Doane Academy

The academy was founded as St. Mary's Hall by the Right Reverend George Washington Doane, second Episcopal bishop of New Jersey. Through the diocese he purchased an existing girls' school. St. Mary's opened on May 1, 1837, with 52 pupils.{{cite book|last1=Newman|first1=Jack H.|title=St. Mary's Hall and Doane Academy|date=2012|publisher=Arcadia|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-0-7385-7671-8|page=12}} Founded to offer a classical education equal to that of boys, it accepted girls and young women as undergraduates and postgraduates. The young women were prepared to be teachers. It was the first all-girls academic boarding school in the United States. During its early years, the students mostly came from the East Coast, but were drawn from a wide area, ranging from New England to Virginia, and into upstate New York, who traveled to the school by boat and stagecoach.

Bishop Doane raised capital for the new school by issuing shares of stock, but a severe financial depression hit the United States just as the school was opening. Saint Mary's Hall survived, financed mainly from the personal funds of Eliza Green Perkins Doane, the Bishop's wife. She received a $9,500 annual dowry from the estate of her late first husband, which she donated to the school.{{cite book|last1=Newman|first1=Jack H.|title=St. Mary's Hall and Doane Academy|date=2012|publisher=Arcadia|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-0-7385-7671-8|page=6}}

The success of St. Mary's Hall encouraged Bishop Doane to open a boys' school on an adjacent site in 1846. The new Burlington College, though, did not enjoy the success of the girls' school, and its doors closed in 1877.{{cite book|last1=Newman|first1=Jack H.|title=St. Mary's Hall and Doane Academy|date=2012|publisher=Arcadia|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-0-7385-7671-8|page=30}} The girls' school continued to flourish, its campus developing throughout the late 19th century.{{cite web|title=Our History 1859–1911|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/about/our-history|website=Doane Academy|accessdate= November 21, 2016}} Teachers generally lived in houses nearby, especially along Wood Street.

This prosperity continued into the first half of the 20th century, when central heating was introduced, as were electric lighting and showers. A large nearby house was purchased, initially to be used as a lower school and later as a senior dorm.{{cite web|title=Our History 1912-29|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/about/our-history|website=Doane Academy|accessdate= November 21, 2016}}

Many private schools were forced to close during the Depression, but St. Mary's Hall was able to increase the number of day pupils by establishing additional bus routes over the newly completed Burlington-Bristol Bridge to Pennsylvania on the other side of the Delaware River.{{cite web|title=Our History 1930-52|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/about/our-history|website=Doane Academy|accessdate= November 21, 2016}} By the 1950s, though, boarding numbers were in decline. In 1953, the trustees decided to abandon boarding and become a day school. The affiliation with the diocese was ended in 1955.

In 1966, the trustees again opened a boys' school, Doane Academy, in association with St. Mary's Hall. Although managed by the same Board of Trustees, the two schools were separate institutions. Signage around St. Mary's Hall instructed the girls, "Do not fraternize with the Doane boys."

On February 27, 1974, the main building on the St. Mary's campus was destroyed by fire. There had been plans afoot to merge the two schools, and the damage from the fire encouraged the trustees to bring the plan forward. From September 1974, a single school—the co-educational St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy—opened under a new headmaster, Rev. William Scheel.{{cite web|title=Our History 1974-90|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/about/our-history|website=Doane Academy|accessdate= November 21, 2016}} In April 2008 the name was shortened to Doane Academy.{{Cite web|url=http://www.doaneacademy.org/about|title=About - Doane Academy|website=www.doaneacademy.org|access-date= November 21, 2016}}

In January 2015, the school announced that Henry Rowan (1923–2015) and his wife Eleanor, long-time benefactors, gifted $17 million toward the endowment fund of Doane Academy, with the proceeds available to the school in perpetuity. The school's current endowment is $28 million.[https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2020/210/634/2020-210634575-202111339349301831-9.pdf?_gl=1*hf8m30*_ga*MTI2ODA0NDc1LjE2MjkyODY0Mzk.*_ga_0H865XH5JK*MTYyOTI4NjQzOS4xLjEuMTYyOTI4NjQ1OS4w*_ga_5W8PXYYGBX*MTYyOTI4NjQzOS4xLjEuMTYyOTI4NjQ1OS4w&_ga=2.24630266.1332020299.1629286439-126804475.1629286439&_gac=1.83455332.1629286440.CjwKCAjw3_KIBhA2EiwAaAAlitiJzG_xGsQt461m1Sqd6MFeHP16kvmoIQ3gJIWlyszYFHmLKbb2PBoCKNUQAvD_BwE IRS Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax Form 990 Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service U for Doane Academy]

