Durham Academy

Durham Academy
Location
3601 Academy Road Durham, NC 27705 USA
Coordinates	35°58′37″N 78°58′12″W / 35.97692°N 78.97006°W / 35.97692; -78.97006Coordinates: 35°58′37″N 78°58′12″W / 35.97692°N 78.97006°W / 35.97692; -78.97006
Information
Type	Private
Religious affiliation(s)	Non-sectarian
Founded	1933
Headmaster	Michael Ulku/Steiner
Staff	197
Grades	Pre-K to grade 12
Number of students	1,162
Campus	Suburban, 40 acres (16 ha)
Color(s)	Green and White
Mascot	Cavalier
Accreditation	SACS
Tuition	$23,205 (grades 9-12) $21,395 (grades 5-8) $20,930 (grades 1–4) $13,395 (pre-school)
Affiliations	NAIS, NCAIS
Website	www.da.org

Durham Academy (DA) is an independent, coeducational, day school in Durham, North Carolina, whose 1,100 students range from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. It emphasizes character education and community service. An experiential education program begins in fifth grade and includes a trip to Washington, D.C., for seventh graders, a Civil Rights trip for eleventh graders and a wilderness adventure for twelfth graders. The school provides more than $1.5 million annually in financial aid to promote socioeconomic diversity.

History

Durham Academy was founded in 1933 as Calvert Method School. In 1959, the school changed its name to Durham Academy and began an expansion. Its first class of high school seniors graduated in 1975.

A new preschool and lower school building opened in 2002 and has been recognized by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design for its unique style.^[1] In 2004, the school was ranked first in the Southeast by the New York Times and 30th in the nation by Forbes. The Upper School Learning Commons opened in February 2012. The 7,000-square-foot building includes a library, a student store, a faculty work room, and a computer lab with 20 iMac stations. The building also houses classroom and office space.^[2]

Durham Academy received widespread press^[3][4][5] on February 12, 2014, after school administrators used rap music in a video^[6] announcing that the school would be closed due to snow.

In 2015, Durham Academy's auditioned a cappella group, XIV Hours, released a video entitled "Lost in the Game"^[7] that discussed the sexual nature of many popular song lyrics. The video quickly became popular and was covered in several major news sites, including MTV and the Huffington Post.

Organizational structure

The Upper School

Durham Academy is organized into four divisions, each with its own director. The Preschool includes Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten, the Lower School grades one through four, the Middle School grades five through eight and the Upper School grades nine through twelve. Tuition for 2012-13 is as follows: Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten - $12,940; Grades One through Four - $18,740; Grade Five through Eight - $19,160; Grades Nine through 12 - $20,780.^[8]

Academics

Durham Academy's academic standards are highly regarded. The school offers a rigorous and challenging college preparatory curriculum, including 25 AP courses. The Class of 2009 matriculated to 54 colleges and universities in 19 states and the District of Columbia, and had average best SAT scores of 664 on critical reading, 700 on math and 756 on writing, for a combined best of 2120 on a 2400 scale. Recent graduates have been awarded Morehead Scholarships to UNC-Chapel Hill, Angier B. Duke and B.N. Duke Scholarships to Duke University and Park Scholarships to N.C. State University, as well as merit scholarships to Santa Clara, University of Southern California, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Davidson, Dickinson, Mount Holyoke, Furman, Elon, Rhodes, and Guilford. Students at Durham Academy have won national titles in chess ^[9][10] and debate,^[11] and a member of the Class of 2007 was awarded second place in the Intel Science Talent Search.^[12] Over the last five years, Durham Academy has had 37 National Merit finalists.

Sixty-six percent of faculty members hold advanced degrees, and they average 20 years of teaching experience.^[13] Lower School science teacher Lyn Streck was named the 2008 NC Conservation Education Teacher of the Year for involving students, faculty and parents in a variety of environmental efforts.^[14] Meanwhile, Upper School history teacher Mike Spatola was recognized by the Stanford Teacher Tribute Initiative in 2011^[15] and received a 2012 Outstanding Educator Award from the University of Chicago^[16]

Athletics

Durham Academy's athletic offerings include field hockey, volleyball, cross-country, tennis, soccer, swimming, basketball, lacrosse, softball, track and field, baseball and golf. Durham Academy had the first high school boys lacrosse program in Durham County.^[17] Eighty-two percent of the students in grades seven through twelve participate in athletics. The school has won 15 varsity state championships since 2000 and several teams have won multiple state championships. Most recently, the boys cross country team placed second at the 2015 NCISAA state championship, and the varsity girls field hockey team won the 2012 North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association championship.^[18] The cross country and track programs at Durham Academy are particularly notable, with 39 team state championships and 196 individual titles during the tenure of former head coach Dennis Cullen. ^[19] Several Durham Academy athletes have gone on to Division I programs, including Duke University, University of Vermont, U.S. Naval Academy, Wake Forest University, Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.^[20] Among those athletes are Mollie Pathman, the 2009-2010 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player,^[21] who played on the U.S. women's Under-20 national team at the 2012 World Cup,^[22] and Evan Fjeld, a McDonald's All-American nominee who graduated from the University of Vermont and has played professionally in the NBA D-League as well as in Malta and Switzerland.^[23]

Arts

Durham Academy's arts classes include chorus, band, photography, filmmaking, ceramics, mixed media arts, acting studio, screenwriting, playwriting, and various levels of dance. "In the Pocket", an audition-based musical group, has performed at venues around the city and the country. There are also several extracurricular a cappella singing groups.^[24]

Speech and debate

Durham Academy's debate team has won various national and regional competitions, including the NFL National Championship, Harvard, Glenbrooks, Wake Forest, George Mason, Florida Blue Key, Laird Lewis, and the Sunvitational. In addition, the team has won multiple state and district championships. Coaches include Crawford Leavoy, Jeff Welty, Michael Adams, Catherine Yang, Molly Harris and Daniel Lumpee.

See also

• List of high schools in North Carolina

References

External links

• Official website
• official Speech and Debate website