Cushing Academy | |
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Cushing Academy and Science Building
ca. 1908 |
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Location | |
Ashburnham, MA USA |
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Coordinates | 42°38′0″N 71°54′48″W / 42.63333°N 71.91333°WCoordinates: 42°38′0″N 71°54′48″W / 42.63333°N 71.91333°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, boarding |
Motto | Virtute et Numine |
Established | 1865 |
Headmaster | Christopher Torino |
Gender | Co-educational |
Enrollment | 400 |
Average class size | 12 |
Student to teacher ratio | 8:1 |
Campus | 162 acres (0.66 km2) |
Color(s) | Purple and white |
Athletics conference | NEPSAC |
Mascot | Penguin |
Tuition | $57,800 (boarding); $41,300 (day) (2016–17) |
Website | cushing.org |
Cushing Academy is a coeducational college preparatory day and boarding school for students in grades 9 through 12 and postgraduates (PG). It is located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, 62 miles from Boston. Cushing was founded in 1865 in fulfillment of a bequest by Thomas Parkman Cushing and opened in 1875, and is sometimes cited as the oldest coeducational boarding school in the United States. Christopher Torino served as headmaster from July 2013 until December 2016
Cushing Academy has approximately 400 students, from 26 states and 28 countries. 85% board on campus. The faculty-student ratio is 1:8 and 68% of faculty hold advanced degrees.
Cushing Academy's campus overlooks the town center of Ashburnham. Cushing's academic buildings include the historic Main Building, dedicated in January 1894 a year after its predecessor was destroyed by fire, the Joseph R. Curry Academic Center, the English Building, and the Emily Fisher Landau Center for Visual Arts. Ashburnham House and Alumni Hall are the largest student dormitories. Sports facilities include the Watkins Field House (dedicated in 2016), Heslin Gym, Theodore Iorio Arena, several athletic fields, and tennis courts.
In 2009, Cushing Academy announced plans to spend $500,000 transforming the Fisher-Watkins Library into a learning center with a number of e-readers, flat-screen televisions, special laptop-friendly study carrels, and a coffee shop where the reference desk was. In an Update to Parents dated September 10, 2009, the headmaster stated that most the library's printed books would be replaced over a two-year period with e-books, but reassured that "books, in all formats, will continue to abound at Cushing."