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Solebury School

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Coordinates: 40°22′49″N 74°59′21″W / 40.3802°N 74.9892°W / 40.3802; -74.9892
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jellocube27 (talk | contribs) at 02:57, 26 July 2023 (→Sexual abuse: copyediting). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Solebury School
Address
Map
6832 Phillips Mill Rd

New Hope
,
Bucks
,
Pennsylvania
18938-9682

United States
Coordinates40°22′49″N 74°59′21″W / 40.3802°N 74.9892°W / 40.3802; -74.9892
Information
TypeIndependent day & boarding school
Religious affiliation(s)Nonsectarian[1]
EstablishedSeptember 1925; 99 years ago (1925-09)
StatusCurrently operational[1]
CEEB code392955
NCES School ID01197388[1]
Head of schoolTom Wilschutz
Faculty47.9 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment218[1] (2019–2020)
 • Grade 943
 • Grade 1053
 • Grade 1160
 • Grade 1262
Student to teacher ratio4.6[1]
Hours in school day9.2[1]
Campus typeRural[1]
Athletics conferencePenn-Jersey Athletic Association
NicknameSpartans
Annual tuition$45,180 (day);[2] $66,920 (boarding)[2]
AffiliationNAIS[1]
Websitesolebury.org

Solebury School is a co-educational private boarding and day school located on a 140-acre (57 ha) campus in Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Solebury School's academic program features a college-preparatory curriculum with courses and electives in various subjects and a focus on interdisciplinary and experiential education models.[3]

Since the MeToo Movement started, the school has been the subject of considerable public scrutiny concerning generationally-recurrent faculty-condoned sexual abuse of its students.

History

Solebury School was conceived by Robert "Pap" Shaw,[4] Laurie Erskine, Julian Lathrop, and Arthur Washburn in the early 1920s. It opened in September 1925 in rented quarters with four boys and four teachers. A year later, the founders purchased Michener Farm, which remains the institution's site. In 1949 the school merged with another local school, the Holmquist School for Girls, which had a similar educational philosophy and often shared events and productions.[5]

Solebury is often described as a socially progressive or liberal institution. In the 1980s, a local activist and noted anarchist Abbie Hoffman would give speeches to the student body.[6] The school hosts LGBTQ groups; it produced an entry about bullying for the It Gets Better Project in 2011 and has an active campus club which pertains to sexuality, which students and teachers attend together.[7][8] By participating annually in a local AIDS fundraiser walk, Solebury School has raised thousands of dollars for AIDS organizations.[9]

Sexual abuse

After several alumni claimed they had been sexually abused as students at Solebury, including by the current head gym coach, the school publicly issued a letter of acknowledgment and apology to them by mail in 2014. In a second letter to alums and parents, the school revealed its chief founder (Robert "Pap" Shaw) had sexual relationships with his students.

On January 26, 2017, Bucks County published the results of a 2015 grand jury investigation detailing testimony considered credible by the district attorney from six former students alleging sexual abuse at Solebury School from the 1950s through 2005,[10][11] identifying nine living adults formerly connected with the school who could be prosecuted.[12] The report was critical of the Solebury School's campus culture as facilitating the abuse.[13]

Before this, the only public sexual abuse scandal at Solebury was an affair between a music teacher and an underage student, which occurred in the mid-1990s and was settled in a civil suit in 1998.[14]

Notable faculty

  • Anna Whelan Betts - famous late 19th and early 20th century illustrator in the Victorian style. After quitting illustration mid-career due to eye trouble, she became the art director at Solebury for 20 years, to "save her eyesight."[15] Per her influence, Solebury continues to offer nude figure drawing courses in their curriculum to this day.

Notable alumni

Sex abuse case

  • Seymour, Kara (February 2, 2017). "Decades Of Sexual Abuse At Bucks County Prep School Detailed In Grand Jury Report". Newtown Patch. Patch Media.
  • Bucks County Investigating Grand jury report on sexual abuse at the Solebury School

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for Solebury School". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Tuition and Financial Aid". Admissions. Solebury School. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Mission Statement - Solebury School". www.solebury.org. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  4. ^ "Solebury School Magazine Summer/Fall 2013 | Solebury School". 2023-07-23. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  5. ^ "Founders of Solebury School – 2003 Honored Citizens | Solebury Township Historical Society". 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  6. ^ Richardson, Clem (27 September 2004). "The World is his Punch Time". New York Daily News. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Solebury School: "It Gets Better"". It Gets Better Project. 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Club List". Solebury School. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  9. ^ Reed, Valerie (14 November 2014). "Goal for Breast Cancer Bingo: $10,000". Philly.com. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  10. ^ Bloomquist, Sarah (February 1, 2017). "Grand jury: Decades of sexual abuse at Solebury School". 6abc.com. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved February 10, 2017. The grand jury heard from six former students — a 7th case was already prosecuted. They described sexual activity with faculty and staff members, both on campus and in cities miles away...
  11. ^ Bucks County Investigating Grand jury report on sexual abuse at the Solebury School
  12. ^ McDaniel, Justine (February 1, 2017). "'No boundaries' for teachers enabled decades of sex abuse at elite Bucks school, report finds". philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Longo, Brandon (February 1, 2017). "Scathing Report Reveals Sex Abuse At Pa. School Spanning 55 Years". CBS Philly. CBS Broadcasting. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Finley, Ben (15 December 2014). "Solebury School failed to act on initial abuse rumors". Philly.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  15. ^ Reed, Walt (2001). The illustrator in America, 1860-2000. Society of Illustrators. p. 91.
  16. ^ "Peter Hobbs obituary". Los Angeles Times. 2011-01-15. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  17. ^ "'Airplane!' actress to appear at Solebury School". Bucks County Courier Times. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  18. ^ Goldman, Lynne (2009-07-23). "Food, Inc. Documentary at the County » Bucks County Taste". Bucks County Taste. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  19. ^ WEACT.org. "WEACT.org > Home > Staff Members > Peggy M. Shepard". weact.nyc. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  20. ^ "Elizabeth Pitcairn performs for Solebury School community". The Bucks County Herald. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  21. ^ "Andrew Bynum". Sports Pundit. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
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