With previous Rowan gifts and other donations, the school was able to erect and furnish Rowan Hall (2015). It connects Scarborough Hall (1912) and Odenheimer Hall (1868), unifying the campus.{{cite web|last1=Urciuoli|first1=Brielle|title=Doane Academy in Burlington City receives $17M gift from Rowan foundation|url=http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2015/01/doane_academy_in_burlington_city_receives_17_million_gift_from_rowan_foundation.html|website=nj.com|date=January 9, 2015|publisher=The Times (Trenton)|accessdate= November 21, 2016}}

Doane Academy is located on a campus of {{convert|15.11|acres|ha|abbr=}} at the western end of the City of Burlington and is situated along the banks of the Delaware River in an area also known as The Green Bank. It includes among its structures three buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Chapel of the Holy Innocents. This has been classified as the first Gothic cruciform church in the United States. The building has been recorded in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), with measured drawings held by the Library of Congress. The chapel houses a fine example of an early, 2 manual, mechanical action pipe organ. Originally built by Hall and Labaugh in 1854 and rebuilt by George Jardine and Son in 1900, it was restored in 2012 by Patrick J Murphy and Associates.{{cite web|title=Doane Academy|url=http://www.pjmorgans.com/pipe-organs/opus-57/|website=Patrick J Murphy and Associates|accessdate= November 21, 2016}} In 2019, Doane Academy acquired the two properties associated with the former Elias Boudinot Elementary School, which are contiguous to the Doane Academy campus. This acquisition, which includes land that had been sold by the academy to the city in 1955, grows the campus by about fifteen percent.Rushing, Ellie. [https://www.inquirer.com/news/new-jersey/doane-academy-expands-boudinot-burlington-20191004.html "South Jersey private school announces expansion, purchases nearby vacant public school"], The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 4, 2019. Avvessed March 15, 2022. "Doane Academy in Burlington City announced Friday that it acquired the former Elias Boudinot School, increasing the small prep school’s physical campus by 15%, but the use of the land is still uncertain. The academy, which owned the property before selling it to Burlington City in 1955, bought back the land and buildings from the city school district for $450,000, records show."

The school has students enrolled from 41 municipalities across the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.{{cite web|title=Quick Facts|url=http://www.doaneacademy.org/about/quick-facts| accessdate = November 21, 2016}}

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 239 students (plus 13 in PreK) and 34.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6.9:1. The school's student body was 48.5% (116) White, 31.4% (75) Black, 9.6% (23) Asian, 8.8% (21) two or more races, 1.3% (23) Hispanic and 0.4% (1) Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander.[https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&ID=00868553 School data for Doane Academy], National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2023.

The school offers a broad curriculum, with lower school students pursuing courses in mathematics, language arts, science, and social studies. In addition, they study Spanish and music.{{cite web|title=Lower School|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/academics/lower-school|website=doaneacademy.org|accessdate= November 21, 2016}} Students from grades 6 through 12 are required to study a core curriculum of English, mathematics and the sciences, together with studies in subjects including history, fine arts, and performing arts.{{cite web|title=Upper School Handbook|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/academics/upper-school-handbook|website=doaneacademy.org|accessdate=November 21, 2016|archive-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122154200/https://www.doaneacademy.org/academics/upper-school-handbook|url-status=dead}}

Participation in athletics is considered an essential element of an education at Doane Academy. As a result, each student in grades 9—12 is required to play on a team for at least one season a year. The pupils in grades 6—8 compete against other middle school teams in soccer, boys' and girls' basketball, baseball and softball. Students in grades 9—12 compete at varsity level in the Burlington County Scholastic League[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021], New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. in cross country running, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' basketball, baseball, softball and bowling. The co-ed crew team competes in regional regattas in both the fall and spring.

