools in Capital District (New York) Girls' schools in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Troy, New York Educational institutions established in 1821 Schools in Troy, New York Fair trade schools Female seminaries in the United States Private high schools in New York (state) 1821 establishments in New York (state) Girls boarding schools