Darlington School

Founded in 1905 by John Paul and Alice Allgood Cooper, Darlington School was named in honor of a teacher by his former students at the J. M. Proctor School for Boys in Rome.

The school opened Sept. 11, 1905, with Founding Headmaster Dr. James Ross McCain teaching 24 boys in eight classes in the upstairs room above the Rome Fire Department station in East Rome. The school moved to East Ninth Street in 1906.

In December 1916, the current site of Darlington School, the 500-acre DeSoto Park was purchased by John Paul Cooper. The school was moved to its current location in 1923, and enrolled 30 boarding students in addition to continuing with day school.

In April 1973, Darlington consolidated with Thornwood School for Girls. The Lower School was situated at the Thornwood campus on Shorter Avenue in downtown Rome, the Middle School continued in the former Junior School building, and the Upper Schools combined at the main campus.

In 1980 and 1988, kindergarten and pre-kindergarten were added, respectively. In 2013, Darlington sold the Thornwood campus to Shorter University and moved the Lower School to the main campus. Annual total enrollment is approximately 850 students from 25 countries in grades PK-12.File:Wilcox Hall-Darlington.jpgDarlington's campus is the location of Alhambra-Home on the Hill, the oldest residence in Floyd County, and now the residence of every Head of School.

Darlington School uses an English public school-style house system in the Upper School. Each house is led by a Head of House faculty member and resident and day student prefects. Boys' houses include Summerbell (first-year house), Moser, and Neville. Girls' houses include Cooper (first-year house), Regester, and Thornwood.

The school participates in Greater Opportunities for Access to Learning (GOAL), a Georgia program which offers a state income tax credit to donors of scholarships to private schools.{{cite news|url=http://romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-%20&id=4152577-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-&instance=home_news|title=GOAL to aid private schools, donors: Saturday is the deadline for a tax break to benefit schools and their contributors.|last=Bell|first=Daniel|date=October 27, 2009|work=Rome News-Tribune|accessdate=2009-10-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715201729/http://romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-%20&id=4152577-GOAL+to+aid+private+schools-+donors-++Saturday+is+the+deadline+for+a+tax+break+to+benefit+schools+and+their+contributors-&instance=home_news|archive-date=July 15, 2011|url-status=dead}}

In June 2017, in the wake of teacher-student sexual abuse allegations at Choate, Darlington announced an investigation into sexual abuse between its faculty and students. A student had reported sexually inappropriate behavior by a teacher who served as a dorm master in the 1980s. The student claims the inappropriate behavior was reported to the school administration and nothing was done at the time. Darlington hired a law firm to investigate the claims in 2016, and in 2017 sent a letter to former and current students informing them of the investigation.[Judd, Alan. "Sex abuse inquiry delves into private school's secret past" Atlanta Journal-Constitution June 2, 2017 http://www.myajc.com/news/state--regional/sex-abuse-inquiry-delves-into-private-school-secret-past/oGlTNJIPhjAqyTsoAqVgHP/] Twenty male students settled a lawsuit with the teacher in 2021, clearing the way to seek a settlement with the school's insurance company. In 2022 the school unveiled a monument dedicated to the victims of sexual abuse at the school.{{cite news |last1=Judd |first1=Alan |title=Former Private school students seek $345M over alleged abuse |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114087115/former-private-school-students-seek-345/ |access-date=4 December 2022 |publisher=Atlanta Journal and Constitution |date=July 23, 2022}}

