Berkshire School

Berkshire School is a private, co-educational boarding school located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA.

People
About 87% of Berkshire's 430 students are boarders, while 13% are day students whose families live nearby. The U.S. students hail from 30 states. The 77 international students (18% of the student body) have primary passports from 39 countries. 23% of the students are considered students of color.

As is true of many American boarding schools, Berkshire began as a single sex school, but it has been coeducational since 1969.

In addition to grades 9-12, Berkshire offers a post-graduate year. The ninth grade class (the 3rd form) has about 100 students. Berkshire reportedly accepts about 20% of its 1500 applicants, leading to about 150 new students each year.

Essentially all Berkshire graduates anticipate going on to college. According to the school’s records over the past decade, nearly 90% of every senior class has earned acceptances to colleges and universities that are ranked as "Most Competitive" and "Highly Competitive" colleges and universities by Barron's Profile of American Colleges. As of 2023, there were about 6500 living Berkshire alumni.

71% of the 101 faculty live on campus. 68% have advanced academic degrees. The school maintains a student-to-teacher ratio of 4:1.

Pieter Mulder has been Head of School since 2013. As of 2024, the 34 members of the Board of Trustees were all either parents or alumni of the school.

Classes
Berkshire’s academic year is divided into trimesters. The average class size is 12, and the typical course load is 5 classes per trimester. Each student’s course of study is planned in conjunction with his or her advisor and overseen by two academic deans and/or a college counselor.

Advanced courses are offered in all academic subjects. As of 2023, Berkshire had designated 17 classes as “advanced placement,” with an expectation that students would then take the national AP exam. Dependent on student interest, additional AP classes can be offered in such subjects as economics, music theory, and psychology.

Berkshire has Signature programs—such as Advanced Math/Science Research and Advanced Humanities Research—that lead to independent studies projects presented at a spring exhibition. All students are also offered a range of subjects that can be studied during the week-long Pro Vita Winter Session. More than 50 Pro Vita courses are offered. Most of these are on campus, but opportunities in 2024 included a week of studying environmental issues in the Bahamas and learning outdoor leadership skills on a dog sledding trip in northern Minnesota.

Financials
Berkshire’s 2023-24 day student tuition was $55,400 with an additional $2,000 in fees. Boarding tuition was $73,200. One quarter of Berkshire’s students receive financial assistance, with an average award of $54,000.

In addition to tuition, 2/3 of Berkshire parents also contribute to the annual fund, which typically nets almost $3 million each year. As of 2023, the overall school endowment was $195 million, or $435,000 per student.

When combined with tuition and large, targeted gifts, these funds pay for the school’s overall operation and the creation and renovation of buildings on campus. In addition, they support student recruitment and financial aid, as well as extracurricular, athletic, and academic opportunities for students and faculty.

Berkshire appears to have also made an explicit, ongoing financial commitment to two challenges of modern life: environmental sustainability and the development of a diverse, accepting global community. The school has invested heavily in projects related to sustainability, with 100% of its electrical needs now being met with renewable resources. Similarly, the school asserts a strong commitment to actively recruiting a global community of students, faculty, and administrators who possess a breadth of identities, genders, perspectives, races, and religions; the curriculum includes perspectives and programming on “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” but the school indicates that DEI issues are central to the school’s sense of purpose and community.

History
Berkshire School (for boys) was established in 1907 at the foot of Mount Everett, one of the highest mountains in Massachusetts, by Seaver Burton Buck, who led the school until 1943. Buck was reportedly a "Victorian disciplinarian… sometimes subverted by a pixieish manner."

Campus
A Boston Globe once commented that Berkshire had "what must be one of the prettiest campuses in Massachusetts, or anywhere."

Campus facilities



 * The Allen Theatre (renovated 2011) offers seating for all students, a main stage, a video and sound control booth, high-tech lighting, and a green room for performers and guests.
 * The Arthur C. Chase Sugarhouse (2001) was named after a longtime Berkshire teacher and is home to the Berkshire Maple Syrup Corporation.
 * The Morgan/Bellas/Dixon Math and Science Center (2012) was named after three longtime Berkshire teachers (Amanda Morgan, Rick Bellas and Tom Dixon). The 48,000-square-foot building is dedicated to math and science classrooms and labs as well as a teaching auditorium.
 * Berkshire Hall (renovated 2006) is the school's main academic building. It houses academic classrooms and school administrative offices.
 * Chevalier Senior Lodge (rebuilt 2018) is a tech-free space that supports the school's environmental science and sustainability efforts
 * The Dixon Observatory (opened 2000) offers the technology for students and teachers to make detailed observations within the solar system and to conduct advanced astro-imaging of faint galaxies and nebulae.
 * The Geier Library provides books, extensive online resources, and an art exhibition space. On its north side, at ground level, the library also features the Ritt Kellogg Mountain Program (RKMP). In its 5400 square feet, students can meet to plan trips, sign out RKMP gear and bikes, and look through its library of wilderness guides, natural history books, and area maps.
 * The Kennard Visual Arts Center (2013) features state-of-the-art classrooms for ceramics, sculpture, studio art, digital art, digital photography, and digital music. The Kennard Center also houses the Warren Family Gallery that showcases artwork from students, alumni, and the local community. The Calderini Family Faculty Center is home to Berkshire's English, history, and language departments.
 * The Music Center (2011) features a specially-designed classroom for jazz and another for choral and chamber music. The Center boasts five practice rooms, a 24-channel recording studio, spacious instrument storage, and a student lounge.
 * The Rovensky Student Center includes the Benson Commons, which hosts three meals per day as well as special events. The student center is also home to Shawn's Place, a student lounge with a ping pong table, foosball, and snack bar. The School's Music Center, post office, bookstore and laundry services are also found within the student center.
 * The Solar Field is an 8-acre solar field located on the east side of campus. It provides up to 40% of the school's energy needs.

