2024 In Review
Concord Academy is celebrating an unforgettable year, brimming with inspiring moments. From classroom experiences to campus events, 2024 has showcased the power of collaboration on campus. We’re thrilled to carry this momentum into the New Year!
Concord Academy is celebrating an unforgettable year, brimming with inspiring moments. From classroom experiences to campus events, 2024 has showcased the power of collaboration on campus. We’re thrilled to carry this momentum into the New Year!
Community
CA students, faculty, and staff celebrated our commitment to common trust.
- June 7–9, Reunion Weekend, brought nearly 200 alums from all generations back to campus. Hands-on programming offered opportunities for graduates to reconnect.
- The 2024–25 school year began on September 3 with Convocation. Don Kingman, director of campus planning, design, and construction, gave a powerful speech that underscored the importance of community.
- On September 26, CA honored Mandarin teacher Wenjun Kuai P’27, holder of the 2021–2024 Hammer Chair, who shared her research on cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in Chinese-speaking regions in Asia.
- Family Weekend, October 25–26, welcomed over 500 guests, giving parents a glimpse into the innovative teaching and learning that happens at CA.
Love of Learning
At CA, a love of learning animates everything we do.
- A new interdisciplinary history of Mexico class, created by Modern and Classical Languages Department Head Carmen Welton and history teacher Jeffrey Richey, integrated Spanish language, culture, and history instruction both in the classroom and on a cultural trip.
- In April, students in Kim Frederick’s U.S.: Public History: Tour Guide course created educational displays for the Concord Museum’s What Makes History? special exhibition.
- CA’s sixth feature film project, Cassie Crowe’s Mid Life, debuted in May. This surrealist comedy, led by Visual Arts Department Head Justin Bull P’25 ’28 and Computer Science Department Head Ben Stumpf ’88, showcased the creativity of student filmmakers.
- Will Tucker, head of CA’s Science Department, aimed to demystify science education by writing two open-access textbooks on general and organic chemistry. The texts, edited by a CA student Jake Klineman ’25, were published by Taylor & Francis in the summer of 2024.
Arts and Athletics
From the field to the stage, CA students put in their all.
- Spring and fall student-athletes enjoyed successful seasons, with strong performances at Eastern Independent League (EIL) and New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) tournaments.
- On October 19, the fall sports teams won the 2024 Chandler Bowl for Changing Lives rivalry event against Pingree, 6–4, marking CA’s seventh win in the past eight years. Sports teams also claimed the Spring Cup victory this past April.
- The fall mainstage production of Radium Girls illuminated the Performing Arts Center during three performances over Family Weekend, highlighting social justice issues. Last winter’s production of Twelfth Night thrilled audiences with a contemporary musical twist on Shakespeare’s classic.
- CA Dance Project’s met·a·mor·pho·sis performances on November 8 and 9 celebrated change through movement.
- The spring art show in the Ransome Room inspired audiences with a diverse range of works, from photographs to paintings.
Heard on Campus
Assembly speakers brought new perspectives to our campus.
- Actor and filmmaker Caitlin FitzGerald ’02 was named the 2024 Hall Fellow on April 19 and shared her journey in the entertainment industry with students, faculty, and staff.
- On May 10, CA honored Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Richard Read ’75 with the 2024 Joan Shaw Herman Award for his groundbreaking work in investigative writing.
- CA welcomed Aaron Golub, the first legally blind athlete to play football in a Division 1 game, on November 15. Through sharing his life story, he encouraged a shift in perspective on how we face obstacles and what they can teach us.
- On December 4, Asma Khalid, White House correspondent for NPR, ABC contributor, and co-host of The NPR Politics Podcast, delivered an assembly in which she discussed identity politics.
