Culver is one of the leading college preparatory boarding schools and summer camps in the country. Under the leadership of the Head of Schools, John Buxton, a distinguished leader with over thirty-five years of experience in boarding schools, Culver is increasingly recognized as the preeminent secondary school in “whole person” education in this country. In addition to the boarding school, Culver offers a unique six-week summer program with its Culver Summer Schools & Camps.
Culver Academies is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools & Camps. Collectively, they are Culver Academies. Culver Academies is located on a unique and remarkable campus of over eighteen hundred acres on the north shore of Lake Maxinkuckee in northern Indiana.
The current Head of Schools, John Buxton, and his wife, Pam, came to Culver in 1999 from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, where they spent 30 years. They brought exceptional leadership and an important understanding of boarding school life with the highest quality of academic training.
Since its inception in 1894, Culver has stayed remarkably true to its original purposes. It has always emphasized character-building and student leadership--the truly classical education. The Statement of Mission says, "Culver educates its students for leadership and responsible citizenship in society by developing and nurturing the whole individual – mind, spirit, and body – through an integrated curriculum that emphasizes the cultivation of character."
The Culver Girls Academy and Culver Military Academy opened the 2009-2010 academic year with 792 students in its regular academic program--455 boys in Culver Military Academy (CMA) andf 337 girls in Culver Girls Academy (CGA). The students attending Culver come from 39 states and 28 countries. While always known in this country for its excellence, Culver also has a strong international reputation. We recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first Mexican citizen to graduate from Culver.
In the winter academic program, our male and female students attend classes together and eat together. However, their leadership activities are separate. The unique advantage of this arrangement is that girls and boys do not compete with each other for student leadership positions. At this formative stage in their lives, we find this an advantage in developing young leaders.
When the U.S. Army changed the former ROTC program in the mid-1980s, it no longer served our needs and we replaced it with a classroom leadership program for both boys and girls. Our student leaders learn and practice Servant Leadership. Our emphasis today is more on leadership than drill. However, our students still perform well. The student-run Honor System continues as the bedrock of the Culver system of character development.
Culver honors its traditions and celebrates its long-standing ceremonies. Our young men and women observe both Armistice Day and Memorial Day with traditional military ceremonies, as we have since World War I and World War II, honoring our veterans and our Gold Star alumni.
Culver's unique military model for boys in the Culver Military Academy (CMA) has proven itself as an effective model for the development of males of this age group; Culver is firmly committed to it. We believe that self-discipline, cooperative effort, and practical experience in leadership, which our military system embraces, is the best training for young men to become leaders and responsible citizens in society. With 455 boys, we have a full Corps of Cadets with a Band, Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery battalions. The traditional honor organizations of the three battalions, the Lancer Platoon, the Four Gun Drill and the Honor Guard, perform at all major weekends. In addition, a Drill Team competes throughout the Midwest.
In 1971, Culver welcomed the first Culver Girls Academy students. The purpose of the Culver Girls Academy (CGA) is to encourage young woman to attain the highest degree of self-development. For the 2009-2010 school year, 337 girls are enrolled. Culver Girls Academy offers a four-year college preparatory course designed to develop young women into confident, prepared, and self-directed leaders. CGA is based on the prefect system for leadership. British boarding schools first used this system of student-governance. Through this unique program, girls come from all over the world to develop their leadership skills, enabling them to perform successfully in college and in life. Their prefect leadership program has attracted national attention, and impresses all who are able to witness first-hand its effects: confidence, responsibility, true leadership and the ability to articulate where they are in their learning process.
Culver remains committed to staying accessible to all students, regardless of need. To this end, almost half of 2009-2010 students receive financial aid, with the average award approximately one-half of the tuition expense. Culver provided just over $8,700,000 in financial aid this year for students. The percentage of students receiving financial aid is higher than at other like institutions and has been very important to the make-up of the student body. Other leading secondary schools typically offer financial aid to only 20-30% of their students. Financial aid often goes to lower income applicants, with the remainder of the student body composed of those who can afford this expensive education. The result means that the middle class is squeezed out--creating what educators refer to as the "barbell effect." At Culver, our financial aid policies permit us to retain a very strong segment of middle class America in our student body. Diversifying the student population – economically and culturally- opens and stretches our students' minds by introducing them to views and experiences that differ from their own.
