The school was chartered in 1874 as The Loomis Institute by five Loomis siblings, who had outlived all their children. The school was intended as a memorial to their deceased children and as a gift to future children; the founders stated their hope that "some good may come to posterity, from the harvest, poor though it be, of our lives." The original 1640 Loomis Homestead was chosen as the site for The Loomis Institute, which opened in 1914. The forty-year gap between chartering and the opening of the school was due to the estate of the Loomis siblings being reserved for the siblings' retirement. In 1910, John Mason Loomis's wife left over $ 1.1 million as an endowment to The Loomis Institute for charitable purposes. This donation allowed the school to remain tuition-free for its first four decades. In addition to being tuition-free, The Loomis Institute was distinguished from other New Englandpreparatory schools by its lack of religious affiliation, offering of vocational education alongside college preparatory courses, and admission of both boys and girls. The Loomis Institute ended coeducation in 1926, when The Chaffee School was incorporated to educate girls on an adjacent campus. In 1970, the boys and girls schools merged to form The Loomis Chaffee School. Since then, the school has expanded as its endowment, financial aid budget, faculty, and campus increased in size.
Overview
Academics
Loomis Chaffee offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, psychology, writing workshop, videography, English, Latin, Spanish, French, art, dance, history and social science, mathematics, music, philosophy, religion, science and theater arts. Noncredit diploma requirements include library skills, and physical fitness and health. Advanced Placement courses are offered in 20 subjects. The Norton Family Center for the Common Good and the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies work to engage the student body with the wider community and world by means of visiting speakers and international study opportunities.
College guidance
Five full-time college counselors guide students through the college search and application process. Eighty-six percent of the members of the Class of 2010 were admitted to colleges and universities deemed most competitive or highly competitive by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges, with sixty-six percent matriculating at the most competitive institutions.
The Loomis Chaffee Log is a student-run, school-sponsored newspaper. Established in 1915, the Log is published monthly by a team of student editors. In 2015, the Log editorial staff launched an online edition, thelclog.org, to stay current with growing trends in today's media.
