Tilton School

Coordinates: 43°26′40″N 71°35′23″W / 43.44444°N 71.58972°W / 43.44444; -71.58972

The Tilton School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school in Tilton, New Hampshire, in the United States, serving students from 9th to 12th grade and postgraduates. Founded in 1845, Tilton's student body of 258 consists of 51 day students and 192 boarding students from 20 states and 16 countries.

History

Tilton School

Tilton School was founded in 1845 as a secondary school for boys and girls. Both dormitory students and day students were accepted. About 76 boys and girls formed the first student body. Two buildings, a boarding house and a classroom building, were built for the school in Northfield, New Hampshire, which is just across the Winnipesaukee River from the present campus. In the 1860s a fire burned part of the school and forced relocation across the river, to the present campus. Several brick buildings were erected, to be replaced in the 1880s by Knowles Hall.

In the early days, several different names were used for the school, each describing its function and, at times, its location. First, the school was called the New Hampshire Conference Seminary, because it was founded by Methodists, and its primary purpose was to train boys and girls for work in the church. In 1852, "and Female College" was added to the already long name. College degrees were granted to women until 1903, when the name was changed to "Tilton Seminary". The present name, Tilton School, was adopted in 1923.

Over the years, Tilton School has served many purposes, which were always related to the needs of the times. It has been a co-educational boarding school, a boys' boarding school, a public school, a female college, a junior college, and a secondary school with both college and general courses. In 1939, Tilton ceased serving as the local high school and became strictly an independent boarding and day school for boys. In 1958, the "general diploma" was dropped and only college preparatory courses were offered. In 1970, Tilton once again became co-educational.

Academics

At Tilton classes are held Monday through Saturday, with half-days on Wednesday and Saturday; the afternoons are reserved for athletics and club activities. Tilton has a student-to-teacher ratio of 5:1 and an average class size of 11 students.^[1]

Tilton maintains an active chapter of the Cum Laude Society, one of only 368 chapters of this scholastic achievement honor society worldwide.

Understanding by Design

Tilton School has adopted the principles of the Understanding by Design philosophy which is a framework for designing curriculum, performance assessments, and classroom instruction.

Athletics

Tilton's athletic program requires students to participate in intramural or interscholastic athletic programs. The school offers 16 interscholastic sports with teams at the varsity and junior varsity level as well as intramural sports squads and opportunities for independent study.

Interscholastic sports

Opponents

Tilton School competes in the Lakes Region League which consists of seven New England preparatory schools that compete athletically and academically. Tilton is also a member of the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) as well as the Evergreen League ^[2] for football.

In 2008 Tilton and New Hampton School resumed a long-standing rivalry known as the Powder Keg. The competition between the two schools dates back to 1895 and is among the oldest rivalries in prep school athletics.^[3] Other traditional athletic opponents include Phillips Exeter Academy, St. Paul's School, St. Mark's School, Kents Hill School, Cushing Academy, and other prep and boarding schools from across the northeast.

Championships

In 2009 and 2011, the school's Varsity Basketball team won the High School Prep National Championship. In 2007, the men's varsity football team went undefeated 9-0 and won a NEPSAC championship. ^[4]

Campus

The school sits on 146 acres (0.6 km²) on a hill overlooking the village of Tilton. The campus comprises more than 15 buildings, including five residential dormitories, a multi-purpose athletics center, an indoor ice hockey arena, several academic buildings, a school chapel, library, and visual arts center.

A new academic building, constructed in 2007 and designed by Scott Simons Architects, is located just west of Plimpton Hall and connects to that building. It is a 38,000-square-foot (3,500 m²), wireless, state-of-the-art building that is four stories high. The lower level houses a 100-seat lecture hall that is SAT certified. The first floor comprises a biology laboratory (complete with two-story greenhouse), a chemistry laboratory and the 9th grade FIRST Program seminar room with a connecting outdoor classroom space. The second floor houses the physics laboratory, math classrooms, integrated math/science faculty work spaces, which enhance cross-discipline collaboration, and the Head and Assistant Head of School offices. The third floor has the world languages classrooms and language laboratory and resource rooms, as well as the Learning Center, which encompasses 10 one-on-one tutorial rooms, computer terminals and common space.