Culver has a very diverse student body, a true global community. There is exceptional balance within this diversity. Almost eight percent are African-American or multi-racial. Thirteen percent are Asian Pacific, and nine percent are Hispanic. We are diverse socio-economically, ethnically, and geographically.
Under John Buxton's stewardship, the academic performance of our students improves each year. The Batten Scholars Program has been very important to upgrading Culver's student body. Each year the Battens Scholars Program awards six full scholarships, based solely on merit. The Batten Scholars Program also includes a summer of study overseas. Between sixty and seventy of the merit applicants not receiving the scholarship still enroll in the CMA or CGA. These outstanding young men and women are capable scholars and they greatly strengthened the quality of our incoming classes.
A second Merit Scholarship, the Duchossois Family Scholarships, are awarded to exceptional young people from the Midwest. The Duchossois family endowed a program that brings four additional merit scholars to Culver each year for a total of sixteen. As important, the Scholarship will increase our admissions pool significantly, just as the Batten Program has.
Culver students are regularly accepted at Ivy League schools, as well as Stanford, M.I.T., North Carolina, Duke, the University of Virginia, and most other leading universities in the country. In fact, Culver students were accepted at thirty-seven of the most selective colleges and universities. The National Merit organization regularly recognizes students in our senior class as commended students or finalists.
A handful of our students attend the service academies, usually from three-to-five in each graduating class. However, Culver has a strong history and tradition of its former students serving their country in time of danger, and many of our graduates go on to ROTC programs in higher education. Over 6,500 Culver men fought in World War II, and over 200 recent Culver graduates have seen duty in Iraq and Afghanistan in the war on terrorism. Five Culver men have received Congressional Medals of Honor.
After careful study and preparation, Culver successfully adopted an academic "block scheduling" system. Block scheduling refers to any school schedule based on extended class periods (generally 60 minutes or longer). Our schedule, based on ninety-minute class periods, is called an intensive (or 4 x 4) schedule. Rather than taking six subjects at one time, students study three subjects intensively for half the year before moving on to three others. Block schedules often fail because schools do not prepare teachers adequately for the transition. At Culver, however, we have provided and continue to provide our faculty with significant professional development opportunities.
Advanced Placement (AP) identifies a national program created almost fifty years ago to allow prospective college students the opportunity to place out of college classes by taking comparable classes (followed by a national exam) while still in secondary school. The AP curriculum is universally regarded as a national standard of academic excellence. We currently offer AP programming in eighteen different subject areas. Scored on a 5 point scale, a 3 is a passing grade. Last year 85% of Culver examinees received passing grades of 3, 4, or 5; and 74% received 4s or 5s.
Each of our students receives and works with a laptop computer. Our campus is totally integrated electronically with both wireless and wire line connections. We have a handsome state-of-the-art library, which is approximately fourteen years old. In addition, we have new science and mathematics buildings, made possible by the generous gifts of alumni.
Culver also has a strong program in the arts. In October 2007, the new Steinbrenner Performing Arts Center opened. Dance is particularly strong for our women. Theatre has always been strength at Culver and music is strong and diverse with a military band, a marching band, a bagpipe band, an orchestra, and a concert band. For three years, Culver had its own film festival for student-produced films.
Our faculty consists of nineyy-eight full-time and part-time instructors. Nearly 87% hold graduate degrees. They embody a commitment to both high academic standards and active participation in boarding school life, which includes coaching athletic teams, advising student clubs and mentoring individual students.
