Suffield Academy is a private preparatory school located in Suffield, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1833 to train young men for ministry in the Baptist Church. The tuition fees for students are currently $58,000 for boarders and $38,700 for day students. The headmaster is Charlie Cahn, who has been in post since 2004. The school is coeducational with slightly more than half the students being boys. Approximately 15% of the student body are students of color, 18% are international students and 67% are boarders. Thirteen dormitories on campus house the boarding students with 90 faculty members serving as dormitory and student advisors as well as teachers and coaches.
History
The early mission of the school was to educate young men for the ministry. Despite its founding links to the Baptist Church, the institute quickly moved towards a non-denominational model and in 1833 was renamed Connecticut Literary Institute, locally known as CLI. The institute was the only high school in town and local government funding helped to pay for each student's tuition.
Athletics
Suffield competes regularly in a number of interscholastic sports, with a total of 20 teams. There are Varsity, JV, Thirds and Fourths levels throughout. Teams compete against schools including Deerfield Academy, Hotchkiss School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Berkshire School, Kent School, Loomis Chaffee, and Westminster. Fall Sports
The water polo team appears at the New England Prep Tournament each year, winning in 2009.
The wrestling team has produced 4 Prep National Champions, 17 New England Champions and many other recognized athletes, as well as winning the Western New England Prep Championships in their 2010–2011 season.
The riflery team was Connecticut League State Champions for three years running.
The football team won the New England Super Bowl five years running, with students continuing to play at college level.
The baseball team earned four championships in five years.
The boys' track and field team won two championships and a runner-up spot.
The girl's soccer team continues to have remarkable success and is stronger every year.
Programs in the visual arts include studio art, photography, multimedia, architecture and ceramics. Theater and music programs include acting, dance, chamber ensemble, women's choir, jazz ensemble, wind ensemble and private lessons in instruments including vocal training. The visual art department mounts displays throughout the campus with artwork, photography and sculptures. The department also collaborates with the English department to produce an Art & Literary Magazine filled with work by current students. Suffield's Performing Arts Center also presents many performances for the community throughout the year, such as a Fall Arts Festival, winter musical, spring play, guitar show, dance show, and vocal and instrumental concerts. Recent performances have included Spring Awakening, The Diary of Anne Frank, Sister Act, Noises Off, In The Heights, The Crucible, Hairspray, Spamalot, August: Osage County, and Into The Woods. Suffield won Best Play at the Connecticut Halo Awards for four of the past six years. In 2017, Sister Act was awarded the Best Contemporary Musical prize at the Connecticut Halo Awards. In 2018, Suffield's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was awarded Best Contemporary Play and won an acting award for Dominic Colangelo. 2018 also marked Suffield's first year in the Stephen Sondheim Awards, where Suffield earned two awards for their work on Hairspray, including Best Lighting Design and a special recognition award for student choreographer Mia White.
