Choate Rosemary Hall

Choate Rosemary Hall, informally shortened to Choate, ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present name and began a co-educational system with the 1978 merger of The Choate School for boys and Rosemary Hall for girls. It is part of the Eight Schools Association and the Ten Schools Admissions Organization.

Founders and early years
Choate Rosemary Hall was formed in 1978 through the merger of two sister schools founded by Mary and William Choate in the 1890s. The Choates spent their summers in Mary's hometown of Wallingford, Connecticut.

Mary, an alumna of Miss Porter's School, was the great-granddaughter of Caleb Atwater (1741–1832), a Connecticut merchant who supplied the American forces during the Revolutionary War.

William Gardner Choate (1830–1921) was a federal judge with the Southern District of New York from 1878 to 1881, before resigning to enter private practice. He was a national authority on railroad, bankruptcy, and corporation law. His brother Joseph Hodges Choate, another noted lawyer, served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Rosemary Hall
In 1890, Mary Atwater Choate founded Rosemary Hall at the Atwater House on Rosemary Farm in Wallingford. Although Mary Choate initially envisioned that Rosemary Hall would train girls in the "domestic arts," the school's first headmistress Caroline Ruutz-Rees (1865–1954) adopted the mission of a contemporary boys' school, emphasizing academics and athletics. In 1936, Time reported that Rosemary Hall girls "work[ed] so hard [in the classroom] that when they get to Smith or Vassar it is often with a sigh of relief."

In 1900, Ruutz-Rees moved Rosemary Hall to Greenwich, Connecticut. She acquired a majority stake in the school and established its independence from the Choate family. Following the merger with Choate, the Greenwich campus was transferred to Daycroft School, which closed in 1991.

The Choate School
In 1896, William and Mary Choate established a boys' school in Wallingford. They hired Mark Pitman (1830–1905), the principal of Woolsey School in New Haven, Connecticut, as its first headmaster. The school began with six boys, with an average age of 10.

There was no formal relationship at the time with Rosemary Hall, but there were coeducational audiences for plays and recitals and Mary Choate hosted dances at the Homestead.

Choate School: The St. John Years
From 1908 to 1973, control over the Choate School passed from the Choate family to the St. John family. Under the St. Johns, Choate became one of the largest boarding schools in New England.

In 1908, George St. John (h. 1908–47), an Episcopal priest who had previously taught at Hackley School, The Hill School, and Adirondack-Florida School, became headmaster. At the time, Choate was losing money and had only 51 students. With support from shareholders, St. John bought out the Choate family and incorporated the school as a for-profit corporation; the school reorganized as a non-profit in 1938. St. John believed that expanding enrollment would improve the school's financial resources and allow him to offer more amenities to his students. Enrollment jumped from 51 students in 1908 to 230 in 1918, 452 in 1928, and roughly 600 by 1947.

George St. John built most of the modern-day Choate campus, including Hill House, West Wing, the Gymnasium, Memorial House, the Chapel, the Library, the Winter Exercise Building, and Archbold Infirmary, which was the nation's largest school infirmary. In the decade following the First World War, Choate sent 412 of its 618 graduates to Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, according to a 1928 edition of the school newspaper.

George St. John was succeeded in 1947 by his son Seymour '31 (h. 1947–73). Under Seymour St. John, Choate admitted its first black student in 1959, increased the share of international students to 15% of the student body, lifted the Sunday chapel attendance requirement, and temporarily abolished A-F grades. An ambitious builder, Seymour St. John invested heavily in improving accommodations for students and faculty. He also hired I. M. Pei to build a $6 million arts center (nearly $50 million in 2024 dollars), which opened in 1972.

Seymour St. John's final major achievement was bringing Rosemary Hall back to Wallingford in 1971. To accommodate Rosemary Hall's 230 students, Choate spent an additional $3 million to build what was essentially "a new campus" in Wallingford. The two schools appointed a common president in 1973 and formally merged in 1978.

JFK, the Muckers, and "Ask not"


In 1931, John F. Kennedy entered Choate as a third form (9th grade) student, following his older brother Joe Jr., who was a star athlete at the school.

Jack Kennedy—sickly, underweight, and nicknamed Rat Face by his schoolfellows—spent his first two years at Choate in his brother's shadow, and compensated for it with rebellious behavior that attracted a coterie. He named his group The Muckers Club, which had thirteen members—Kennedy and twelve disciples. Among these was Kennedy's lifelong friend Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings, who kept an apartment in the White House during JFK's presidency.