The faculty is very active in professional activities outside Culver, including instructors who serve as Advanced Placement graders, made presentations at regional and national conferences, and who have served on ISACS (Independent Schools) accreditation teams. Two young faculty members recently participated in the prestigious Klingenstein program at Columbia University. The math department chair, the only secondary teacher in the United States to do so, taught at the Air Force Academy for a one- year appointment.
We have a nationally recognized intern program in which a dozen highly qualified recent college graduates join the faculty for a year of teaching, coaching and residential responsibilities. They work closely under the tutelage of a senior or master instructor in each of these areas. They excelled at the most competitive colleges and universities and they are excellent role models for our students. More than two-thirds of the interns who have completed the program have gone on to teaching or administrative careers in private schools.
We field over fifty Varsity or JV teams in interscholastic sports in the Culver Girls Academy and Culver Military Academy. Over 70% of our students participate. We are a member of the Indiana High School Athletic Association and play most of our contests against Indiana high schools with occasional contests scheduled against Midwestern boarding or day schools. Our teams do very well. In sports like lacrosse, hockey, fencing, crew and equestrian events like polo and jumping our teams compete throughout the Midwest, sometimes with college teams.
In this decade (i.e., the year 2000 until today,) Culver teams have won multiple state championships in lacrosse, both boys and girls, and in hockey. Our boy's hockey team consistently ranks in the top five nationally. Both boys and girls teams have won the national polo championship, and we crowned a National Championship in singles sculling (crew) last spring. We have won Indiana high school sectional championships in football, soccer, track and field, tennis, cross-country and softball. We have had individual All-Americans named in swimming, in both boys and girls lacrosse, and in softball, and individual state champions in women's golf and women’s cross-country. We have had three students recognized as U.S. Polo Association interscholastic player of the year. We have state record holders in scoring in women's lacrosse and in home runs in softball. Our boy's tennis team finished second in the state last year. We also won boy and girl's individual championships in track and field. Finally, we had two former Culver students represent their countries, and Culver, in the 2006 Winter Olympics as members of the USA’s Men’s Ice Hockey team and the USA Women’s Ice Hockey team.
An unusual feature of the Culver education is our horsemanship program. It supports over one-hundred students, many of whom have not been exposed to horsemanship before they came to Culver. The programs include Equine Science Classes, Polo Teams, Jumping Team, Rough Riding team, and the Honor Organization Mounted Drill teams. Our renowned Black Horse Troop has ridden in fifteen Presidential Inaugural parades including the one in January 2009. Our women's Honor organization, the Equestriennes, have ridden in the last five Presidential Inaugural parades.
Beautiful Lake Maxinkuckee, a spring-fed lake of 3-by-1-1/2 miles, provides opportunities for our programs in sailing, boating and crew. Crew in two, four, and eight oared shells are important sports in both the fall and spring seasons, as is interscholastic sailing.
Another advantage of a Culver education is exposure to other cultures. In addition to the countries represented on our campus and the international backgrounds of many faculty members, seven mission trips comprising students and faculty/staff advisors went overseas last year during spring vacation to assist in building homes and other educational/cultural projects in five countries—Brazil, Croatia, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Guatemala--and two to Mexico. We also sent a group to the Mississippi Delta and a group to the Arizona/Mexico border.
Further evidence of Culver’s commitment to educating leaders for the Global Community is the existence of a Global Studies Institute at Culver. Each year Culver and its Global Studies Honors Students host an eight-part series of seminars on pressing world issues. They have the opportunity to discuss the most pressing geo-political questions of our time with scholars, politicians, and world leaders who come to Culver to present their papers and ideas. Culver also created sister school relationships with two highly recognized leaders in global education--the Shanghai Foreign Language School in the P.R.C. and Scotch College in Australia.
Over 1300 campers came to Culver Summer Schools & Camps last year. Culver Summer Schools & Camps is unique. It is a fun-filled, naturally beautiful setting where young people develop positive self-esteem through accomplishment and discipline. It is a supportive environment for learning leadership skills. As with our winter school, our focus is character development. Our goal is to teach self-discipline, personal responsibility, fairness, appreciation for diversity, and respect for others and self – the characteristics upon which personal honor is built.
