Selwyn School
Encyclopedia
The Selwyn College Preparatory School is an independent, coeducational day school located in Denton
, Texas
. Founded in 1957, it covers grades PK-12.
The school has an enrollment of about 300, primarily from Denton, but also from surrounding north Texas towns including Argyle
, Aubrey
, Corinth
, Copper Canyon
, Flower Mound
, Highland Village
and Sanger
.
With a borrowed $100, the school, renamed Denton Preparatory School in 1957, began classes in a building leased from Texas Woman's University
. Thirty-three students attended Kindergarten through 9th grade and it had five teachers. Leading that faculty was another Ross recruit: John D. Doncaster, a former English instructor at Southern Methodist University
.
Two years later Doncaster led the school to a new location to accommodate the 85 students and the fledgling boarding program. Parents and school community members worked to convert the barns into classrooms and the house into a dormitory.
Then J. Newton Rayzor stepped in. In 1961 Rayzor, a Houston developer and prominent landowner in Denton donated 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land to the school, where it stands today on University Drive west of town. In the fall of that year due to the labor of parents, faculty and students, the school was completed and ready for occupancy. To honor Rayzor, it was named after his daughter, Jeanne Selwyn Rayzor. (1926-1976).
Doncaster's educational philosophy rejected of progressive education favored at that time. His approach was traditional, epitomized by his phrase “discipline and the disciplines."
Over time the school became both a boarding and day school and it gained accreditation by the Texas Education Agency
and the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest a regional association of the National Association of Independent Schools
. It also gradually added grades, eventually becoming a K-12 institution.
The 1970s and '80s saw Doncaster making trips to the Middle East
to encourage parents there to send their children to boarding school in Denton. At the time, Saudi Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company) would pay for parents to send their children overseas to school. This led to a collection of students from all over: children of oil executives, international students, day students and boarders from across the Southwest. This diversity led to the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the school.
As the 1980s drew to a close, the plummeting price of oil made recruitment difficult for the school; oil wealth simply wasn’t there to pay the tuitions of so many of its students. This was compounded by the recession dealt by 1991's Gulf War
. The school as it stood then was unsustainable, so painful measures were taken: the upper school was closed.
Despite cries from its small number of far-flung alumni, the move allowed the school to get on more solid financial footing by focusing on its local pre-K and Kindergarten programs, even converting the girls dormitory into an extensive set of children's classrooms -- including an internal sandbox.
As attendance grew again, grades were added to accommodate demand, gradually building the middle school, and, eventually, in 2003, the reopening of the upper school beginning with the 9th grade and adding an additional grades through the 12th grade.
One of the things that set Selwyn apart from other schools at both the middle and upper schools was its Perspectives program. This two to three week trip was a mandatory travel and educational experience. While middle school students generally stayed in the state, upper school students ventured to Europe
, Asia
, Latin America
, the Caribbean
and throughout the United States
. It was an opportunity for students to expand their horizons in a relatively structured way.
The Perspectives program was extended into the lower grades in abbreviated form.
At present time, the upper school is growing. The Montessori program was eliminated in 2007.
In the mid-1960s, notable architect O'Neil Ford
was commissioned to design several buildings and a master plan for the campus. The Preston House portion of the girls dorm, was built in 1965; the Kramer Building and the Moody Dining Hall, in 1966.
In some cases the buildings' uses changed -- dormitories into faculty apartments or classrooms, for example. But in general, the angular design and adobe
-like brick used in many of the buildings, made for a consistent look. Notable exceptions were the art dome -- a geodesic dome constructed in the 1970s and demolished in the early '00s due to deterioration, the Quonset hut
-- a green, military style multipurpose room -- and the gym -- a corrugated metal building common in the area. Around 1980, the Sid Richardson library was built. In the mid-1980s, a significant two-story classroom building was built.
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Founded in 1957, it covers grades PK-12.
The school has an enrollment of about 300, primarily from Denton, but also from surrounding north Texas towns including Argyle
Argyle, Texas
Argyle is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, with a population of 2,365 as of the 2000 census. The master-planned community of Lantana, Texas shares the Argyle mailing address.-History:...
, Aubrey
Aubrey, Texas
Aubrey is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,500 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1847 the community was named Onega and the Cherokee people were the main inhabitants. Historically it was known for the peanut farms that surrounded the town. By 2009 horse ranches...
, Corinth
Corinth, Texas
Corinth is a small town in Denton County, Texas, United States, a suburb of Dallas, and a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The population was 11,325 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Corinth is located at ....
, Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon, Texas
Copper Canyon is a town in Denton County, Texas, United States. Copper Canyon was founded in April 1973. Residents decided to incorporate the town in an effort to preserve the rural atmosphere of the community. The first mayor was Robert Woodin. Council meetings were held in homes until 1978, when...
, Flower Mound
Flower Mound, Texas
Flower Mound is a town in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and a suburb of Fort Worth and Dallas. Its population was 50,702 at the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 census, and 64,669 at the 2010 Census. The town derives its name from the prominent mound located in the southern...