Kennedy graduated from Choate in 1935. In senior class polling for the yearbook (of which he was business manager), he was voted 'Most Likely to Succeed'.

It has been suggested that the oft-remembered quote from Kennedy's inauguration may have originated from a common refrain from Choate headmaster, George St. John's chapel talks: "The youth who loves his alma mater will always ask not 'What can she do for me?' but 'What can I do for her?'"

Modern era
Following Seymour St. John's retirement, the school was hit hard by financial difficulties in the 1970s. It responded by adding even more students, growing from 843 students in 1973 to 926 in 1978 and 1,021 by 1994. The school's finances eventually stabilized. In 1989, Choate opened a second I. M. Pei building, the science center.

Starting in the 1990s, Choate adopted a policy of shrinking the student body, growing its financial resources, and being more selective in admissions. In 1994, the board of trustees agreed to trim the size of the student body to 821. Choate's acceptance rate declined from 60% in 1991 to 23% in 2016. Choate also embarked on a series of large-scale fundraising campaigns, raising over $100 million from 1995 to 2000; $220 million from 2006 to 2011; and at least $294 million from 2023 to present.

In 2008, Karl Rove was invited to deliver the commencement address but withdrew after a majority of seniors voted against the invitation and certain students threatened to walk out. The New York Times reported that the school's student body "ha[s] been known to trend decidedly blue."

Sexual abuse scandal
In October 2016, following one alumna's public disclosure of sexual abuse in the Boston Globe, Choate retained Covington & Burling LLP to conduct an investigation and write a report on historical occurrences of sexual misconduct.

In April 2017, the school published Covington's investigation report, which acknowledged repeated instances of sexual misconduct against dozens of students from the 1960s through the 2010s (most of the incidents reportedly took place in the 1980s); the report implicated at least 12 former faculty and staff members. The school admitted that although it had been aware of some misconduct, it had not reported any misconduct to the police; accordingly, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families accused Choate of violating its mandatory reporter obligations. Following publication of the report, two former headmasters resigned from the Choate board of trustees.

Curriculum
Choate's curriculum includes elective and interdisciplinary courses, from astronomy and architecture to printmaking and post-modernism to digital video and development economics. There are more than 300 courses in the curriculum, which has requirements in community service and in contemporary global studies. All disciplines except English have honors courses.

Signature programs
The Choate signature programs include the Advanced Robotics Program, Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, Arts Concentration, Capstone, Environmental Immersion Program, JFK Program in Government and Public Service, Science Research Program, and the Global Education Program.

Musical appearances
The Choate chamber orchestra performed at the White House in December 2009 and the school's symphony orchestra toured Europe in 2010 and 2011, giving concerts in ten countries. The festival and chamber choruses performed at St. Patrick's Day mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in 2011.

Choate orchestras and choral groups toured East Asia in 2000, 2005, 2007, and 2014. The June 2014 tour comprised concerts in Seoul, Hong Kong, and Macau, at the Great Wall at Ju Yong Guan, and in ensemble with the Concert Band of Beijing Children's Palace. Choate orchestras have also performed at Lincoln Center in New York, Carnegie Hall, and the Guggenheim Museum.

The school's student-operated radio station, WWEB, was FCC-licensed and founded in 1969.

Specialized programs
The Senior Project Program provides on- or off-campus internships in academic research, visual art, and the performing arts.

Other specialized programs include American Studies, creative writing, economics, FBLA, mathematics, philosophy, psychology, religion, debate, and the Fed Challenge. The 2011–12 academic year saw the introduction of an Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies Program (AMES). Choate's Office of Global Studies supports study-abroad and other international initiatives. One-third of Choate students participate in programs in China, France, Japan, Spain, and Jordan.



Environmental Center
The Kohler Environmental Center, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, opened in 2012 and is located on a 268-acre site in the northeast quadrant of the campus. It has been described as "the first teaching, research and residential environmental center in U.S. secondary education."

STEM
In February 2015, the school opened the Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, a 35,000-square foot campus hub for information technology, applied mathematics, and robotics. The center, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, contains laboratories, classrooms, a lecture hall, and common spaces.

