History and Character

College preparatory boarding and day school for girls, founded in 1772 by early Moravian settlers who held the view that girls deserved an education comparable to that afforded boys. Academic and community life governed by an Honor Code that allows individual freedom and expects honesty and integrity from all students.

Accreditation

Member of the National Association of Independent Schools. Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools.

Location

Metropolitan area of  Winston-Salem, NC (population 187,500), adjacent to nationally recognized Historic Old Salem. 

Campus

Salem Academy shares a 64-acre campus with Salem College. Facilities available to Academy students include both the Academy and College libraries; labs for biology, chemistry, and physics; the Robert E. Elberson Fine Arts Center; the health center; and athletic facilities and fields.

Students

Grades nine through 12. Approximately 200 girls from across the United States and around the world, both boarding and day students.

Faculty

41 teachers, administrators, and staff; 88 percent are women; of the teaching faculty, 54 percent hold graduate degrees. Student faculty ratio is 7:1.

Calendar

Two semesters with a three-week January Term immediately following winter vacation.

Curriculum

20 academic credits required for graduation, including four in English, two in a foreign language, four in mathematics, three in history, and three in science, plus requirements in art, music, religion, and health and physical education. January Term, a three-week mini-term, gives students opportunities to pursue internships, enroll in special classes, and travel both in the United States and abroad.

Guidance and Counseling

Faculty advisers provide individual guidance on academic choices and study skills. The college counselor provides advising on college selection as well as testing and evaluation. A psychological counselor is available for the personal needs of students.

Fine and Performing Arts

The Academy Glee Club has a long-standing reputation for excellence and is frequently invited to perform throughout the Southeast. Several theatrical productions are scheduled each year; four levels of art classes include two studio art courses. Applied music instruction, both instrumental and voice, is available through the Salem College Community School of Music. Salem Academy shares the Elberson Fine Arts Center with Salem College. The facilities include a concert hall, recital hall, drama workshop, practice rooms, and studios.

Athletics

The athletic program offers junior varsity and varsity competition in basketball, cross-country, field hockey, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and volleyball. Students have access to a well-equipped athletic facility housing a 25-meter indoor competition pool, two gymnasiums, exercise rooms, a dance studio, and locker facilities.

Activities

Student activities include Student Government committees, publications, community service projects, campus-wide programs, and weekend trips and social events (often with boys from neighboring schools).

College Acceptances

100 percent of Academy students traditionally continue their education in college and are accepted to such fine institutions as Cornell, Davidson, Duke, Northwestern, Boston College, Boston University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Oberlin, Princeton, Rice, Brown, Stanford, the University of Chicago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest University, Dartmouth, Williams, and Yale. Traditionally, Salem has one of the largest percentages of National Merit Scholarship Finalists among girls' boarding and day schools in the nation.

Admission

Students normally accepted in grades nine, ten, and eleven. Applicants must have an on-campus interview and submit an application form and essay, teacher and personal recommendations, secondary school record, and SSAT scores. Applications are accepted throughout the year for fall enrollment, with priority consideration given to early applications. Financial aid is available to students with demonstrated need.

Dress Code

The Academy does not have a rigid code of dress but each girl is asked to be neat, clean, and modest, and to dress in a fashion which complements her as an individual. Students must dress neatly and appropriately for classes.