, Highland Village
Highland Village, Texas
Highland Village is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States, a suburb of Dallas hugging the south side of the far western branch of Lewisville Lake. As of the 2000 census the city population was 12,173, though the 2006 projection by the U.S. Census Bureau puts the city's population at 15,738...
and Sanger
Sanger, Texas
Sanger is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,534 at the 2000 census. The 2006 population was 6,200. -Geography:Sanger is located at ....
.
History
In 1955, Denton Civic Boys Choir School, was founded. But after two years an unhappy group of prominent Denton residents, led by John Ross of Moore Business Forms, put together a non-profit group to take over the school.With a borrowed $100, the school, renamed Denton Preparatory School in 1957, began classes in a building leased from Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University is a co-educational university in Denton, Texas, United States with two health science center branches in Dallas, Texas and Houston, Texas...
. Thirty-three students attended Kindergarten through 9th grade and it had five teachers. Leading that faculty was another Ross recruit: John D. Doncaster, a former English instructor at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
.
Two years later Doncaster led the school to a new location to accommodate the 85 students and the fledgling boarding program. Parents and school community members worked to convert the barns into classrooms and the house into a dormitory.
Then J. Newton Rayzor stepped in. In 1961 Rayzor, a Houston developer and prominent landowner in Denton donated 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land to the school, where it stands today on University Drive west of town. In the fall of that year due to the labor of parents, faculty and students, the school was completed and ready for occupancy. To honor Rayzor, it was named after his daughter, Jeanne Selwyn Rayzor. (1926-1976).
Doncaster's educational philosophy rejected of progressive education favored at that time. His approach was traditional, epitomized by his phrase “discipline and the disciplines."
Over time the school became both a boarding and day school and it gained accreditation by the Texas Education Agency
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education. The agency is headquartered in the William B...
and the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest a regional association of the National Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Independent Schools
The National Association of Independent Schools is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1963, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boarding, and day/boarding schools; elementary and secondary...
. It also gradually added grades, eventually becoming a K-12 institution.
The 1970s and '80s saw Doncaster making trips to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
to encourage parents there to send their children to boarding school in Denton. At the time, Saudi Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company) would pay for parents to send their children overseas to school. This led to a collection of students from all over: children of oil executives, international students, day students and boarders from across the Southwest. This diversity led to the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the school.
As the 1980s drew to a close, the plummeting price of oil made recruitment difficult for the school; oil wealth simply wasn’t there to pay the tuitions of so many of its students. This was compounded by the recession dealt by 1991's Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. The school as it stood then was unsustainable, so painful measures were taken: the upper school was closed.
Despite cries from its small number of far-flung alumni, the move allowed the school to get on more solid financial footing by focusing on its local pre-K and Kindergarten programs, even converting the girls dormitory into an extensive set of children's classrooms -- including an internal sandbox.
As attendance grew again, grades were added to accommodate demand, gradually building the middle school, and, eventually, in 2003, the reopening of the upper school beginning with the 9th grade and adding an additional grades through the 12th grade.
Curriculum
While the quality of students varied, the quality of teaching was generally very good. Retired university professors, experienced -- if eccentric -- teachers at the middle and upper levels, and a solid Montessori atmosphere in the lower school made for a well-rounded education.One of the things that set Selwyn apart from other schools at both the middle and upper schools was its Perspectives program. This two to three week trip was a mandatory travel and educational experience. While middle school students generally stayed in the state, upper school students ventured to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was an opportunity for students to expand their horizons in a relatively structured way.
The Perspectives program was extended into the lower grades in abbreviated form.
At present time, the upper school is growing. The Montessori program was eliminated in 2007.
Architecture
As the years went on, a menagerie of buildings was constructed on the hilltop site.In the mid-1960s, notable architect O'Neil Ford
O'Neil Ford
O'Neil Ford was a major regional architect of the mid-20th century in Texas and a leading architect of the American Southwest. He is considered one of the nation's best unknown architects, and his designs merged the modernism of Europe with the indigenous qualities of early Texas...
was commissioned to design several buildings and a master plan for the campus. The Preston House portion of the girls dorm, was built in 1965; the Kramer Building and the Moody Dining Hall, in 1966.
In some cases the buildings' uses changed -- dormitories into faculty apartments or classrooms, for example. But in general, the angular design and adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
-like brick used in many of the buildings, made for a consistent look. Notable exceptions were the art dome -- a geodesic dome constructed in the 1970s and demolished in the early '00s due to deterioration, the Quonset hut
Quonset hut
A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I...
-- a green, military style multipurpose room -- and the gym -- a corrugated metal building common in the area. Around 1980, the Sid Richardson library was built. In the mid-1980s, a significant two-story classroom building was built.
External links
- The Selwyn School website
- Placeopedia Selwyn School entry
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/kbs64.html Handbook of TexasHandbook of TexasThe Handbook of Texas is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association .-History:...
Online article - O'Neil Ford's Selwyn work