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Germantown Academy is America's oldest nonsectarian day school, founded on December 6, 1759 (originally named the "Germantown Union School"). Germantown Academy (also referred to as "GA") is now a K-12 school in the Fort Washington suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., having moved from its original Germantown campus in 1965. In addition, the school shares the oldest continuous football rivalry with the William Penn Charter School, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2006. For the 2008-2009 school year 1,122 students are registered as matriculating (592 male students and 530 female students) with 250 faculty and staff employed by the institution. The Academy plans to go under a complete reconstruction during the 2010-2011 school year, the year after it's 250th anniversary.

Lower School

According to the GA website, the Lower School program strives for a school environment wherein children are respected as individuals, while also learning to be a part of a team. A progression of classroom expectations and curricular demands has been developed to address the varying needs of children who cover a broad span of ages and abilities - assuming the children come from wealthy families. While the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are the principle work in all of the classrooms, teaching in the Lower School requires that children are active learners. Lower School faculty believe active participation leads to discovery and internalization, and individual creativity and expression is strongly encouraged. Opportunities for social interaction are of paramount importance in the classrooms. There are currently 376 students in the Lower School. The student to teacher ratio is currently 14 to 1 in the Lower School.

Middle School

The Alter Middle School was built in 1997 funded by the Alter Family. There are currently 261 students in the Middle School. The student to teacher ratio is currently 8 to 1 in the Middle School.

Upper School

The Upper School curriculum, according to the mission statement of the school, promotes curiosity, reasoning and questioning, imagination and aesthetics, understanding of others and oneself, clear communications, broad applications of knowledge, and satisfaction in learning. Students are required at minimum, five credits per year and at least four years of English, three years of Math, Science, History, and Language, and two years of Art. Generally speaking, GA classrooms are characterized by a significant degree of informality, and the school prides itself on the close relationship between the teachers and the students. There are currently 485 students in the Upper School. The student to teacher ratio is currently 8 to 1 in the Upper School.

Conduct in the upper school is governed by the Honor Code, a system where students agree to a set of rules, and where, in the case of an infraction, students are judged by an honor council consisting of teachers and peers.

Alma mater

Notable alumni

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• Jeff Curtin Class of 2002. MLS soccer player, most recently of the Chicago Fire and former member of the Georgetown Hoyas men's soccer team.
• Alex Fong Lik-Sun Class of 2000. Famous Hong Kong Pop Singer/Actor. And Summer Olympics 2000 Swimming participant.
• Matt Walsh Class of 2002. NBA Basketball player, most recently of the New Jersey Nets and former member of the Florida Gators men's basketball team.
• Jarrod Spector Class of 1999. Currently starring as Frankie Valli in the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys. Jarrod has also appeared in productions of Les Misérables, Hamlet, Twist and others.
• Maddy Crippen Class of 1998. USA 2000 Summer Olympics swim team.
• Alvin Williams Class of 1993. NBA basketball player.
• Bradley Cooper Class of 1993. Actor from films/shows such as Sex and the City, Alias, and Wedding Crashers, Wet Hot American Summer.
• Deirdre Quinn Class of 1989. Actress, played Miss Texas in the film Miss Congeniality, appears in the film The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (film), and was a regular cast member in season one of Heroes as "Texas" Tina.
• David Wharton Class of 1987. Olympic Silver Medalist (Seoul, 1988) in the 200 swimming Individual Medley.
• Michael F. Gerber Class of 1990. Pennsylvania State Representative.
• Brothers Jason and Matthew Olim Class of 1987. Founders of the Internet music store CDNOW.
• Mike Richter, New York Rangers goaltender - left in 1983 to pursue a hockey career.
• Robin Bissell Class of 1986. Golden Globe Nominated Film Producer of such films as Seabiscuit, The Tale Of Despereaux and Pleasantville.
• Patrick Dillett Class of 1983. Grammy winning record producer for Mariah Carey, David Byrne, Mary J Blige, Mike Doughty, and They Might Be Giants.
• Eric Lipton Class of 1983. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author, currently with the New York Times.
• Brian L. Roberts Class of 1977. CEO of Comcast.
• Robert Asher Class of 196?. CEO of Asher's Chocolates.
• Robert R. Labaree Class of 1961. Chairman, Music History and Musicology, New England Conservatory of Music. PhD, Wesleyan University;
• Martin "Cruz" (William) Smith Class of 1960. Award winning novelist. Author of "Gorky Park" and many others.
• Frederick Crews Class of 195?. Literary critic, University of California, Berkeley professor, and noted anti-Freudian.
• Bill Tilden Class of 1915., professional tennis player
• Thomas Sovereign Gates, Sr. Class of 1891. University of Pennsylvania president
• Owen Josephus Roberts Class of 1891. Associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.
• Clifford Isaac Addams Class of 1891. Artist, painter, apprentice to James M. Whistler.
• Nelson McAllister Lloyd Class of 1891. Newspaper editor, author, and folklorist.
• Emlyn Lamar Stewardson Class of 1880. Architect responsible for several buildings on the University of Pennsylvania campus.
• Frederick Winslow Taylor Matriculated during the 1870s. Did not graduate. Efficiency expert and inventor of Scientific Management.
• Alfred C. Harmer Class of 1843. U.S. Congressman and shoe manufacturer.
• Robert Montgomery Bird Class of 1824. Playwright and physician
• Fernando Bolivar Attended 1822. Venezuelan diplomat, nephew and adopted son of South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar.
• George Washington Parke Custis Class of 179?. Step-grandson and adopted son of President George Washington.
• Michael Goldman Class of 1997

Notable members of the class of 1760

Each year the Germantown Academy alumni society accepts nominations for and subsequently elects non-alumni into the honorary class of 1760. This class is named in commemoration of the founding of the academy. The honor is bestowed upon those who have had an outstanding contribution to the academy.

• Edward J. Piszek, cofounder of Mrs. Paul's Kitchens, friend of Pope John Paul II, and credited with stamping out tuberculosis in Poland during the 1960s .
• Richard Shoulberg, swim coach for eighteen Olympians.

References and further reading

• Archivist Edwin N. Probert II. The GA Bell, its Belfry and Their History.
• Archivist Edwin N. Probert II (Winter 1999–2000). Owen Josephus Roberts: A Short Retrospective on a Favorite Son. "The Patriot."
• Head of School James Connor. The GA Flag. Excerpts from a speech delivered at the September 2003 Flag Raising Ceremony.

External links

• Germantown Academy's Website
• Members of the Class of 1760
• Satellite image from Google Maps

• Articles needing cleanup from October 2008
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• Educational institutions established in the 1750s
• 1759 establishments
• High schools in Pennsylvania
• Middle schools in Pennsylvania
• Elementary schools in Pennsylvania
• Private schools in Pennsylvania