John Burroughs School

John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7–12. Its 47.5 acre (192,000 m²) campus is located in Ladue, Missouri (US), an affluent suburb of St. Louis. It is named for U.S. naturalist and philosopher John Burroughs.

This article is about the school in St. Louis, Missouri. For the school in Burbank, California, see John Burroughs High School. For the school in Ridgecrest, California, see Sherman E. Burroughs High School.

John Burroughs School
Address
755 South Price Road Ladue , Missouri 63124 United States
Information
Type	Private
Established	1923
Head	Andy Abbott
Faculty	119
Enrollment	650
Campus	Suburban, 47.5 acres (192,000 m^2)
Color(s)	Blue & Gold
Mascot	Bombers
Rival	Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
School fees	$30,300 (2020-2021)
Website	www.jburroughs.org

Overview

John Burroughs has long had a school philosophy of liberal and progressive education. It has been recognized as one of the nation's premier preparatory schools.[1] The school ranked among the nation's top 50 in sending graduates to eight top universities in a December 2007 survey by the Wall Street Journal.[1]

In April 2020, the school received $2.5 million amount in federally backed small business loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The school received scrutiny over this loan, which meant to protect small and private businesses. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted that the schools should return the money, but the school stated they were keeping it, despite having a $50 million endowment.[2][3]

Academics

The faculty includes 96 full-time and 32 part-time members. Since 2009, the Head of School has been Andy Abbott, formerly an English teacher and the school's head of college counseling. He replaced Keith Shahan, who held the job for 23 years.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Bombers football team has won the state championship in Division 2A in 1975, 1980 (tie), 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995 (tie) and 2001. They won the 3A title in 2015. Former NFL kicker Neil Rackers is an assistant coach on the football team.[4] Former NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte was head football coach from 2011 to 2013.[4][5] In 2016, the program was inducted into the Missouri Hall of Fame.[6]

Notable alumni

Government and politics

• Todd Akin, 1966: U.S. Congressman (R) for the 2nd District of Missouri (2001–2013)[7]
• Brittany Packnett, 2002: Black Lives Matter activist, appointed in 2015 by President Barack Obama to the President's Commission on Twenty-first Century Policing, a White House task force for police reform.[8]
• Laura Stith, 1971: Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court[9]
• John A. Terry: Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
• Andrea R. Wood, 1991: United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Journalism and literature

• Martha Gellhorn, 1926: combat journalist, novelist, and Ernest Hemingway's third wife. He dedicated For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) to her
• Vicki Goldberg, 1954: novelist and photographer
• Jane Smiley, 1967: Pulitzer Prize-winning (1992) novelist, A Thousand Acres
• Mary Wiltenburg, 1994: journalist, Little Bill Clinton project

Arts, sciences, and education

• Leon Burke III, musician, singer, and conductor
• Sarah Clarke, 1989: actress, 24.[10]
• Heather Goldenhersh, 1991: actress, nominated for a Tony (Featured Actress in a Play) for playing Sister James in Doubt.[11]
• Jon Hamm, 1989: Golden Globe-winning actor who starred in Mad Men.[12][13]
• Ellie Kemper, 1998: actress, The Office (US).[14]
• David D. Clark, 1962: computer scientist and internet pioneer
• Edward T. Foote II, 1955: president, University of Miami (1981–2001); dean of Washington University School of Law (1973–1980); helped design St. Louis' desegregation plans.[15]
• Tom Friedman, 1983: conceptual artist
• John Hartford, 1956: Grammy-winning folk musician, Gentle On My Mind.
• Terry Karl, 1966: professor of Latin American Studies at Stanford University.
• James Peniston, 1992: sculptor.
• Thomas H. Stix, 1941: Plasma physics pioneer, Princeton professor.
• Erinn Westbrook, 2006: actress.[16]
• Beau Willimon, 1995: playwright and screenwriter.[17]

Sports

• Fran Charles, 1986: television football reporter/host.
• Ezekiel Elliott, 2013: Dallas Cowboys running back.
• David Lee (basketball), class of 1997 (alum non-grad): NBA basketball player.
• Dave Sisler, 1949: MLB baseball player[18]
• Dick Sisler, 1938: MLB baseball player[19]
• Scott Van Slyke, 2005: MLB baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.[20][21]
• Jay Williamson, 1985: Professional golfer on the PGA Tour[22]
• Foye Oluokun, 2013: Atlanta Falcons linebacker.[23]

Philanthropy

• Leo Drey, 1935: timber magnate, conservationist, philanthropist. Was Missouri's largest private landholder until 2004, when his $180 million gift of land to a conservation foundation made him the U.S.'s sixth-most generous benefactor.[24] Leases land to JBS for outdoor education.

