Baldwin School
Encyclopedia
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
.
In 1896, The Baldwin School leased the second Bryn Mawr Hotel during the winter months then year round in 1912. The building was designed by architects Frank Furness
and Allen Evans, and in 1922 the school purchased the building and the surrounding 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) 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), music classes and an Early Childhood Center, with renovations completed in 1998, specifically for the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes. A two-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 three-story Schoolhouse, which was built in 1926 and renovated in 1997. Grades 1-5 are housed in a separate building.
The school formally opened a new athletic center on November 8, 2008. The new building has a six-lane swimming pool, gymnasium, three-lane jogging track, 4 squash courts, state-of-the-art fitness center, multipurpose meeting/activity space, and more. It is accompanied by a five new tennis courts, a new practice field, and complements other athletic facilities which pre-date World War II.
The Class of 2011 boasted 18 girls recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, National Latin Exam medalists, eight college athletes, Society of Women Engineers certificate holders, a community hero award winner and other accomplished young women.
The average SATs for the class of 2011 were CR: 660, M: 660, WR:682 (2002 total). This was the higher than any other school in the Philadelphia area.
Baldwin has a extremely high percentage of graduates majoring and working in math and science fields, about 1/3, much greater than the national average for women.
Beginning in Lower School, students play chimes, handbells, guitars, harp and piano, with intrumental ensembles like jazz band and firenze available in the Upper School. In 2011 Middle School Chorus received a rating of 95.6/100 for their performance at Music in the Parks, taking home the First Place Trophy in the Treble Choir division as well as the Overall Performance trophy.
Theater
The 2011 performance of Rumors produced several Cappies nominations, and the Cappie supporting actress role award went to a Baldwin student for Urinetown. The Upper School Maskers Club supports the theater through ushering and advertising.
Visual Art
Off the stage, Baldwin girls explore ceramics, computer graphics, photography, jewelry making, painting and sculpture. Their works are showcased throughout the school, including in the art gallery.
In 2011, Baldwin student-athletes captured Inter-Ac titles in tennis and squash. The squash team also won the Mid-Atlantic Squash Association title and placed third at Nationals. Baldwin's crew team medaled at the national Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championship, and its lacrosse team achieved a top-20 ranking in the state and finished 2011 in the top 10% of 2,500+ teams nationwide.
The Baldwin School recently built a new athletic center that features an indoor track, swimming pool, fitness center, dance studio, squash courts, and basketball court. The eco-friendly construction features solar reflective roofing, regionally sourced materials, Energy Star equipment and appliances, and an indoor air quality management system.
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
. 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
Frank Furness
Frank Heyling Furness was an acclaimed American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his eclectic, muscular, often idiosyncratically scaled buildings, and for his influence on the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan...
that formerly served as a hotel, and is a landmark of the Pennsylvania Main Line
Pennsylvania Main Line
The Main Line is an unofficial historical and socio-cultural region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, comprising a collection of affluent towns built along the old Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad which ran northwest from downtown Philadelphia parallel to Lancaster Avenue , a road...
.
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 1896, The Baldwin School leased the second Bryn Mawr Hotel during the winter months then year round in 1912. The building was designed by architects Frank Furness
Frank Furness
Frank Heyling Furness was an acclaimed American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his eclectic, muscular, often idiosyncratically scaled buildings, and for his influence on the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan...
and Allen Evans, and in 1922 the school purchased the building and the surrounding 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) 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), music classes and an Early Childhood Center, with renovations completed in 1998, specifically for the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes. A two-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 three-story Schoolhouse, which was built in 1926 and renovated in 1997. Grades 1-5 are housed in a separate building.
The school formally opened a new athletic center on November 8, 2008. The new building has a six-lane swimming pool, gymnasium, three-lane jogging track, 4 squash courts, state-of-the-art fitness center, multipurpose meeting/activity space, and more. It is accompanied by a five new tennis courts, a new practice field, and complements other athletic facilities which pre-date World War II.
Scholarships
$1.5 million in scholarships is distributed annually to 20% of the students, or 120 girls. The average grant awarded was $12,968.Diversity
Students of color represent 35% of the student body. The Baldwin School is not religiously associated.Academics
The mission of The Baldwin School includes "developing talented girls into confident young women with vision, global understanding, and the competency to make significant and enduring contributions to the world. The school nurtures our students' passion for intellectual rigor in academics, creativity in the arts and competition in athletics, forming women capable of leading their generation while living balanced lives."The Class of 2011 boasted 18 girls recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, National Latin Exam medalists, eight college athletes, Society of Women Engineers certificate holders, a community hero award winner and other accomplished young women.
