Newburgh Free Academy

The school traces its history back to the early days of the United States. The Rev. George H. Spierin proposed to open an "Academy" in Newburgh. Work began in 1796 under the direction of the trustees of the glebe. (A glebe was land originally set aside in the early 18th century for a pastor and his church. The glebe for the Newburgh area was issued in 1719.) A portion of the first Academy was occupied in 1797. The building was 60 feet (18 m) by 40 feet (18.5 × 12.3m), two stories high, built of wood, and lined with brick. It was located on Liberty Street and cost around $2,500. The building was not finished until some years later when a court room was included. The building itself saw use as not only a school and court, but was also site for town meetings and political organizations.

The first record of a teacher employed was in 1799 when Samuel Nicholson was hired. The Academy had only one teacher during its first eight years of existence. In 1807 management of the school passed from the hands of the trustees of the Glebe to a regularly incorporated Board of Trustees. At that time rates for tuition were adopted. The charge per quarter was $2.50. This was for the study of writing and arithmetic. A scholar studying Greek, Latin or French was charged $5.00 per quarter.

In 1807 Richard A. Thompson was employed as principal. He lived in the school rent free and was paid $100 at the end of the year. He also received all money arising from the tuition of scholars attending the Academy. A Female Department was established at the Academy in 1809. Reading, writing, sewing, and drawing were taught. On April 6, 1852 the New York State Legislature authorized the establishment and organization of free schools in Newburgh. Within a month free education was introduced into what was then the village of Newburgh. The Academy then came under the control of Board of Education as the senior department of the Newburgh Public Schools. In 1871 a three-year course of study was arranged, at the completion of which students were required to take a written examination. Those who passed the examination were granted diplomas as graduates. The first Commencement Exercises were held on April 28, 1871, and included the participation of a Salutatorian and Valedictorian.

Ten years after the first official Commencement Exercises the Academy had outgrown itself. A "new" Academy was built on the grounds of the formal school on Montgomery Street in 1886 for around $70,000. Designed by Ehrick Rossiter and partner Frank A. Wright, a former student, the school had three stories and a basement. The three floors contained twelve school rooms, a large assembly room that could fit six to seven hundred people, a drawing room, a laboratory, an annex, and janitor's quarters. Each school room contained desks for 45 students, and was equipped with countersunk ink wells, black boards, closets, and electric bells. It had a brick frontage of 112 feet and a depth of 68 feet, each classroom 33 1/2 x 23 feet. Light was designed to enter over the student's left shoulders to help them when writing. The stairwells were also noted as being broad.

September 2, 1886, 201 students registered for classes at the "new" Academy, which now housed grammar and academic classes. Actual classes began on September 20. It was also during 1886 that "the free book system" was adopted by the Board. Three years later on July 7, 1889 the Board received a certificate of admission of the Academy to the University of the State of New York. Soon afterwards a definite standard was set up for graduation, and the high school course was extended to four years. In September of that year the department plan of teaching, that is assigning teachers to subjects rather than to grades, was adopted. Three courses of study were established: English, Scientific, Latin-Scientific, and Classical. It was also in 1886 that corporal punishment was abolished. A superintendent's report says that "the unlimited use of the rod is certainly not desirable." Six years after moving into its "new" Montgomery Street building the Academy adopted its school colors: navy blue and gold.

Compulsory education laws such as those of 1894, and increasing population in the city resulted in an enlarged high school enrollment. The need for a larger and more modern building was becoming increasingly evident as our school and country entered the 20th century. In 1926 construction began on a 7-acre (28,000 m²) lot at the corner of Fullerton Avenue and South Street for a million dollar building, which was to accommodate 1,500 students. (Note: All three previous Academy buildings were built within the original glebe boundaries.) On January 23, 1928 the first classes were held in the present Newburgh Free Academy building, but it was not until March 1928 that the construction work was finally completed. In the fall of 1931, an annex was added to the building, adding dressing rooms, a music room, and an additional place for gym work.

In 1936, WPA muralist Lee Woodward Zeigler was hired by the Board of Education to paint murals in either the auditorium or vestibule. A part-time New Windsor resident, Zeigler was a popular muralist at the height of his career. He favored the idea of possibly painting the Muses, but the Board of Education supported the depiction of a local historical scene or something more academic.[3] Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram wrote to Zeigler and recommended that he create a set of murals to depict the progress of education in Western world, from the School of Athens to the College of William & Mary. Zeigler thought this subject matter was too arresting, and that visitors would not grasp the images.[3] He decided to paint two vertical murals, flanking the stage, featuring Renaissance figures meant to represent the dramatic arts and music.[4]

In the first ten years of its occupancy pupil enrollment grew from about 1,100 to more than 2,200. The teaching staff increased from 39 to more than 75. To relieve the overcrowding Columbia University Teachers College recommended that two new junior high schools should be built in order to keep Newburgh up with the times. In spite of the Great Depression, two schools, North Junior High School which still stands and operates on Route 9W and South Junior High School which also still stands and operates on Monument Street, were built with the aid of a 45% grant from the Public Works Administration. In 1937 both buildings were dedicated, and the Academy began to see its enrollment drop back to around 1,500 pupils.