The Doane Academy Spartans[https://www.njsiaa.org/schools/doane-academy Doane Academy], New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in interscholastic sports as part of the Burlington County Scholastic League which is comprised of public and private high schools in the Burlington County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), for all sports with the exception of the crew team.[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-10/2020-2021-lc-officers-schools.pdf League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021], New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 99 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools).[https://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/2020-11/general-classifications-2018-2020.pdf NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020], New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.

Athletic facilities at the school include two soccer fields, a softball field, the Winzinger Baseball Field, a full-sized gymnasium and a fitness center. The Delaware River is used for crew practices. The cross-country team practices on and around the campus.{{cite web|title=Doane Athletics|url=http://www.doaneacademy.org/athletics|accessdate = November 21, 2016}}

Athletic highlights:

• Penn-Jersey Baseball champions: 2014, 2015[http://p-jaa.weebly.com/boys-baseball.html Baseball], Penn-Jersey Athletic Association. Accessed September 29, 2020.
• Penn-Jersey Softball champions: 1992, 1993, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
• Penn-Jersey Cross Country champions: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
• BCSL - Burlington County Division Cross Country Championship Open: 2019
• BCSL - Burlington County Independence Division Baseball Champions: 2023
• Penn-Jersey Girls Soccer champions: 1979, 1980, 1992, 2010, 2011
• Penn-Jersey Boys Basketball champions: 2014
• NJSIAA Prep B Boys Basketball state champions 2019 (winning 57-51 vs. The Pennington School in the finals) and[https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/article/pennington-51-at-doane-academy-57-2019-prep-b-tournament-final-boys-basketball/ "Pennington (51) at Doane Academy (57), 2019 Prep B Tournament, Final - Boys Basketball"], NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 13, 2019, updated August 22, 2019. Accessed September 29, 2020. "Arian Gomez scored 15 points for Doane Academy in a 57-51 win against Pennington in the finals of the Prep B Tournament." 2022 (winning 69-59 vs. Princeton Day School)Gould, Brandon. [https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2022/02/doane-academy-boys-basketball-overcomes-foul-trouble-wins-prep-b-title-photos.html "Doane Academy boys basketball overcomes foul trouble, wins Prep B title (PHOTOS)"], NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 24, 2022. Accessed March 17, 2022. "The fouls continued to pile up in the fourth quarter and with two of his stars already out of the game, the South Jersey coach subbed in his 11th player of the night with just a few minutes left in the Prep B final. Rookie Shane Congleton made the most of it and scored four points to help seal a 69-59 win. That victory over Princeton Day secured the second Prep B title in program history."
• Middle School Basketball undefeated seasons: 2005–2006, 2008–2009

Doane Academy's art department not only educates the novice "artist" but also provides opportunities for the serious art students to further develop their skills. The campus contains two art studios and one ceramics studio. The school has an exclusive and unique partnership with Studio Incamminati, one of the nation's foremost schools of art. Professional teaching artists show students how to see the world in higher definition as they learn techniques and principals of modern humanist realism. Nelson Shanks, the late world-renowned artist and co-founder of Studio Incamminati, said that one of the goals of his Realism school and program was to train students to “see”, and to do so beyond the shape and color of the subject.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nelsonshanks.com/|title=Nelson Shanks|website=www.nelsonshanks.com|access-date=January 7, 2020}} Working with professionals from Studio Incamminati on a daily basis is an opportunity available only to students at Doane.

In the spring of each year, the Upper School's Spartan Studio Actors put on a play or musical. Recent performances have included Firebirds, The Diary of Anne Frank, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revised), Little Shop of Horrors, All in the Timing, and The World Goes 'Round. In May or June, the Lower School stages a production, such as Hamlet for Kids and The Day the Crayons Quit. Students interested in the performing arts, both on and off the stage, have numerous opportunities to participate in other dramatic and musical performances throughout the year.{{cite web|title=Performing Arts|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/artsmusic/performing-arts|website=doaneacademy.org|accessdate= November 21, 2016}}

The academy has a band, a choir, and a string ensemble for both the Upper and Lower schools. It also has a jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble and pit orchestra.{{cite web|title=Band|url=https://www.doaneacademy.org/artsmusic/doane-academy-band|website=doaneacademy.org|accessdate= November 21, 2016}}