The average SATs for the class of 2011 were CR: 660, M: 660, WR:682 (2002 total). This was the higher than any other school in the Philadelphia area.
Baldwin has a extremely high percentage of graduates majoring and working in math and science fields, about 1/3, much greater than the national average for women.
Arts
MusicBeginning in Lower School, students play chimes, handbells, guitars, harp and piano, with intrumental ensembles like jazz band and firenze available in the Upper School. In 2011 Middle School Chorus received a rating of 95.6/100 for their performance at Music in the Parks, taking home the First Place Trophy in the Treble Choir division as well as the Overall Performance trophy.
Theater
The 2011 performance of Rumors produced several Cappies nominations, and the Cappie supporting actress role award went to a Baldwin student for Urinetown. The Upper School Maskers Club supports the theater through ushering and advertising.
Visual Art
Off the stage, Baldwin girls explore ceramics, computer graphics, photography, jewelry making, painting and sculpture. Their works are showcased throughout the school, including in the art gallery.
Athletics
The Baldwin School competes in the Inter-Academic League, most commonly known as the Inter-Ac. Interscholastic varsity sports are: Basketball, Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Volleyball, and Indoor Track. Dance is also offered, and students also have the option of Independent PE if they are seriously committed to a sport outside of school such as fencing or ice skating.In 2011, Baldwin student-athletes captured Inter-Ac titles in tennis and squash. The squash team also won the Mid-Atlantic Squash Association title and placed third at Nationals. Baldwin's crew team medaled at the national Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championship, and its lacrosse team achieved a top-20 ranking in the state and finished 2011 in the top 10% of 2,500+ teams nationwide.
The Baldwin School recently built a new athletic center that features an indoor track, swimming pool, fitness center, dance studio, squash courts, and basketball court. The eco-friendly construction features solar reflective roofing, regionally sourced materials, Energy Star equipment and appliances, and an indoor air quality management system.
Notable alumnae
- Emma Hamm (2007): Division I lacrosse player for Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
; Member of 2007 U-19 World Championship Team; Named to All-World Team; 2008 ACC Rookie of the Year, Womenslacrosse.com's Rookie of the Year, Womenslax.com's Rookie of the Year. - Leslie LynessLeslie LynessLeslie Lyness is a former field hockey midfielder from the United States, who was a member of the US women's team that finished fifth at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Her first selection came in 1990.-References:*...
(1986): part of the U.S. Field Hockey Team that competed in the 1996 Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. - Ruth Davidon (1982): Olympic rower; competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. - Andrea LeeAndrea LeeAndrea Lee is an American author of novels and memoirs. Her stories are often international in setting and deal with questions of racial and national identity, as well as collisions between cultures. Lee grew up in Philadelphia...
(1970): writer and novelist. - Henrietta H. ForeHenrietta H. ForeHenrietta Holsman Fore was the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance. She was designated these positions by President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, respectively, on May 7, 2007...
(1966): former director of the U.S. Mint; later administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (2007–2009). - Martha Craven Nussbaum (1964): Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
; named among the world’s Top 100 intellectuals by Foreign Policy magazine in September 2005. - Cornelia Otis SkinnerCornelia Otis SkinnerCornelia Otis Skinner was an American author and actress.-Biography:Skinner was the daughter of the actor Otis Skinner and his wife Maud Skinner. After attending the all-girls' Baldwin School and Bryn Mawr College and studying theatre at the Sorbonne in Paris, she began her career on the stage...
(1918): actress and writer; once known as "the greatest single attraction in American theater." - Helen Taft ManningHelen Taft ManningHelen Herron Taft Manning , was the second child and only daughter of President of the United States William Howard Taft and his wife Helen Herron....
(1908): daughter of President Taft; became the youngest dean in the country when she accepted the post at Bryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr CollegeBryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in 1917. - Gertrude Summer Ely (1895): twice-decorated by the French for Distinguished Bravery Under Fire; past president of the PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
League of Women Voters; member of the executive committee for UNICEF and the World Affairs Council.