Andrews Osborne Academy

Andrews Osborne Academy (AOA) is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for Grades Pre-K -12 located on 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land in Willoughby, Ohio, twenty miles (32 km) east of Cleveland. The student body is 73% day students and 27% boarding students, 51% male and 49% female, representing 4 states and 20 countries.

Andrews Osborne Academy
Address
38588 Mentor Avenue Willoughby , (Lake County) , Ohio 44094 United States
Coordinates	41°38′27″N 81°23′49″W
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational Day and boarding school
Established	1910
Chairperson	Board Chair: Asha Gowda
Principal	Director of Lower School: Theresa Frisbie Director of Middle School: Tasha Thompson Director of Upper School: Chris Fox
Head of school	Gonzalo Garcia-Pedroso
Faculty	100
Teaching staff	54
Grades	PK–12
Enrollment	350 (2023-2024)
Average class size	12
Student to teacher ratio	6:1
Campus size	300 acres (1.2 km2)
Color(s)	Navy blue and White and Bright Green
Athletics	22 interscholastic offerings
Athletics conference	Lake Effect Conference
Mascot	Phoenix
Nickname	AOA, Andrews
Team name	Phoenix
Accreditation	Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS)
Website	www.andrewsosborne.org

Osborne Building

Academics

118 academic courses and 12 AP classes are offered, with electives that include International Human Rights, Robotics, Game Design and 3D Modeling, Biotechnology, Video and Animation, Electricity, Magnetism and Optics and Portfolio Development.

Campus

Lee Building - Upper School

Located on 300 acres within walking distance of downtown Willoughby, Ohio, the campus of Andrews Osborne Academy features classroom buildings for the Lower School (PK - Grade 5), Middle School (Grade 6 - Grade 8) and Upper School (Grade 9 - Grade 12), as well as a 658 seat auditorium, 9 computer and science labs, student union, art gallery, 7 dormitories, observatory, and athletic facilities.

Athletics

AOA is a member of the Independent School League (ISL) for middle school and Lake Effect Conference (LEC) for upper school athletics, and competes as a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA).

Ohio High School Athletic Association state championships

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

• Boys' Soccer – 2023

Athletic Facilities

Close to academic buildings and dormitories are 5 tennis courts, 2 gymnasiums, weight and cardio rooms, outdoor fields for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse, a 3.1 mile cross country trail and the Indoor Athletic Center.

Opened in 2015, the Indoor Athletic Center includes a 200 x 100 foot synthetic turf playing surface used for a variety of indoor sports including soccer, baseball and lacrosse. Batting cages and a pitching area are also featured. The complex is used by the AOA community for the training and conditioning of various athletic teams as well as physical education classes. In November 2017, a second synthetic turf playing surface was added to the facility. Athletic facilities are also leveraged by partners Golden Spikes Baseball Organization and Croatia Juniors Cleveland Soccer Club.

Athletic Events

• AOA Invitational, annual cross country invitational
• Melanie Williams Memorial Tournament, annual basketball tournament

Partnerships

AOA partners with organizations to provide academic and residential components to students training in athletics and the arts.

• The Cleveland Ballet, Pre-professional Ballet
• Fine Arts Association
• The International Sports Academy at Andrews Osborne, Basketball
• Maypine-Flagship Farm, Equestrian

History

The Fire that built a school.

Wallace C. Andrews was the president of the New York Steam Heating Company. His brother in law, Gamaliel St. John was the treasurer of the company.

On Apr 7th, 1899, a fire broke out in the residence shared by both families.  A Patrolman named McKnight and a watchman both heard an explosion from a few blocks away and then discovered the house on fire.  They tried to rouse the residences of the home by gaining entrance into the house but were pushed back by the flames. They used a callbox to summon firemen and returned to the house to try and get people out.

Firemen arrived and like McKnight and the watchman, were unable to gain entry via the front door.  They entered the next door Rothschild house and gained entrance via a 3rd story window.  Once entrance was made, they found Georgiana St. John and her son Wallace, and brought them into the Rothschild house.  Wallace died in the arms of the fireman and Mrs. St. John lived but a few moments after being taken into the Rothschild’s house.

Firemen found a few of the servants on the roof of the back of the house, having jumped from the 3rd or 4th floors to escape the flames.

The fire was so intense that sparks also set the Adams house on fire a block away.

Wallace Andrews had returned from a business trip that day.  He along with his wife, Margaret (St. John) Andrews and eleven other people perished in a fire at their home.  

Also living at the residence was Margaret’s brother G.C St. John and his family. At the time of the fire, G.C was away on a business trip. He left behind his wife Georgina, children Orson (7), Wallace (3) and Frederick (13 months).

List of dead included Wallace C. Andrews and wife, Margaret (St. John) Andrews, Georgina St. John, and children (Orson (7), Wallace (3) and Frederick (13 months)). Servants, Mary Boland, Mary Flanagan, Ann Neary, Eva Peterson, Kate Downing and Marie Ross.  The fire also spread to the Adams house a block away and Mary Loughlin, a servant also died.

The wills read, Wallace C. Andrews and his wife Margaret St. John Andrews  Both he and his wife stated in their wills that they wanted to open a school for girls aged 10 to 16 in Willoughby Ohio  The money would purchase the Williams land. The school would teach girls to be self reliant and to learn to support themselves.  As well as a portion to be donated to the Smithsonian.

By 1905, family members of Margaret were challenging the wills and brought up an 1860 law about who died first, Wallace or Margaret.  As well, the case also voiced it’s opinion about the death of Georgian St. John and if she out lived both Wallace and Margaret since her time of death was known due to the firemen bringing her, still alive” out of the burning house.  Margaret's will was slightly different from Wallace's in that she left items for family members.  It is because of this reason that the family challenged the wills and who died last.

The court case went all the way to the New York Supreme Court and was presented to Justice Dowling.  Both the Andrews Institute for Girls and the Smithsonian challenged the court case.

The court found that the belief of the time that the man would have perished last because he was bigger and stronger than his wife.

The court case was settled in 1909 and the Andrews Institute for Girls was founded the following year.

In the Fall of 2007, The Andrews School in Willoughby, Ohio and Phillips-Osborne School in Painesville, Ohio merged to form Andrews Osborne Academy on the 300 acre campus of The Andrews School.

The former crest of the Andrews School.

The Andrews School

Founded in 1910 by Wallace Corydon Andrews and his wife, Margaret St. John Andrews, as The Andrews Institute for Girls. A number of majors were available such as Business, Foods, Retail, Cosmetology, and Clothing. In the early 1980s, The Andrews School became a college preparatory school, and at the time of the merger in 2007, served girls in grades 7-12.

The Phillips-Osborne School

Founded in 1972 as The Phillips School in Painesville, Ohio and renamed Phillips-Osborne School in 1992. At the time of the merger in 2007, it was a co-ed school for PK - Grade 8.