Business

• Sam Altman, 2003: President of Y Combinator
• Maureen Chiquet, 1981: CEO of Chanel
• Joe Edwards, 1964: owner, Blueberry Hill; founder, the St. Louis Walk of Fame; booster, Loop Trolley.[25]
• Timothy Luehrman, 1974: Professor, Harvard Business School; widely cited expert in corporate finance.
• Danny Meyer, 1976: NYC restaurateur; Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack.
• Edward N. Ney, 1942: CEO of Young & Rubicam, U.S. ambassador to Canada.
• Andrew C. Taylor: CEO and chairman of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company.[26]

Military

• James H. Howard, 1932: fighter pilot who flew with the Flying Tigers and later became the only fighter pilot in World War II's European Theater of Operations to receive the Medal of Honor.
• Roslyn L. Schulte, 2002: Killed in action on May 19, 2009, she became the first woman to receive the National Intelligence Medal for Valor.[27]

Faculty

• Raymond Beckman, a member of the 1948 U.S. Olympic soccer team. Coached at JBS from 1949-2000.
• Jon Hamm (Class of '89): For one year in the early 1990s, after he graduated from the University of Missouri, Hamm was a teaching intern in the Drama Department. Among his improv students was Ellie Kemper, later his costar in Bridesmaids.[28][29]
• John L. Loos: American historian who specialized in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, taught history at JBS from 1953 to 1955.[30]

References

1. "WSJ.com". The Wall Street Journal.
2. "Think Twice, Mnuchin Tells Prep Schools Seeking Virus Loans". nytimes.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020. John Burroughs School near St. Louis, which qualified for a $2.55 million loan, has an endowment of more than $50 million.
3. "Elite Prep Schools, Set Back by Virus, Face a Quandary on Federal Aid". nytimes.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020. Mr. Abbott said the school planned to keep the money. The school needed the loan to support its operations, he said, and to avoid furloughs for its more than 200 employees and continue paying them benefits.
4. Frerotte leaving Burroughs, heading back to Pennsylvania | High School Football | stltoday.com
5. "Frerotte named football coach at Burroughs; Small to retire", Jan. 19, 2011
6. "Hall of Fame announces Class of 2016". Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
7. Eligon, John (August 21, 2012). "A Politician Whose Faith Is Central to His Persistence". The New York Times.
8. "Brittany Packnett '02". NEWS ARCHIVES. John Burroughs School. January 26, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
9. Archived September 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
10. Andrews, Lisa (February 21, 2011). "Actress and Screenwriter Puts Creve Coeur in the Spotlight". Patch Media. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
11. Rosenbaum, Jason (March 11, 2013). "On the trail: 'House of Cards' creator talks St. Louis life -- and power in politics". St. Louis Beacon. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
12. Toler, Lindsay (May 8, 2014). "Paul Rudd Once Tried to Steal Jon Hamm's Prom Date, So They Faced Off in Trivial Pursuit". Riverfront Times. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
13. "Actor Jon Hamm honored to get Cardinals bobblehead". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
14. Pennington, Gail (December 13, 2009). "From VP queen ...to 'The Office' John Burroughs graduate joins fellow St. Louisans Jenna Fischer and Phyllis Smith at Dunder Mifflin". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
15. Archived July 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
16. Pennington, Gail (November 3, 2013). "Burroughs grad Erinn Westbrook lives a dream on 'Glee'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
17. Peterson, Deb (January 24, 2012). "Oscar nominee Beau Willimon grew up in St. Louis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
18. Johnston, Roger (June 18, 1949). "Associated Press Newsfeature". Bakersfield Californian. Newspapers.com. Associated Press. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
19. Huhn, Rick. "Dave Sisler". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
20. Cool, Everett (June 21, 2014). "For Dodgers' Scott Van Slyke, a case of butterflies is a good thing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
21. Gurnick, Ken (January 31, 2012). "Van Slyke getting with the program". MLB.com. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
22. Baer, Jim (July 10, 2007). "Jay Williamson: Professional golfer". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
23. "Falcons 2018 roster: Position-by-position breakdown for current 52 players". www.atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
24. Archived March 2, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
25. Louis, St. (January 30, 2000). "Joe Edwards".
26. "John Burroughs". Jbnet.groupfusion.net. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
27. http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Press%20Releases/2010%20Press%20Releases/20100122_release.pdf
28. http://www.stlmag.com/news/10-Things-You-Might-Not-Know-About-Jon-Hamm/
29. http://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Hometown-Stories-Jon-Hamm-Actor/
30. "John L. Loos". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, October 1, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.

External links

• John Burroughs School website