Berkshire School Revenue and Competitors

Berkshire School was founded in 1907 beneath the "dome" of Mt. Everett by Seaver Burton Buck, a Harvard graduate who had taught at Hackley School. During the thirty-five years that Mr. Buck was headmaster, Berkshire evolved into a substantial and vibrant institution. Mr. Buck interwove appreciation for and exploration of the mountain with classical classroom teaching. Upon Mr. Buck's retirement in 1943 the school went on a war footing. Depleted by the call to arms, Berkshire nonetheless remained in session throughout the calendar year, with small groups graduating every twelve weeks. Many of the students became seasoned pilots through the school's Education with Wings program at the nearly Great Barrington Airport. Another legendary headmaster was John E. Godman, who led the school from 1951 to 1970. During his tenure, enrollment mushroomed to 330 boys and the faculty expanded to 35 teachers-among them the school's first female faculty members. By 1970, there were 16 major new structures, six of them dormitories, as well as a laboratory science wing added to Berkshire Hall. But Mr. Godman's lasting legacy was his decision in 1969 that Berkshire School become coeducational. In the fall of that year, nine girls-all day students-took part in what Mr. Godman described to them and their families as "an experiment." The experiment succeeded, and the school graduated its first female in 1972. The 1970s and 1980s brought radical change to institutions across the country, and Berkshire was no exception. In addition to integrating girls into all aspects of campus life, the school restructured its scholastic mission to welcome new disciplines-computer science, ethics, health and environmental science-and a formal counseling program. A new, 38,000-square-foot athletic center was built and the former gymnasium renovated to house a modern library which today boasts over 40,000 volumes. An even more impressive structure ushered in the 1990s at Berkshire: a new student center and dining hall. Also in that decade, the curriculum broadened further and innovative academic and co-curricular programs were introduced, including the Ritt Kellogg Mountain Program, the Chinese language program, and the leadership and character development program. As a result of the school's Berkshire 2000 capital campaign, three faculty chairs were established, two new girls' dormitories were built, dorms and classrooms were fully wired, and the school's endowment nearly doubled. Other improvements included a computer-controlled observatory, an all-weather track, a new maple syrup house, and a renovated hockey rink.