Gilmour Academy
| Gilmour Academy | |
|---|---|
| File:GilmourAcademy Crest.JPG | |
| Location | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, Independent, Coeducational, Roman Catholic |
| Motto | To develop the competence to see and the courage to act in creating a more humane and just society. |
| Established | 1946 |
| Headmaster | Br. Robert E. Lavelle, C.S.C. |
| Faculty | 87 |
| Enrollment | Total: 739 Upper: 430 |
| Average class size | 15 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 10:1 |
| Campus | Suburban, 144 acres |
| Color(s) | Blue & Gray |
| Athletics | 22 sports |
| Mascot | Lancers |
| Website | http://www.gilmour.org/ |
Gilmour Academy is an independent, Roman Catholic, coeducational, college-preparatory school in the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills, Ohio. Founded in 1946 by the Brothers of Holy Cross, it offers a Montessori preschool program and traditional kindergarten through grade 12. A boarding program is available to students in grades 7-12. Gilmour Academy is chartered through the state of Ohio; accredited through the Independent School Association of Central States (ISCACS) and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA); and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Ohio Association of Independent Schools (OAIS), and the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES).
Campus
Gilmour's 144-acre campus has experienced significant growth and expansion in recent years. The Lynn and Michael Kelley Middle School and Fine Arts Building houses a new Broadcast Media Center where students can learn and practice with digital media technology. A new chapel serves as a venue for liturgical events and student convocation. Gilmour’s Athletic Center houses two NHL-sized ice rinks and a fitness center. New artificial turf was installed two years ago in a multiple-use field for football, soccer, and lacrosse. Plans are currently underway for a new gymnasium and swimming pool.
History
Gilmour Academy was founded 60 years ago when the Brothers of Holy Cross from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana began a select boarding school which was named in honor of Bishop Richard Gilmour, the second Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and a champion of Catholic education. The school opened in 1946 with a faculty of nine Brothers and an initial enrollment of 45 eighth and ninth grade boys. The following year, the school shifted to a four-year curriculum. Gilmour added its Middle School in 1973. In 1982, Gilmour merged with Glen Oak School, making it a coeducational institution. The Lower School and Montessori preschool program were established in 1985, followed by a traditional kindergarten and grades one through 12.
Upper School
At Gilmour Academy’s Upper School, curriculum is designed to prepare students for college-level work, with 90-minute class periods and a Socratic instructional style based on the concept of student as worker and teacher as coach. Four Gilmour Upper School students have been listed as co-authors of scientific papers and another presented a scientific paper and won an award held by the American Chemical Society. All five students were part of Gilmour’s Catalyst program, an extracurricular mentorship program that connects students with experts in industry, government, and academia.
At the conclusion of their education at Gilmour, students devote their final month to a senior project. They identify an area of interest and design an internship around it followed by a final presentation about how Gilmour’s essential goals and objectives relate to their internship experience.
Gilmour places a great deal of value on service to the community, and participation in a community service program is requisite for graduation. Students must meet a 60-hour standard to graduate, and many students surpass the requirement.
Middle School
Gilmour's Middle School curriculum is designed to engage students to perform well academically while providing compassionate encouragement for developing young-adult students. The curriculum strongly emphasizes problem solving throughout its various subjects. Middle school students are assigned advisors who work with students individually to assist with academic and social issues.
Gilmour’s seventh and eighth grade students benefit from the facilities of the recently-constructed $6.2 million Kelley Middle School and Fine Arts Building. The 37,000-square-foot building offers science labs and classrooms, a common area to exhibit student work and host casual gatherings, several computer labs, music and visual arts studios for photography, ceramics, and art classes, and a computerized graphics center.
Lower School
Gilmour's Lower School curriculum focuses on in-depth learning rather than the delivery of a certain amount of information. It attempts to make lessons personally significant to students while covering material all students need to know. Faculty are required to make connections among various subjects and to expose students to natural connections among their courses. Lower School students have competed at the state or national levels of National History Day over the last several years.
A reecent $2.5 million expansion to the Lower School facilities included a new music center with practice rooms and keyboard lab, new library with a computer lab, a science lab, classrooms with access to the Internet and wireless laptops, exhibition area, and an electronic research center.
Technology
In 2006, Gilmour constructed a new 800-square-foot Broadcast Media Center designed to help students learn to work with digital media technology and become more critical media consumers. The facility houses video editing and audio dubbing stations, a news set with studio space, and Avid digital video editing software similar to that used by professionals in the film and television industries.
The Gilmour campus contains approximately 400 computers, the majority of which run Microsoft Windows XP, at the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. The Gilmour Virtual Library, a web site developed in-house by library staff, includes research resources for many projects and topics. Gilmour provides high-speed access to the Internet via a dual T1 connection from every classroom and computer lab on campus. Many classrooms are wired for multimedia capabilities to assist with instruction and project presentations, and a wireless network is available in certain areas on campus.