Interscholastic sports
Berkshire's approximately 425 students participate in a total of 17 team sports. Split into three seasons, the teams are divided evenly between girls' teams and boys' teams, with two teams (mountain biking and freestyle skiing) being coed. In addition to the 32 varsity teams, Berkshire offers 15 junior varsity teams and seven "3rds," which are often teams for students who are new (or relatively new) to that sport.

During the daily time allotted to sports, students can instead participate in such activities as dance, theater, and the Ritt Kellogg Mountain Program.

The sports teams compete in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC), generally against similarly-sized boarding schools in the northeast and New England.

Sporting events are typically held on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.

Berkshire has a variety of multi-purpose courts, fields, and pitches, including the Tom Young Field (baseball and softball), Schappert Field (football), Stewart Pitch (soccer) and Beattie Fields (field hockey, lacrosse, soccer).

The school has two primary sports buildings. The Stewart Athletic Center was named after Jackman Stewart, a longtime Berkshire athletic director who also, at times, served as the school’s dean of students, dean of admissions, and director of development. The Stewart Center features two ice hockey rinks (one Olympic size and one NHL Regulation size), as well as 14 locker rooms, a full athletic training suite, a fitness center, and various conference rooms and offices. One of the ice hockey rinks can be converted into 4 indoor tennis courts. The Athletic Center also hosts campus events such as choral festivals and the school's commencement. The skating facilities are, at times, open to the public.

The Soffer Athletic Center is the school's gymnasium. It features two basketball/volleyball courts, 10 squash courts, a 60-foot climbing wall, a dance studio, as well as exercise areas, locker rooms, and offices.

While Berkshire's teams are part of the broad NEPSAC League, many participate within a smaller subset of that large league. For example, the boys' basketball team participates in NEPSAC as well as smaller showcases, such as the NEPSAC Class A Winter Classic, Zero Gravity Scholar Roundball Classic, Zero Gravity Prep Classic, and the Hoop Hall Prep Showcase.

The baseball team competes in the Western New England Prep Baseball League (WNEPBL). Prior to the season, the varsity and junior varsity teams train in Florida during spring break.

The rowing/crew teams compete within the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA). They train at the Norman White Boathouse in Lakeville, Connecticut in the fall and spring. Over spring break in March, most of the team goes south to train together. On campus, the Stewart Athletic Center houses the school's ten Concept 2 ergometers. In addition to the NEIRA Championships, the team participates in the Head of the Charles regatta.

In the 3 years between 2021 and 2023, 100 Berkshire graduating seniors have signed to play their sport at the collegiate level.

Notable alumni, with year of Berkshire graduation

 * Oliver L. Austin (1921) - ornithologist; author Birds of the World
 * John Yerxa (1922) - Massachusetts politician
 * George Platt Lynes (1926) - fashion and commercial photographer
 * Lincoln Kirstein (1926) - co-founder of the New York City Ballet
 * Stirling Dickinson (1927) - expatriate artist
 * George Kirstein (1929) - publisher, The Nation
 * Harry Gale Nye, Jr. (1929) - industrialist, entrepreneur, and world champion sailor
 * C. Stanley Ogilvy (1931) - mathematician, sailor, writer
 * William Standish Knowles (1934) - Nobel laureate in chemistry
 * Wynn Underwood (1943) - Vermont judge and politician
 * C. S. Reuter (1944) - Florida politician
 * Calvin Tomkins (1944) - author and art critic for The New Yorker magazine
 * John Hugh MacMillan (1946) - businessman; longtime board member at Cargill
 * William Duncan MacMillan (1949) - businessman, longtime board member at Cargill
 * Stephen Malawista (1950) - rheumatologist, co-discoverer of Lyme Disease
 * James Harmon (1953) - investment banker
 * C. D. B. Bryan (1954) - writer
 * Bruce D. Benson (1956) - oil and gas exploration; former president, University of Colorado, Boulder
 * Williamson Murray (1959) - historian
 * Peter Kellogg (1960) - businessman
 * William Matthews (1960) - poet and essayist
 * Chester Currier (1962) - writer
 * Carolyn Crimi (1977) - novelist for young adults
 * E.V. Day (1985) - sculptor and installation artist
 * Jeff McLaughlin (1985) - Two-time Olympic medalist in rowing
 * J. P. Davis (1989) - screenwriter and actor
 * Conal Groom (1991) - Olympian in rowing
 * Ryan Lizza (1992) - journalist
 * Kristin Baker (1993) - painter
 * Christopher Kostow (1994) - chef
 * Michael Gutenplan (1999)- magician and mentalist
 * Budi Djiwandono (2000) - Indonesian politician
 * Kacey Bellamy (2005) - Olympic silver medalist; 7 time world champion in ice hockey (defenseman)
 * Matt Sewell (2005) - Offensive line coach; CFL professional football (offensive tackle)
 * Joseph Lin (2010) - Taiwan professional basketball player (guard)
 * Kendall Coyne Schofield (2011) - Olympic gold medalist and professional ice hockey (forward)
 * Kevin Rooney (2012) - NHL ice hockey (forward)
 * Rebecca Russo (2012) - NWHL All Star ice hockey (forward)
 * Zeiko Lewis (2012) - Bermudan and MLS professional soccer (forward)
 * Jack Harrison (2015) - English professional soccer (winger)
 * Justin Donawa (2015) - Bermudan professional soccer (forward)
 * Kevan Miller - NHL ice hockey (defenseman)
 * Noah Abrams (2017) - U.S. and Israeli professional soccer (goalkeeper)
 * Jacob Shaffelburg (2017) - MLS professional soccer (winger)