In the early 1960s, as the baby boomer generation reached high school age, a major addition was built on the north side of the building along Roe Street. The wing was designed to meet Space Age sensibilities, incentivizing students to enter STEM careers. Among the new features were a planetarium, laboratories for chemistry and physics, a greenhouse, mobile animal cabinets, a climatorium for weather measurements, courtyard and a 250-seat lecture room with a dividing wall.[5] A dark room for photography and a TV studio were also added. The planetarium was built with a 30-foot dome visible to passersby, fitted with 90 adjustable seats and used a Model A3P Prime machine.[5] Students in the elementary and junior high schools would be brought there on field trips for their science curriculum. It is no longer in full use. The new addition opened for classes in September 1965.

In October, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy held a Democratic Rally in the city and came to speak to students.[6]

The school was fairly diverse by the end of the 1960s. While it had been majority WASP for much of its history, by the 1940s the school was becoming majority Italian, Irish and German. Smaller populations included African Americans, Greeks, Poles and the addition of Puerto Ricans in the late 1960s. Isolated skirmishes began to occur between white students and students of color. Racial tensions only escalated with Urban renewal, as many students of color and their families were displaced.

Many black students voiced concerns and grievances about treatment they deemed unfair. Militant 18-year-old student George Fleming and others petitioned for a Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X assembly in school.[7] Fleming had also requested busing to school for students living in the city. He and other classmates were aligned with the Blank Panthers. On April 23, 1969, Fleming and two of his friends entered the office of the principal, Dr. Leslie M. Tourville, with unloaded BB guns as protest.[8] The teens were immediately arrested and sent to jail for 15 days. In court, William Kunstler represented Fleming. During the trial, he was held in contempt four times for his use of "black ghetto American language." Fleming told Kunstler he accepted him because he was the blackest white man he had ever met.[9]

In more recent years, pupil enrollment numbers in the upper two thousands is not uncommon, yet Newburgh Free Academy is prided on still providing a quality education for each and every student, with class sizes ranging between four and thirty-five.

In 2002, construction began on the installment of an additional building connected to the original site. Construction ended in early 2003, providing 35+ classrooms, a black-box theatre and a state of the art dance education classroom. The courtyard of the Science Wing became a cafeteria.

In 2004 NFA, and the school district as a whole, became the first K–12 educational system in New York State to deal with an employed district-wide administrator going through a gender transition while on the job. Because of such resistance from the adults on campus, not generally the students, the school board paid this individual a hefty cash settlement (greater than $90,000) to resign.

Beginning with the 2011–12 school year, Newburgh Free Academy extended to two campuses, utilizing the former North Junior High building, now known as "NFA North Campus" The current school building becoming "NFA Main Campus." Both buildings hold students in grades 9-12, in an effort to meet state requirements for a standard high school. The concept is that both high schools are combined, and all activities stretch between the two campuses. Communication between the two campuses is not yet well established. The enrollment figure for NFA collectively is expected to increase to 5,000 students. In 2016, the district opened a new campus in the former West Street School, close to the two campuses. Of the new campus, which is described as a "non-traditional high school" the district said:

"NFA West Campus is a school of choice. Honoring student choice paves the way for students to take charge of their education. The Goal of this campus is to provide positive learning experiences that are flexible and personalized. Not all students are successful in a traditional environment. We strive to provide opportunities for academic success through non-traditional approaches to learning in a supportive environment. NFA West is a Big Picture Learning (BPL) school that strives to be a place where students are known well, understood, respected and able to have genuine relationships with adults. Each scholar's educational program involves authentic experiences with real world standards and consequences, and is designed by the people who know the student best. Students’ learning plans grow out of their individual needs, interests, and passion."

Split between Main and North is the CTE program, which hosts programs in Architectural/Engineering Design, Automotive, Barbering, Ceramics, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Fashion, Lifetime Wellness and Fitness, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Welding, & AFJROTC at Main. North offers Criminal Justice, Health Related Services, and is also the home of P-Tech program. The schools also have interscholastic sports and club activities. They include debate, youth in government, drama, step and hip-hop dance, Anime, Spanish club, photography, yearbook, ski and snowboard, and the Concept Vehicle Racing Team, which has designed, built, test driven, and raced fuel efficient vehicles from scratch and raced in the California marathon semi finals. The school's student literary and art magazine, The Colonnade, has been in print since the 1930s.