Эббот Академиясы: Массачусетс штабындағы қыздарға арналған интернат мектебінің тарихы

Independent, boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, United States

Abbot Academy (also known as Abbot Female Seminary and AA) was an independent boarding preparatory school for women boarding and day care for students in grades 9–12 from 1828 to 1973. Located in Andover, Massachusetts, Abbot Academy was notable as one of the first incorporated secondary schools for educating young women in New England. It merged with Phillips Academy in 1973 and campus buildings along School Street continue to be used for the combined school. Some Abbot traditions continue at the combined private boarding school such as Parent's Weekend. Since the 40th anniversary in 2013 of the merger of the two schools, there has been renewed interest in Abbot's history and traditions.

The school was founded during a time when the prevailing view was that women's education "should always be relative to men", with some believing that study of "higher subjects" such as philosophy and mathematics might render women to be infertile. One of the first formal discussions to propose a school for young women happened on February 19, 1828. The school was incorporated in 1829 with 70 Painting and drawing were taught by professional painter and alumnus Emily A. Means who had studied with well known painters in Europe for four years. Means guided the art department from 1877 to 1892 and later served as principal from 1898 to 1911.

The school went through challenging times during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Since the first Abbot Grant was awarded in the fall of 1973, nearly 2000 Abbot Grant proposals have been submitted by students and members of the faculty, staff and administration of Phillips Academy. The Abbot Academy Association has funded more than 1400 of these proposals with grants totaling $9,400,000. In 2014, the Abbot Academy Association's endowment had grown to $10 million.

Activities included the Fidelio Chorus, school government, and the school newspaper. Athletic programs included basketball, crew, cycling, ballet and modern dance, fencing, soccer, softball, and tennis. In the late 1960s, Abbot's math department set up a paper tape terminal connected to a computer at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. This provided the high school students with early BASIC language computer programming skills. In 1973, the languages taught included English, French, German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish.

In June 1873, the first issue of the Abbot Courant was published. This student literary magazine appeared two to three times a year. Later editions included art work and photographs. In 1992, with a grant from the Abbot Academy Association, the Courant was revived at Phillips Academy and continues to be published twice a year. In 2002, a 123 page alumni edition was published. The Abbot Academy yearbook was published from 1900 to 1973. Originally known as The Abbot Academy Class Book, the yearbook became The Circle in 1916 (this is the first year that the double A logo used on senior class rings appeared on the book cover). Digital versions of the Abbot Courant and The Circle are available through the school Archives and Special Collections. The student newspaper was called Cynosure. In 1974, it moved to Phillips where it became a monthly magazine.

Students were divided into two groups called Gargoyles and Griffins for sports teams and for other purposes that required dividing the students into groups; their colors were green and orange, respectively. Dual color felt beanie hats with an image of a gargoyle or griffin were distributed to students. The locally based Clan MacPherson Pipes and Drums led graduation processions on the Abbot Circle. This tradition continues today at Phillips Academy. At graduation, after chapel, Seniors and Junior Middlers (eleventh graders) met in the Senior Courtyard for the Ring Ceremony. (This central garden was completely enclosed by the three sides of Draper Hall with the dining room wall as the fourth side.) By tradition, Junior Mids who purchased Abbot Academy class rings the year before wore them with the "AA" insignia upside down. During the Ring Ceremony, each Junior Mid received a Senior sponsor. The Junior Mid, now recognized as a member of the new Senior class, turned her ring so that the insignia was upright. In 1973, all students who wanted to were allowed to buy Abbot class rings.

In 1863, the Abbot campus consisted of one acre surrounded by a fence. By 1878, it was approximately 22 acres. Abbot's three main buildings (Abbot Hall, Draper Hall, and McKeen Hall) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first academy building, Abbot Hall, is an "exceptional" early example of the Greek Revival style. It was built in 1828–29. Since 1996, it has housed Phillips Academy's Brace Center for Gender Studies. An art gallery was added to the left side of Abbot Hall in 1906–07. It was designed by Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul of Boston. The art gallery housed the collection of Mrs. Esther Byers. The Merrill Memorial Gates and two side gates (the John P. Taylor and George G. Davis gates) were added in 1921 to the front and sides, respectively, of the Abbot Circle. Designed a few years earlier by the firm of McKim, Mead & White, similar gates appear at Harvard University, Princeton University, and Bowdoin College. The Abbot Circle, around which the main buildings are grouped, was re dedicated on 3 May 1997.

In 1988, Phillips Academy opened a proposal to repurpose buildings on the former Abbot Academy campus to increase rental and commercial use on the property. This plan was designed to prevent the academy from demolishing the land to make way for single family homes or selling the acreage to private developers. The school argued that saving the buildings will ultimately allow for historical preservation. A town meeting was then set in place on April 4 6 of 1988, with the Phillips Academy historical preservation plan needing a two thirds yes vote on Article 101 to get support in retaining the campus for the school's own use. However, some town members were hesitant to move forward with this plan. Those who wanted to vote no on Article 101, made the argument that the repurposed use of Abbot campus buildings for commercial use would in turn decrease the property value of existing Andover residential neighborhood homes. In the end, Phillips Academy ended up retaining the Abbot campus for its own use.

Susan McIntosh Lloyd. "A Singular School: Abbot Academy 1828 1973", Hanover, NH: Published by Phillips Academy, Andover, 1979. Susan J. Montgomery and Roger G. Reed. "The Campus Guide. Phillips Academy Andover", New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000. Philena McKeen, headmistress. Author of "Annals of Fifty Years: A History of Abbot Academy, Andover, Mass., 1829 1879" and "Sequel to Annals of Fifty Years: A History of Abbot Academy, Andover, Mass., 1879 1892