National Fed Challenge
Choate's Fed Challenge team was the 2009 national champion and has won the New England District Championship in 12 of the past 13 years. In the 2012 American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) 12-A, Choate's team finished first in the nation, with the highest combined score of all 2631 participating schools.

Use of technology
In 2012, Choate became the first among its peer preparatory schools to require that all faculty and students own an iPad. The fall term that year saw the beginning of full integration of the tablet's capabilities into the syllabus. Choate's director of academic technology discussed Choate's iPad program in an August 2012 article in US News.

Enrollment
During the 2023–24 school year, Choate reported that it enrolled 861 students, employed 120.4 full-time equivalent teaching staff, and had a student-teacher ratio of 7.0.

Tuition and financial aid
In the 2023–24 school year, Choate charged boarding students $67,380 and day students $51,880, plus other mandatory and optional fees.

Choate offers need-based financial aid. 34% of the student body are on financial aid. 53% of Choate's 271 financial aid families make under $150,000 a year, and the school states that the average aid grant is 80% of tuition. The school commits to meet 100% of an admitted student's demonstrated financial need.

Endowment and expenses
Choate no longer publicizes the exact size of its financial endowment. However, in its Internal Revenue Service filings for the 2021–22 school year, Choate reported total assets of $781.5 million, net assets of $689.8 million, investment holdings of $485.6 million, and cash holdings of $41.7 million. Choate also reported $76.1 million in program service expenses and $13.8 million in grants (primarily student financial aid).

Religious profile
Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim chaplains serve Choate's campus ministry.

Athletics


Choate is a member of the Six Schools League and the Founders League, and competes against schools in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic regions. The athletic directors of Choate and the other members of the Eight Schools Association compose the Eight Schools Athletic Council, which organizes sports events and tournaments among ESA schools.

Choate offers teams at the varsity, JV, and thirds (freshman) levels. There are 32 different sports and 81 teams in interscholastic competition. Intramural programs include aerobics, dance, senior weight training, yoga, winter running, rock climbing, fitness and conditioning, and senior volleyball.

Since 1922, Choate's athletic rivalry has been Deerfield Academy.

From 2007 to 2016, Choate won New England championships in football, boys and girls ice hockey, girls' soccer, boys' golf, boys' crew, and in girls' swimming, volleyball, and water polo. In that same period, Choate won Founders League championships in boys' and girls' squash, in boys' cross country, golf, softball, and tennis, and in girls' volleyball.

Historic cricket match
In 1893, Rosemary Hall were host to a cricket match with Mrs. Hazen's School of Pelham Manor, N.Y., that has been described by some as "the first interscholastic girls sporting event in American history."

Gertrude Stein and The Lit
In 1935, Gertrude Stein gave a series of talks across the country that included a visit to Choate on January 12 and 13.

In the audience was stenographer, Dudley Fitts, a critic, translator, and longtime teacher of Greek and Latin at Choate. Stein's public speaking style was extemporary, and Fitts made a stenographic transcript. After an exchange of letters, Stein authorized Fitts to oversee publication of her talk in The Choate Literary Magazine.

Stein's essay appeared in the February 1935 issue of The Lit with the title "How Writing Is Written." It has many times since been anthologized and given academic treatment, with the Choate text unaltered. It "occupies a unique place in Stein's corpus as a social text that carries the marks of its particular occasion ... direct address to her audience (around sixty boys, as well as faculty and some former students)."

Stein's two-day stay at Choate was her first self-acknowledged exposure to a private school. In her 1937, Everybody's Autobiography, Stein wrote, "It was the first time I had ever seen such a school. When I was brought up in East Oakland[,] we all went to public school ... The boys from twelve to sixteen listened[,] really listened[,] to everything I had to say ... I had been much struck by the Choate school literary magazine which did have extraordinary good writing in it."

Edward Albee and The Lit
In 1944, future playwright, Edward Albee transferred from Valley Forge Military Academy to Choate. Admissions director Frank Wheeler remarked presciently, "I have a feeling he will distinguish himself in literature."

Incidents from Albee's time at Choate are reworked for his plays.

The May 1946 Commencement issue of The Lit contained Albee's first published play, Schism. Another play written at Choate, Each In His Own Way, went unpublished and forgotten until 1996, when a classmate preparing for their 50th reunion found it in a scrapbook.