A Great Place to Live and Work
Midwestern Heart. Global Mind. Lake Forest Academy, a coeducational college preparatory school located 30 miles north of Chicago, is the product of a 1970s merger of Lake Forest Academy, a boys school founded in 1857, and Ferry Hall, a girls school founded in 1869. About half of our 430 students reside on campus, but all of our students benefit from a vibrant boarding school environment characterized by a culture of participation, rigorous academics, a global outlook, and Midwestern values. We attract students who seek rich and rewarding learning experiences and relationships. We seek faculty and staff who are passionate about education, devoted to students, and committed to their colleagues. We believe all members of our community benefit from a diverse faculty and staff. Lake Forest Academy is a great place to live and work.
A Great Mission “LFA strives to embody in its practice and to cultivate in its students excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.� We are committed to building and sustaining an inclusive school community, where the human differences present in the school and in society are acknowledged, respected, valued, and viewed as essential. We are committed to providing students with the tools and experiences needed to be empathetic and engaged members of a pluralistic society. We give our students a meaningful and challenging academic experience. The average number of students in each class is 12. We also encourage the important learning that occurs outside of the classroom on the stage and athletic fields, at service learning sites, and in the dormitories.
Great Students All of our students are college-bound. Motivated to succeed, they take more than 600 AP exams each year. Their average ACT composite score is over 27, and their combined SAT score is over 1800. Our students are engaged. Every student is a member of at least one interscholastic athletic team; 65 students are involved each year in the winter musical; and 90 students take part in Harvest Hope, a partnership with a North Chicago elementary school and one of serveral ongoing service learning projects. Students come from 14 different states and 37 countries and territories. 25% of our students are international, and another 25% are considered domestic students of color. 30% of our students receive need-based financial aid.
Great Colleagues Our faculty and staff are composed of more than 100 talented and committed professionals. One-third of LFA teachers have been at the school for 10 years or more. Seventy percent of our teaching faculty have advanced degrees. One quarter of LFA’s faculty are considered people of color, with 8% being Caucasian international. A number of initiatives have been undertaken to recruit and retain a faculty and staff whose diversity reflects the composition of the student body.
“The opportunity to live in a new place on campus was compelling. Now we are around the students more and are just a twominute walk from playing hide-and-seek in Crown or working out in the fitness center. And with nine faculty children within 100 yards of our place, our daughter just walks outside and shouts and the kids gather. There is a real sense of community here.” —Andrew Poska, Dean of College Counseling, Hockey Coach
“The small class size at LFA gives me the opportunity to establish personal connections with every student. I am able to get to know the kids really well, and spending time with students outside the classroom makes class that much more personal and fun.” —Suzy Vaughn, History Instructor, Dorm Head, Field Hockey Coach
“One of the things I enjoy most about LFA is how much everyone cares about each other. It’s apparent that kids understand the importance of learning here, but what sets LFA apart is that students truly cherish relationships made with teammates, classmates, teachers, and coaches.” —Paul Makovec, Math Instructor, Dorm Parent, Soccer Coach
A Great Community Three-fourths of our teaching faculty live on campus with their familes in our 47 campus residences. Our campus is adjacent to extensive open lands with miles of hiking and biking trails. The city of Lake Forest has highly rated independent, parochial and public schools, and an excellent hospital. Lake Forest and other nearby towns provide charming main streets with a wide range of restaurants, retailers, and cultural opportunities. Our campus is 20 minutes by car from O’Hare International Airport and 60 minutes by train from Chicago.
Great Facilities Our 162-acre campus, located on the former J. Ogden Armour estate, offers lakes, woods, gardens, and historic buildings. Faculty and staff share a community vegetable garden. In the past 10 years, we have built five new faculty homes, a fitness center, a girls dormitory, a science center, and a student union with a dining facility. During the same period, we thoroughly refurbished a number of faculty residences and most of the academic space. We initiated a one-to-one iPad program in 2011 and all academic areas and student residences are Internet accessible. Faculty residences include apartments in dormitories and individual homes.
Great Benefits Salaries are competitive with those of similar schools, and we provide a 10% match for all employees who contribute 4% of their salary to a 403b plan. We provide full coverage for employee health insurance premiums, and approximately 60% family coverage. We provide funding for a wide range of professional development activities including possible reimbursement of 80% of the tuition and fees of advanced degree programs. Full tuition remission is available for the children of faculty and staff who are admitted to LFA.
A Great Future We receive more than 1,000 inquiries and over 700 completed applications each year for about 130 student openings. Our student retention rate is 96%. We have had a balanced budget each of the past 10 years. The endowment has tripled since 2001. In 2014, we completed the school’s first comprehensive capital campaign, raising more than $68 million for building projects and the endowment.
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Learn more about LFA at www.lfanet.org.
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Contact Dean of Faculty Bill Dolbee at bdolbee@lfanet.org or 847.615.3270 for more information or to arrange a campus visit.
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Applications for employment can be completed at www.lfanet.org/employment.
1500 W. Kennedy Rd. | Lake Forest, IL 60045