Description of Pinkerton Academy

Pinkerton Academy is the largest independent academy in the United States. Located in Southern New Hampshire, Pinkerton serves as the comprehensive high school for several communities that have varying socio-economic structures. Approximately 3,400 students attend the Academy. The school's staff is comprised of more than 250 teachers and administrators, and 85 support personnel.

The Academy is a private non-profit corporation. A Headmaster, who acts under the direction of a fifteen member Board of Trustees, governs the school. Members of the Board are elected for life and serve without pay. By contract, each sending town is represented on the Board by a minimum of two members. The primary source of funding for the Academy is public tuition.

One of the unique features of the Academy is its campus setting. Since the Old Academy Building opened in 1815, nine major building projects (the Pinkerton Building, the Shepard Building, the Saltmarsh Library, the Frost English Wing, the First and Second Portables, the Low Vocational Building, the Pinkerton Field House, the Ek Science Building, and The Arts & Humanities Building housing the Stockbridge Theatre) have marked major periods of growth in the school's history. In addition, the Trustees have purchased or built eight small buildings that serve specific needs around the campus.

Today, Pinkerton Academy owns over 170 acres of land. The main campus, approximately 8 acres, contains seventeen buildings. Twelve buildings are used for academics. Two buildings, the Stearns House and Mackenzie House, are used primarily for administrative purposes. The Saltmarsh Library serves the entire school and the Old Academy Building houses the Abbott Gallery and the Office of Alumni Affairs. Immediately adjacent to the main campus, there are an additional 95 acres of Pinkerton property that contain athletic fields, faculty housing, and farmland. The school also owns a 68-acre wood lot in Chester. NH.

The most important feature of Pinkerton Academy is its excellent program of studies. Built on a traditional approach to education, Pinkerton has established and maintained an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. The program of study, organized around ten disciplines, is supported by a comprehensive pupil personnel services department, a department of health services, a library department, a special education department and a computer services department. In addition to its strong academic program, Pinkerton is widely recognized as a leader in co-and-extra curricular activities. In fulfillment of its fundamental purpose - the education of youth - the Academy has long maintained the belief that mutual and reciprocal cooperation among students, parents, staff, and Trustees is vital.