{{Category see also|Doane Academy alumni}}

• Minna Antrim (1861–1950), writer known for the quotation, "Experience is a great teacher, but she sends in terrific bills."{{Cite book |last=Antrim |first=Minna |title=Naked Truth and Veiled Allusions |year=1901 |pages=99 |language=English}}
• Bill Barretta (born 1964, class of 1982), puppeteer and producer who has worked with The Muppets since 1991. Barretta has produced two of the Muppets' television films, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). Barretta also provided additional voices on Kim Possible. He performed in Muppets Most Wanted, where he also served as a co-producer. Barretta also served as an executive producer on the ABC series, The Muppets.[http://www.wdsmediafile.com/media/muppetsmostwanted/writen-material/muppetsmostwanted5320bec17a99d.pdf "Muppets Most Wanted: Press Kit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215091702/http://www.wdsmediafile.com/media/muppetsmostwanted/writen-material/muppetsmostwanted5320bec17a99d.pdf |date=December 15, 2019 }}, The Walt Disney Studios. Accessed June 6, 2014.Goldberg, Lesley. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/abc-orders-794296 "ABC Orders Shondaland and Jenna Bans Dramas, 'Muppets' Revival, More"], The Hollywood Reporter, May 7, 2015. Accessed May 8, 2015.
• Gene Barretta (born 1960, class of 1978), children's book author and illustrator, animator, and character designer for the Muppets.[http://www.genebarretta.com/commencement-speech-at-doane-academy-06-10-17/ "Commencement speech at Doane Academy 06-10-17"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221142914/http://www.genebarretta.com/commencement-speech-at-doane-academy-06-10-17/ |date=December 21, 2021 }}, GeneBaretta.com, June 11, 2017. Accessed December 21, 2021. "I was honored to deliver a Commencement speech at my high school, Doane Academy."
• Romaine Brooks (1874–1970), painter who worked mostly in Paris and Capri.Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy G. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ReZkAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT308 North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary], p. 30. Routledge, 2013. {{ISBN|9781135638894}}. Accessed November 21, 2020. "Romaine Brooks grew up in Europe with her eccentric mother and mentally-ill older brother. She attended St. Mary's Hall (an Episcopalian school) in New Jersey, a convent school in Italy, and Mlle. Tavan's Finishing School in Geneva, Switzerland, before she began seriously the study of painting in Rome, Italy, at the Scuola Nazionale by day at the Circolo Artistico in the evening during the years from 1896 to 1899."
• Laura Dayton Fessenden (1852-1924), author.[https://ildar.org/chapters/chicagochapter/about-us/our-history/laura-dayton-fessenden.html Laura C. S. Fessenden], Chicago Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Accessed December 21, 2021. "Laura Canfield Spencer Dayton was born in New York City, in the Dayton family home on Washington Square. She was educated at St. Mary’s Hall, Burlington, New Jersey."
• Edward Burd Grubb Jr. (1841–1913), Union Army colonel and regimental commander in the American Civil War.[http://www.delancotownship.com/filestorage/5300/5919/8676/History_of_the_Jersey_Yahoos_for_posting.pdf "A History of the 23rd Regiment N.J. Vol. Infantry: Brevet Brig. General E. Burd Grubb"], Delanco Township, New Jersey. Accessed November 21, 2020. "Edward Burd Grubb, Jr. was born in Burlington, New Jersey in 1841. He was educated at Burlington College, later named St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy and graduated in 1860."
• Miriam Coles Harris (1834–1925), author who wrote several novels, a book of children's stories and two devotional books.Derby, James Cephas. [https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsamonga00derbuoft/page/570 Fifty Years Among Authors, Books and Publishers], p. 570. G. W. Carleton & Company, 1884. Accessed May 15, 2017. "Mrs. Harris's second book was thought to be something of an autobiography, under the veil of fiction; it was entitled Louie's last Term at St Mary's. the author having been educated at that school at Burlington, N. J., under the supervision of the late Bishop Doane."
• Sara Hershey-Eddy (1837–1911), musician, pianist, contralto vocalist, vocal instructor and musical educator who founded the Hershey School of Musical Art in Chicago.Andreas, Alferd Theodore. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6NE4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA637 From the fire of 1871 until 1885], p. 637. A. T. Andreas, 1886. Accessed November 21, 2020. "Mrs. Sara Hershey-Eddy, musician, pianist and vocal, was born in Lancaster County, Penn., and is the daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Hershey.... Upon leaving Philadelphia she went to St Mary's Hall, Burlington, N. J., where she remained a year and a half, when she came West with her parents to Muscatine, Iowa, and began teaching, going East at intervals for the purpose of study."
