Baldwin School

Infobox Private School
background = #f0f6fa (standard color)
border = #ccd2d9 (standard color)
name = The Baldwin School


motto = Disce Verum Laborem
established = 1888
type = Private, All-Girl
religion = Nonsectarian
head_name = Head of School
head = Sally M. Powell
city = Bryn Mawr
state = Pennsylvania
country = USA
campus = Suburban
enrollment = 600
faculty = 80 full-time, 11 part-time
class = 16
ratio = 8 to 1
year =
patron =
SAT =
ACT =
athletics =
colors = Blue and Gray
mascot = Winnie the Bear
conference = Inter-Academic League
homepage = [http://www.baldwinschool.org/ www.baldwinschool.org] |

The Baldwin School is an all-girls private day school located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The school, founded in 1888 by Florence Baldwin, consists of a Lower, Middle, and Upper School totaling approximately 600 in enrollment. The Baldwin School is located in a national historic site, a 19th century residence designed by Frank Furness that formerly served as a hotel, and is a landmark of the Pennsylvania Main Line.

History

In 1888, Miss Florence Baldwin founded "Miss Baldwin's School for Girls, Preparatory for Bryn Mawr College" in her mother's house at the corner of Montgomery and Morris Avenues in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Although the establishment of the school was viewed by many to be a "preposterous extravagance", and any education for girls was considered unnecessary and potentially dangerous in the late 19th century, the first class was composed of thirteen girls.

In 1912, The Baldwin School leased the building designed by Frank Furness which formerly housed the Bryn Mawr Hotel, and in 1922 the school purchased the building and the surrounding 25 acres for $240,000. Today the school has added many additions but still manages to maintain the elegance and grandeur of the original building. The original building is known as "the Residence" and is home to the dining hall, art studio, apartments for faculty and staff (formerly the dormitories of the boarding students), and an Early Childhood Center, with renovations completed in 1998, specifically for the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes. A three-story science building opened in 1961 and was enlarged in 1995 to accommodate the increasing number of students. The Upper and Middle Schools inhabit the four-story Schoolhouse while grades 1-5 are housed in a separate building.

Currently the school is in the process of building a new athletic center to be completed in fall 2008. The new building will have a six-lane swimming pool, gymnasium, three-lane jogging track, tennis courts, fitness center, multipurpose studio, and more. It will be accompanied by a new practice field, and will replace the old athletic facilities which pre-date World War II.

Tuition

*K (full-time) $16,450
*Upper $23,375

cholarships

$1.5 million in scholarships is distributed annually to 19% of the girls in K-12 who demonstrate financial need.

Diversity

Students of color represent 31% of the student body. The Baldwin School is not religiously associated, and all faiths are honored and respected.

Athletics

The Baldwin School competes in the Inter-Academic League, commonly known as the Inter-Ac. Other schools in the Inter-Ac are Episcopal Academy, Springside School, Agnes Irwin School, William Penn Charter School, Academy of Notre Dame, and Germantown Academy. Varsity sports are: Basketball, Crew, Cross-country running, Dance, Field Hockey, Golf, Independent competitive sports, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Volleyball, Indoor Winter Track

Extracurricular Activities

Students at the school are exposed to a wide range of extracurricular activities. Art, Music, and Drama are offered to all grades, and in the Middle and Upper Schools students have the opportunity to participate on interscholastic athletic teams. In addition, there are over 30 clubs in the Upper School alone in which students are encouraged to participate, including Football Club, Service League, Athletic Association, Student Senate, Earth Matters, and Film Society.

Notable Alumnae

Ruth Davidon (1982): Olympic rower; competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.

Gertrude Summer Ely (1895): twice-decorated by the French for Distinguished Bravery Under Fire; past president of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters; member of the executive committee for UNICEF and the World Affairs Council.

Henrietta H. Fore (1966): former director of the U.S. Mint; now undersecretary of state for the Bush Administration.

Andrea Lee (1970): critically acclaimed writer and novelist.
Leslie Lyness (1986): part of the U.S. Field Hockey Team that competed in the 1996 Olympic Games.

Helen Taft Manning (1908): daughter of President Taft; became the youngest dean in the country when she accepted the post at Bryn Mawr College in 1917.

Martha Craven Nussbaum (1964): Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago; named among the world’s Top 100 intellectuals by Foreign Policy magazine in September 2005.

Annette Polan (1963): renowned portrait artist.

Cornelia Otis Skinner (1918): actress and writer; once known as "the greatest single attraction in American theater."

Robin Blum Smith (1957): among the first eight women accepted into Harvard’s MBA program; former president of Dell Publishing and chairman of Publishers Clearinghouse.

Kinney Zalesne (1983): co-author of Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes; former counsel to Janet Reno and a White House Fellow; consultant for Hillary Clinton and others.