2009-2010 Annual Report - Wayland Academy

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Academic
Highlights
• The AP curriculum added one
additional course this year – U.S.
Government and Politics.
• Two of our current faculty members
began working on advanced degrees
this year.
• Nicholas Derr `10, the Valedictorian
of this year’s senior class, earned a
National Merit Scholarship in the
2010 Competition and is now
attending the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
• Four members of the class of 2011
were named qualifiers by the
National Merit Scholarship
Corporation. Out of 1.4 million
participants nationwide, these four
Wayland students earned among the
50,000 highest scores.
• AP scores from the May
examination period showed that 76%
of the scores were 3, 4, or 5. Scores
of 3, 4, or 5 are considered passing,
and most colleges and universities
use 3 as the minimum score for
credit. (100% of our AP students take
the exams.)
• Commencement was once again the
high point at the end of the year. 65
members of the class of 2010
received diplomas in May. There
were many success stories in the class
of 2010, and the seniors expressed
their gratitude before leaving campus.
The speakers in Senior Chapel and
Commencement had many
overlapping views on their time at
Wayland, and many senior tears were
shed. While it was a tough road for
many, the prize at the end made the
journey worthwhile.
• The school year ended on a
particularly high note with one of our
Lindsey Knoll `12, Bryanna Sanders `13, David Hayes `12,
and Nick Osterman `13 study outside the Academic Center on the
Ann Nelson `89 Memorial Bench
Randall Harris `13, Connor Fitzgerald `13, and John Moran `12
studying in Swan Library
newer traditions: the Wayland Film
Festival on the Saturday night before
Commencement. This year’s edition
showcased the talents of the Wayland
student body. The festival included
many comedy sketches and in
particular, a stop-animation piece that
was superb.
Admissions
Admissions continued to be
challenged by the economy. Many
families expressed interest in
attending the Academy and the
Admissions staff worked diligently to
overcome obstacles to enrollment.
Our retention rate was 88% for
returning students, the highest rate in
the last 15 years. The good retention
rate proves that the Academy is
continuing to meet the needs of our
students in the academic, residential,
and athletic programs.
63 of the 65 graduates in the class of
2010 have chosen to attend college or
university this coming year, and two
graduates are deferring their
enrollment for the year. The class of
2010 submitted 528 applications.
Some of the notable admissions were
from Brown, Yale, Wellesley,
Carnegie Mellon, the Coast Guard
Academy, West Point, Tulane,
Colgate, Davidson, Dickinson,
Macalester, Emory, University of