On May 19, 1970, the Centipede reported on its front page, “Trustees Vote to Admit Boys.” One might expect such vital news to merit a banner headline across all four columns. In fact, the low-key, one-column story shared this prime real estate with three others. One covered a vespers talk by Rabbi Haskell Bernat on the escalation of the Vietnam War; another outlined student requests for eliminating boarding restrictions; and a third announced a presentation of student films. Together, these four pieces of reportage offer a revealing entrée into a pivotal decade remembered for its political turmoil, changing mores, student unrest—and a remarkable explosion of creative exuberance.

After debating the options for more than a year, the Concord Academy Board of Trustees made its bold decision to enroll boys, beginning in the fall of 1971. Though a handful of girls’ day schools would choose to go coed and a few boarding schools would do so much later, Concord stands out as the only girls’ boarding school to make such a risky decision at that time.

The absence of a blaring headline might be explained by the recent success of an exchange with St. Paul’s and the nascent coordination with Middlesex, which had begun to accustom girls to the presence of boys in their classrooms. It also appears that the girls, some of whom had been included in discussions leading up to the decision, were undaunted by the news because they felt unthreatened. Not only did they welcome the boys to their campus, they did so with kindness, humor, and the irrepressible spirit that had become their trademark. CA girls were willing to share their power, but they were not about to relinquish it. Despite the fears of some of the women who had graduated before them, Concord girls would continue to assert their intelligence, display their creative talents, sustain the school’s caring environment—and conjure lively ways to make mischief.

Excerpted from a forthcoming book commemorating CA’s Centennial by former faculty member and dean Lucille Stott.

In CA’s first year of coeducation,

out of

65

male-identified applicants,

37

were accepted to CA and

26

enrolled for the 1971–72 school year,

forming a little under

10%

of the student body;

10

were boarding students in Bradford House.