Maloney Hall, a new dormitory, also constructed in 2007, that occupies 15,000 square feet (1,400 m²) and houses 20 12th-grade girls, as well as three faculty apartments. There is a recreation room and two-story common room with a fireplace and a kitchenette, as well as laundry and storage facilities. Double rooms all share a bathroom, and proctors’ rooms have a private bathroom, the top-floor private bathroom with a skylight as well. The new dormitory marks a shift in housing toward smaller, family-style living and addresses Tilton’s ongoing commitment to high-quality housing.

Knowles Hall is the oldest building and the center of Tilton's campus for over 120 years. It houses over half of the student body. The East side of Knowles houses junior boys, the West side of Knowles houses freshman and sophomore girls, and the entire 1st floor of Knowles houses sophomore boys.

Beaumont Hall has two functions. The upper floors of Beaumont Dormitory are the main residential rooms for 9th-grade boys. The ground floor houses the school's main dining room. It was built in 1909, when the current dining room replaced a smaller, wooden structure.

Tilton Hall was originally built by Charles Tilton in 1861. Tilton School purchased the building 101 years later. Tilton Hall, or "the Mansion," currently houses the Lucian Hunt Library. In 1980, the attached carriage house was renovated to house the Helene Grant Daly Art Center. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

George L. Plimpton Hall, built in 1926, houses the majority of Tilton's classrooms, the admission office and the administrative offices, including Tilton's college counseling center.

Pfeiffer Hall, constructed in 1938 and 1939, presently serves as a dormitory for 12th grade boys.

Moore Hall, constructed in 1988, serves as a dormitory for 11th grade and post-graduate girls.

Hamilton Hall is home to Tilton's theater and music departments, and was originally the school gymnasium.

The Fred Andrew Smart Chapel was transported in 1965 to Tilton's campus from its original home in Canterbury, New Hampshire. The building serves as a school meeting place and is often a gallery for student art.

The Memorial Gymnasium was built shortly after World War II to honor those who had served and died for their country. In 1998, the building was completely renovated and rededicated as the Memorial Athletic and Recreational Center (M.A.R.C.). The building contains three basketball courts, a climbing wall, a weight room, locker rooms, a training room, and a student center including a snack bar. A 2008 construction has extended the social area of the M.A.R.C, adding more couches, a larger television set, a pool table, and a foosball table. The previous wrestling room has been moved to the second story of the M.A.R.C.

The John F. MacMorran Field House, originally built in 1978, provided Tilton with its first indoor hockey arena. In 1999, Tilton completed a two million dollar renovation of the facility.

Notable alumni

• Henry Moore Baker, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire
• J. Christopher Burch, founder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital
• John Charles Daly, host of the game show What's My Line?, reporter and news executive
• John W. Gowdy, Methodist bishop
• Donald M. Murray, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, columnist for The Boston Globe and Professor Emeritus of English at the University of New Hampshire^[5]
• Georges Niang, basketball player for the Iowa State Cyclones
• Nerlens Noel, National Basketball Association player
• Alex Oriakhi, college basketball player
• Worthy Patterson, National Basketball Association player ^[6]
• John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (Berrett-Koehler, 2004)
• Ross Scaife, Professor of Classics at the University of Kentucky
• Wayne Selden, Jr., college basketball player
• Carlton Skinner, first civilian governor of Guam
• Charles H. Tenney, hat dealer
• M. Emmet Walsh, character actor who has appeared in dozens of films, including Slap Shot (1977), The Jerk (1979), Brubaker (1980), Blade Runner (1982), and Blood Simple (1984)

Notable faculty

• Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science (substitute teacher)^[7]
• John W. Gowdy, bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and The Methodist Church (teacher)
• Weldon Haire, public address announcer (basketball coach)^[6]

References

• Didsbury, Kendall. In the Shadow of the Clock Tower. Tilton School, 1988.

External links

• Tilton School official website