Little Red Schoolhouse

I have yet to meet a town around Boston that I didn't like. This week I've been shooting in Haverhill, Tewksbury, Chelmsford, Lowell, Methuen, Andover, Lawrence, Georgetown, Newburyport, Rowley, and Peabody, MA as well as Salem, Nashua and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

When my built-in compass took a turn into the rolling marsh lands of Byfield, MA, I found myself on hallowed ground. Founded in 1763 is the oldest boarding school in America called "The Governor's Academy." A generation of busy students with neon backpacks and fancy new i-pods were pouring out of their parent's shiny cars as I steered my way around campus.

A little red schoolhouse caught my attention upon entering the New England gem. It's the original schoolhouse restored every year with a fresh paint job and polish for the bell. Beyond that is the Headmaster's Mansion House where dinners are hosted for the students, modern dorms, a performing art center and an intellectual library.

I attended a public school with memories of bullies, break-ups and beer parties every weekend. There was no college counseling, the faculty were stodgy and cruel and the building was dreary and typical. At that time, I believed boarding schools were punishment for misfits and troublemakers.

"The Governor's Academy" looks anything but miserable. The students walk hand-in-hand smiling from ear-to-ear, happy to to be back with teachers, faculty and friends they know and love. And, based on some of my friends, who were privileged enough to attend boarding schools, they were also offered plenty of AP options, smaller class sizes and the opportunity to study in foreign countries for a term.