Boarding Program
Gilmour maintains a boarding program for students in grades 7-12. Gilmour has resident students from both the United States and various other counties around the world. The residence program includes supervised study hall, chaperoned activities, and personal advising and mentoring.
Extracurricular Activities
Gilmour offers many extracurricular activities in the fields of art and music, forensics, journalism, service, and sports. The school's Speech and Debate Team is ranked in the top one percent of the National Forensics League and has won the Northern Ohio District Championship in the Ohio High School Speech League for 19 consecutive years. Gilmour orators have represented Northeast Ohio six out of the last seven years at the state level at the Sons of the American Revolution Oratorical Contest, and three students have finished in the top three positions nationally. Gilmour's Four Person Policy Debate Team won the State Championship in 2001 and 2003, and took second in Ohio in 2007. Gilmour's Academic Challenge Team has competed in the finals on WEWS NewsChannel 5 for two out of the last three years and were champions in 2007. The Academy's Drama Club was invited twice to perform at the American High School Theater Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has earned a Superior Rating for 13 consecutive years from the Ohio Theater Alliance. Gilmour now Boasts a Pep Band that plays at all Gilmour Football games and Gilmour Men's Basket Ball games. The program started in the Fall of 2006 and now has a full line of Yamaha Snare and Bass drums. The program is advised by musical director David Kilkenny who has been at Gilmour since Fall of 2005. The Pep Band is offered to all students 7th grade to 12th grade. "It's a fun time and it adds a great dynamic to the football games and basket ball games at GA," says one Gilmour Student, "It's something that hasn't been done at the Academy in years."
Athletics
Gilmour's comprehensive athletic program consists of 22 varsity sports and 61 when junior varsity, freshmen, and Middle School teams are included. More than 70 percent of Gilmour’s students participate in at least one sport out of a variety offered—football, baseball, basketball, hockey, track and field, golf, soccer, cross country, tennis, volleyball, swimming, cheerleading, and softball. The Boys Prep Hockey Program is consistently ranked among the top in the nation. The Lancers Varsity Football Team has advanced in the playoffs five out of the last six years.
Gilmour's extensive athletic facilities include:
- A 3,700-square-foot athletic center with two NHL-size hockey rinks;
- A fully-equipped fitness center;
- A stadium recently outfitted with synthetic turf for football, soccer, and lacrosse;
- Tennis courts;
- Soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and fast-pitch softball fields;
- A field house with three regulation courts for volleyball, basketball, a batting cage, and an indoor track;
- An all-weather golf practice green;
- An indoor swimming pool;
- Two gymnasiums.
Proposed construction to begin in 2008 will create a new 600-seat gymnasium, an aquatic center, and new locker rooms.
Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships
- Boys Golf - 1991,1992,1993,1994, and an individual state champion in 2003 [1]
- Boys Track and Field – 1971 [1]
- Girls Track and Field – 2005, 2006, 2007* [1]
- Girls Cross country - 2006 [1]
- * co-champs
Spirituality
Founded by the Brothers of Holy Cross, Gilmour Academy's mission statement embodies its spiritual and societal philosophy - "to develop the competence to see and the courage to act in creating a more humane and just society." Students in all grade levels receive religious education from a Catholic and Christian perspective. Students are also exposed to the traditions of other faiths, and are encouraged to be accepting of all faith communities. Students are required to attend Mass once monthly as well as on major feast days, where they are able to receive the sacraments. Gilmour's religious program also extends to participation in retreats, service to the poor, and daily contemplation.
Notable Alumni
- Michael Chaney, professor of English at Dartmouth College and author of Fugitive Vision: Slave Image and Black Identity in Antebellum Narrative.
- Gary Cohn, president and COO of Goldman, Sachs & Co.
- Matthew J. Dolan, Republican District 98 Ohio state representative.
- Paul Dolan, president of the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball organization.
- Douglas Kenney, writer, actor, and producer; best known for writing Caddyshack and National Lampoon's Animal House.
- Terri Hamilton Brown, senior vice president for corporate diversity at National City Bank.
- Arthur J. Rooney II, president of the Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League organization.
- Barbara Romer, founder of the New Globe Theater.
- Andy Selfridge, linebacker for the Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and Miami Dolphins National Football League organizations.
- Steve Skrovan, writer for various TV series including Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond.
- Richard Tomec, best known for blacking out and ordering his dates a large pizza at the end of a night. Also for telling ridiculously bad stories, and has been known to frequently take dates to the Pizza Hut lunch buffet.
- John W. Snow, 73rd United States Secretary of the Treasury.
- Marc Stefanski, CEO and chairman of Third Federal Savings and Loan
- Brian Stepanek, actor best known for his roles in various commercials as well as in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
- Donald Junglas, M.D., former president of the Academy of Medicine of Cleveland and Northern Ohio