Mission & Academics Blog
It Never Rains on Founders Day
Perhaps that statement is overly optimistic, although in the 63 years since the founding of the school, no one can remember rain on this assembly! (In any case, the event itself provides such a sunny feeling of joy and celebration, that if the streak ends, our communal warmth will suffice.)
Over one thousand students, staff and visitors will gather on Friday to help us remember the past and launch what is sure to be a memorable 2025-26 school year.
This annual tradition helps us remember the school’s beginning. From the picturesque vantage of the hilltop, we can survey the campus that today unfolds below our gaze. We recall, that 63 years ago, there were no school buildings, no athletic fields and only 33 students preparing to study in the house that is now Founders’ Hall. The surrounding land was largely open farmland. So, Founders Day gives us the perspective to appreciate the astonishing growth on our campus that has taken place from that time to the present.
We would also be wise to recall the reasons a handful of parents took on the daunting task of starting a school from scratch. The intrepid few who envisioned a new school faced a host of obstacles, practical as well as ideological, needing to be addressed and overcome all at once. Looking back, it is remarkable that those founding families had the grit and perseverance to nurture the Academy through the early years.
The Academy began in the turbulent 1960s when a small group of prominent parents shared concerns among themselves about the education their children were receiving. They were unhappy with the perceived haphazardness of school reforms and the rejection of long-standing traditions in pedagogy and curriculum. They were distinctly uncomfortable with the denigration of the Western tradition and the popular erosion of the values that underpin the American nation. Their discussions yielded the beginnings of a vision for a new school that would preserve the best elements of traditional schooling: a new school, a new academy, an Academy of Basic Education.
They held a deep respect for the education they and their cohort, members of the “Greatest Generation” had received. Those same standards of learning traced a heritage back to classical roots and became the “basic education” the Founders wanted their own children to receive. Skills development, phonics, recitation, grammar, mathematics, history and reading the classics are some key components of this basic education. In addition, they valued a rigorous approach to learning (including nightly homework) delivered with a parent’s heart.
Many years have passed since the founding of The Academy of Basic Education. The current school name, Brookfield Academy, more accurately captures all that happens here, but the original ideas live on: academic rigor, time-tested teaching methods, innovation that is thoughtful rather than trendy, unwavering adherence to the inspiring values of the Western tradition, and the development character at the center of all. Our current school leadership boldly voices those founding values and integrates them into 21st century learning.
Whether or not rain falls on Founders Day, Brookfield Academy will continue to bring the strength of a basic education to the challenges students face. We can be assured that a few clouds will not dampen Founders Day, and we can be confident that the basic education at the heart of the Academy vision will prepare our graduates for success in college and in life.