• Alice S. Huang (born 1939, class of 1957), biologist specializing in microbiology and virology who is Senior Faculty Associate in Biology at the California Institute of Technology, and served as President of AAAS during the 2010–2011 term.Colwell, Rita; McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iVQ5EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA49 A Lab of One's Own: One Woman's Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science], p. 49. Simon & Schuster, 2021. {{ISBN|9781501181290}}. Accessed December 21, 2021. "Huang was born in China, but when she was ten years old, her parents had sent her to the United States, alone, to be educated at an Episcopalian boarding school for girls in Burlington, New Jersey. Her father was an Episcopal bishop, and St. Mary's Hall (now Doane Academy) prided itself on being the first school in the United States to offer girls an academic education equal to that given to boys."
• Alice Lakey (1857-1935), activist who supported the Pure Foods Movement.The Women's Project of New Jersey. [https://books.google.com/books?id=h-6WCBQPZdoC&pg=PA161 Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women], p. 161. Syracuse University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|9780815604181}} Accessed January 29, 2020. "Alice Lakey, 1857-1935... Lakey was educated in public schools in Chicago until she was fourteen. Then the family moved to New York City, and she attended St. Mary's Hall in Burlington (Burlington County), NJ, from 1872 to 1874."
• Judith Light (born 1949, class of 1966), actress and producer.Shott, Meghan. [http://www.southjersey.com/article/33388/Doane-Academy Doane Academy], SouthJersey.com. Accessed January 6, 2017. "Did you know that actress Judith Light was a 1966 graduate of St. Mary's Hall/Doane Academy? Light is best known for playing Angela on the TV show, Who's the Boss? co-starring with Tony Danza."
• Mary L. F. Ormsby (1845–1931), writer, editor, and educator involved in the peace movement.{{Cite web|title=Universal Peace Union Records (DG 038), Swarthmore College Peace Collection|url=https://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/DG026-050/DG038UPU.html|access-date=2021-05-11|website=www.swarthmore.edu|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308224615/https://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/DG026-050/DG038UPU.html|url-status=dead}}
• Emily Stevens (1883–1928), stage and screen actress in Broadway plays in the first three decades of the 20th century and later in silent movies.[https://books.google.com/books?id=E30eAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA312 "Emily Stevens"], p. 312, The Theatre, Volumes 21-22, December 1915. Accessed November 21, 2020. "There had been layman's education in the Institute of the Holy Angels at Fort Lee, and of St. Mary's Hall, at Burlington, N. J."
• Kate Swift (1923–2011, class of 1941), feminist writer and editor who wrote books and articles about sexism in the English language. She wrote the lyrics to the original alma mater for St. Mary's Hall.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}
• Miss Phillippa Stevenson First Headmistress of St. Mary's Hall in San Antonio, TX from 1879 - 1889. St. Mary's Hall in San Antonio was founded based on St. Mary's Hall in Burlington, NJ

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website |https://www.doaneacademy.org/}}
• {{HABS |survey=NJ-317 |id=nj0318 |title=Chapel of the Holy Innocents, Burlington, Burlington County, NJ |photos=1 |data=3 |supp=yes}}
• [http://www.njchurchscape.com/Burlington%20Holy%20Innocents.html Frank Greenagel, "Chapel of the Holy Innocents"], New Jersey Churchscapes, 2010
• [https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&ID=00868553 Data for Doane Academy], National Center for Education Statistics

{{Burlington County, New Jersey High Schools}}

{{Penn-Jersey Athletic Association}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doane Academy}}

Category:1837 establishments in New Jersey

Category:Burlington, New Jersey

Category:Educational institutions established in 1837

Category:Female seminaries in the United States

Category:Private elementary schools in New Jersey

Category:Private middle schools in New Jersey

Category:Private high schools in Burlington County, New Jersey

Category:Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools

Category:Episcopal schools in the United States