• Jane Campbell – professional soccer player
• Ron DeSantis – 46th governor of Florida, former faculty member{{Cite news |last=Robles |first=Frances |date=2022-11-05 |title=Pranks, Parties and Politics: Ron DeSantis’s Year as a Schoolteacher |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/05/us/desantis-high-school-teacher-georgia.html |access-date=2023-02-02 |issn=0362-4331}}
• James Dickey – poet, novelist, author of Deliverance. Post-graduate year from 1941 to 1942. Dickey denounced Darlington in a 1981 letter to the principal and asked to be expunged from the rolls saying "a more disgusting combination of cant, hypocrisy, cruelty, class privilege and inanity I have never since encountered at any human institution."{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jTQmNNdRjnsC&dq=james+dickey+darlington&pg=PT146|title=James Dickey: The World as a Lie|last=Hart|first=Henry|date=2001-09-08|publisher=Picador|isbn=9781466828650|language=en}}
• Elson Floyd – 10th president of Washington State University{{cite web|url=https://president.wsu.edu/|title=President's Office - Washington State University - Washington State University|author=|date=|website=wsu.edu|accessdate=13 December 2018}}
• Walter Gilbert – inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montgomery-advertiser-auburn-continu/127483514/ |title=Auburn Continues 'Suicide Schedule' on Nashville Field |newspaper=Montgomery Advertiser |page=6 |date=October 15, 1934 |accessdate=July 2, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-huntsville-times-tigers-name-walt-gi/127483378/ |title=Tigers Name Walt Gilbert |newspaper=The Huntsville Times |page=10 |date=December 19, 1935 |accessdate=July 2, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}
• William M. "Sonny" Landham – actor, politician{{cn|date=July 2023}}
• Bruce Levingston – concert pianist{{cite web|url=https://www.darlingtonschool.org/4533472|title=Darlington School: April 9 declared Bruce Levingston ('79) Day in Mississippi, observed with Carnegie Hall performance|author=|date=|website=Darlington School|accessdate=13 December 2018}}
• Adam Marcus – mathematician{{cite web|url=https://www.pagefoundation.org/page/STARRegWin19591|title=STAR Region Winners 1959-Present - PAGE Foundation|author=|date=|website=www.pagefoundation.org|accessdate=13 December 2018}}
• Will Muschamp – co-defensive coordinator for the University of Georgia’s football team and former head football coach at the University of South Carolina{{Cite news|url=http://scout.com/college/georgia/Article/Then-Now-Muschamp-an-Intense-Competitor-104844618|title=Then & Now, Muschamp an Intense Competitor|work=DawgPost.com|access-date=2017-07-27}}
• Shawn Powell – NFL punter{{Cite web|url=http://www.darlingtonschool.org/3005251|title=Darlington School: NFL: Powell punts five times in NFL debut|access-date=2017-04-26}}
• Tate Ratledge – college football offensive guard for the Georgia Bulldogs{{Cite web |last=Toppmeyer |first=Blake |date=May 14, 2019 |title=Tate Ratledge's dad peels Power T decal off truck after son commits to Georgia over Vols |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2019/05/14/georgia-football-tate-ratledge-dad-truck-tennessee-ut-vols-recruiting/3665932002/ |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=Knoxville News}}
• Melanie Sumner – novelist and writer{{cn|date=July 2023}}
• Cy Twombly – artist{{cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/avant-garde-american-artist-cy-twombly-83-dies-rome-296151|title=Avant-garde American artist Cy Twombly, 83, dies in Rome}}
• Ernest Vandiver – 73rd governor of Georgia{{Cite web |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-598 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Ernest Vandiver Jr. (1918-2005) |access-date=2011-11-11 |archive-date=2013-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201040355/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-598 |url-status=dead }}
• Calder Willingham – novelist and screenwriter (The Graduate){{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqxpBgAAQBAJ&dq=%22calder+willingham%22+darlington&pg=PA101|title=Legendary Locals of Rome|last=Museum|first=Rome Area History|date=2014-12-01|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781439648674|language=en}}

• [http://www.darlingtonschool.org Darlington School website]
• http://darlingtonian.com/

{{Rome, Georgia}}

{{Education in Floyd County, Georgia}}

{{GHSA Class A Division I Region 7}}

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Category:Educational institutions established in 1905

Category:Private high schools in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Schools in Floyd County, Georgia

Category:Buildings and structures in Rome, Georgia

Category:Boarding schools in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Preparatory schools in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:1905 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)