Berkshire School
| Berkshire School | |
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Buck Valley during fall, Berkshire School
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| Address | |
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245 North Undermountain Road Sheffield, Massachusetts, Berkshire 01257-9672 United States |
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| Coordinates | 42°6′56.88″N 73°24′50.04″W / 42.1158000°N 73.4139000°WCoordinates: 42°6′56.88″N 73°24′50.04″W / 42.1158000°N 73.4139000°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Co-ed, Private, Boarding and Day school |
| Motto | Pro Vita Non Pro Schola Discimus ("Learning — Not just for School, but for Life.") |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Nonsectarian |
| Established | January 1, 1906 |
| Opened | 1907 |
| Founder | Seaver Burton Buck |
| CEEB code | 221900 |
| NCES School ID | 00603723 |
| Head of School | Pieter Mulder |
| Faculty | 65 |
| Grades | 9-PG |
| Enrollment | 410 Students; 92% Boarding (2015) |
| International students | 22 countries (2002) |
| Average class size | 12 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 6:1 |
| Classes offered | 145 |
| Campus size | 680 acres (2.8 km2) |
| Campus type | Rural |
| Color(s) | Green and grey |
| Song | All Hail to Berkshire |
| Athletics conference | New England Prep School Athletic Council, District 4 |
| Nickname | Bears |
| Average SAT scores (2007) | 1870 |
| Newspaper | Green & Grey |
| Yearbook | The Trail |
| Endowment | $112 million |
| School fees | $19.3 million |
| Tuition | $59,000 |
| Revenue | $34.3 million |
| Website | berkshireschool |
Berkshire School is a private, co-ed boarding school for grades 9 through 12 located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA.
Berkshire School (for boys) was established in 1907 at the foot of Mount Everett, one of the highest mountains in Massachusetts, by Seaver Burton Buck, a Harvard graduate who had previously taught at Hackley School. Buck led the school until 1943.
His educational philosophy is reported as a "Victorian disciplinarian [who] was sometimes subverted by a pixieish manner." It is also reported that during this period the school "lacked the prestige of top-drawer prep schools." Despite this fact, when Albert Keep became headmaster in 1943, the school instituted an Education with Wings program, which enabled students to gain a high school diploma and simultaneously prepare for World War II.
In 1943, Delano de Windt, a 1911 graduate of the school, became headmaster. He was soon followed by John E. Godman in 1951, who increased the school's enrollment to 330 boys and expanded the faculty to 35 teachers. In 1964, an arts and science wing was added to Berkshire Hall. In 1969, Berkshire also enrolled nine girls as day students in what Godman described as "an experiment" in coeducation. This led to full-scale coeducation.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Robert Minnerly took over as headmaster. Under his leadership, the school restructured its scholastic mission and added new programs in computer science, ethics, health, and environmental science. His successors built on these changes and added new programs of their own. Under James Moore (1979 - 1987), Berkshire constructed a 35,000 square foot athletic center and renovated the gymnasium to house a modern library which today boasts 40,000 volumes.
In 1991, Richard Unsworth whose previous experience included being the headmaster at Northfield Mount Hermon School became headmaster. During Unsworth headmastership the school introduced co-curricular programs in Chinese and outdoor education though the school's "reputation for being lax about drugs" remained an issue.
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