Culver Summer Schools & Camps is organized around a distinctive military system that fosters leadership. Our Woodcraft, Naval, Troop, Aviation, and Upper Girls programs incorporate this system providing hands-on, practical leadership training and experience for both boys and girls. Culver designs its Schools & Camps to give young people the opportunity to learn by experience that being a leader involves more than merely giving orders. Leadership is about listening and understanding, and is about following. We believe that leadership can be taught. Our Summer Schools & Camps offer a challenging experience through athletic competitions, inspections, unit drills, parades, ceremonies, and numerous other activities. Campers observe and participate in leadership behaviors that build character and confidence. Living together, learning to accept responsibilities, working with each other, and participating in camp activities ranging from cabin and unit duties to setting standards for personal appearance and behavior, all contribute significantly to building interpersonal and leadership skills. Campers also develop an understanding and appreciation of nature and other cultures. Culver provides campers with the opportunity to live with young people from all over the world.
The American Camp Association, the leading organization in child development and preserving the camp experience, accredits Culver Summer Schools & Camps. The ACA sets the benchmark for camps to provide the highest safety, programmatic, administrative, and developmental standards in the industry. Culver is honored to have held this accreditation since 1959.
Woodcraft Camp, Upper Camp, Mini-Woodcraft Camps and Family Camp comprise Culver Summer Schools & Camps. The Woodcraft Camp is a six-week, all activity camp designed for boys and girls, ages 9-13. Campers divide into groups. Boys ages 9-11 are Cubs, Boys ages 11-13 are Beavers. Girls ages 9-11 are Butterflies and girls ages 11-13 are Cardinals. Over 60 elective activities provide an unparalleled opportunity for these young people to participate in leadership roles and develop self-confidence through a well-rounded program that provides personal and team accomplishment. Campers improve academic skills, compete in athletic activities, work towards rewards and ribbons, and improve their overall sense of competence.
Like Woodcraft, Upper Camp is a six-week program full of fun, learning, and friendship. Boys and girls, age 13-17 and have completed the seventh grade receive a rich variety of intramural, extracurricular, and special activities, along with regularly scheduled instructional electives. Boys attending Upper Camp choose a major in Aviation, Horsemanship, Naval School, or Band. Their choice determines the uniform they wear and each major requires two activity periods each day, with the remaining activity schedule filled with any other activity offered. All of the girls wear the same uniform and can select from any of the activities offered, including equitation and sailing.
Upper campers participate in intramural sports held daily during the morning, afternoon, or evening recreation periods. This provides an opportunity for campers of all skill levels to participate in a variety of sports. Our emphasis is on teamwork, spirit, and good sportsmanship – vital elements of healthy competition and wellness. Culver offers intramural programs in volleyball, basketball, soccer, track, softball, cross-country, signaling-semaphore, swimming, and rowing and sailing races. Campers also have music and arts activities giving them many opportunities to participate in performance and develop their abilities. The Summer Marching Band provides music for parades and Sunday band concerts. Campers may also take private music lessons.
Culver Academies recently completed the most successul fundraising campaign in its 116-year history. By Example: The Campaign for Culver raised more than $376 million to support the school by dramatically growing Culver's endowment, enhancing academic programs, creating funds for scholarships and financial assistance for students, providing funding for renovation and construction of campus facilities, and more.
During the campaign, more than 42,000 gifts were given to Culver from over 12,000 donors. Six new merit scholarship programs were created to enable Culver to continue to attract the very best students, 105 named scholarships were funded to provide financial aid to students and campers, nine academic chairs were funded, and five new faculty fellowship programs were created.
Culver will continue to engage in fundraising efforts such as its Annual Fund and for specific programs, facilities and projects to support eh school's commitment to excellences and its mission to educate students for leadership and responsible citizenship in society.
