John Burroughs School

Since 2009, the head of school has been Andy Abbott, formerly an English teacher and the school's head of college counseling. He replaced Keith Shahan, who served as headmaster for 23 years.

• Name — John Burroughs School • Address — 755 South Price Road • City — Ladue • State — Missouri • Zipcode — 63124 • Country — U.S. • Type — Private college-preparatory school • Gender — Co-ed • Religious Affiliation — Nonsectarian • Affiliation — National Association of Independent Schools • Head Of School — Andy Abbott • Enrollment — 639 (2019–20) • Teaching Staff — 116.0 (FTE) (2019–20) • Ratio — 5.5 (2019–20) • Grades — 7–12 • Athletic Conference — Metro League • Nickname — Bombers • Rival — Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School • Endowment — $70M • Tuition — $31,240 (2021–22) • Campus Type — Suburban • Campus Size — 49 acre • Colors — Blue and gold blue gold

In 1922, a group of St. Louisans announced their intention to open a private school in a suburb of St. Louis. "This school is being established to meet a very definite demand for another country day school, and is an outgrowth of a condition whereby existing schools are unable to accept all pupils applying for entrance," the St. Louis Star and Times reported. In "executive charge" of the campaign to build the school was Edna Fischel Gellhorn, a co-founder of the League of Women Voters. The 18-acre site, located on the streetcar line from Clayton, was purchased for $18,000 ($ today) and the initial campus buildings, including a gymnasium, were built for $180,000. Tuition was $500 per year, with scholarships available to up to 10 percent of students. Classes began on Oct. 2, 1923, ahead of a formal cornerstone-laying ceremony the following week. The gym was completed in December at a cost of $38,000; the main speaker at its dedication ceremony was Branch Rickey, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. The school's founders wrote, "Burroughs was established upon the conviction that each child has latent possibilities of power, and that it is the chief purpose of the school to cooperate with parents in discovering, fostering and developing that power so that in adulthood he shall make his contribution to the improvement of human society. The child's mind is not a tablet to be written upon or a cistern to be filled, but a living, growing entity to be guided, developed, trained and inspired." In the 1930s, JBS participated in the Eight-Year Study, an experiment that tested how American progressive secondary schools would prepare their students for college when released from the curricular restrictions of college admissions requirements. In April 2020, the school received $2.5 million in federally backed small business loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. The school received scrutiny over this loan, which was meant to protect small and private businesses, and returned the money to the Treasury Department the following month. The school is fundraising to raise its endowment to $100 million by June 2026.

The Bombers football team won the state championship in Division 2A in 1975, 1980 (tie), 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995 (tie) and 2001; and won the 3A title in 2015. As of 2020, former NFL kicker Neil Rackers is an assistant coach. Former NFL quarterback Gus Frerotte was head football coach from 2011 to 2013. In 2016, the program was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. In 2023, John Burroughs' varsity baseball team won the state championship.

• Leon Burke III, musician, singer, and conductor • David D. Clark, 1962: computer scientist and internet pioneer • Sarah Clarke, 1989: actress, 24. • Edward T. Foote II, 1955: president, University of Miami (1981–2001); dean of Washington University School of Law (1973–1980); helped design St. Louis' desegregation plans. • Tom Friedman, 1983: conceptual artist • Heather Goldenhersh, 1991: actress, nominated for a Tony Award (Featured Actress in a Play) for playing Sister James in Doubt. • Jon Hamm, 1989: Golden Globe-winning actor who starred in Mad Men. • John Hartford, 1956: Grammy-winning folk musician, Gentle On My Mind. • Terry Karl, 1966: professor of Latin American Studies at Stanford University. • Carrie Kemper, 2002; television writer, The Office (US). • Ellie Kemper, 1998: actress, The Office (US) and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. • Peter Allison Larkin: author and director of A Very Natural Thing • Lisa Miller, 1984: professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, author. • James Peniston, 1992: sculptor. • Anthony Renard Reed, 1973: founder, National Black Marathoners Association. • Thomas H. Stix, 1941: Plasma physics pioneer, Princeton professor. • Erinn Westbrook, 2006: actress. • Beau Willimon, 1995: playwright and screenwriter.

• Sam Altman, 2003: CEO of OpenAI, former president of Y Combinator. • Maureen Chiquet, 1981: Former CEO of Chanel • Joe Edwards, 1964: owner, Blueberry Hill; founder, the St. Louis Walk of Fame; booster, Loop Trolley. • Timothy Luehrman, 1974: Professor, Harvard Business School; widely cited expert in corporate finance. • Charles Steven Duncker, 1977: former New York Racing Association chairman, partner at Goldman Sachs. • Danny Meyer, 1976: NYC restaurateur; Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack. • Edward N. Ney, 1942: CEO of Young & Rubicam, U.S. ambassador to Canada. • Andrew C. Taylor, 1966: CEO and chairman of Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company.

• Todd Akin, 1966: U.S. Congressman (R) for the 2nd District of Missouri (2001–2013) • Brittany Packnett Cunningham, 2002: Black Lives Matter activist, appointed in 2015 by President Barack Obama to the President's Commission on Twenty-first Century Policing, a White House task force for police reform. • Walter Metcalfe, 1956: attorney and civic leader in St. Louis • Laura Stith, 1971: Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court • W. Stuart Symington IV, 1970: U.S. ambassador and career diplomat. • John A. Terry: Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals • Andrea R. Wood, 1991: U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

• James H. Howard, 1932: fighter pilot who flew with the Flying Tigers and later became the only fighter pilot in World War II's European Theater of Operations to receive the Medal of Honor. • Roslyn L. Schulte, 2002: Killed in action on May 19, 2009, she became the first woman to receive the National Intelligence Medal for Valor.

• Leo Drey, 1935: timber magnate, conservationist, philanthropist. Was Missouri's largest private landholder until 2004, when his $180 million gift of land to a conservation foundation made him the U.S.'s sixth-most generous benefactor. Leased land to JBS for outdoor education for one dollar a year.

• Jake Bain, 2018: football player for Indiana State and LGBTQ+ activist. • Fran Charles, 1986: television football reporter/host. • Ezekiel Elliott, 2013: NFL running back. • David Lee, class of 1997 (alum non-grad): NBA basketball player • Brandon Miller, 2020: olympic middle-distance runner • Foye Oluokun, 2013: NFL linebacker. • Anthony Renard Reed, 1973: marathoner. • Dave Sisler, 1949: MLB baseball player. • Dick Sisler, 1938: MLB baseball player. • Scott Van Slyke, 2005: MLB baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers. • Jay Williamson, 1985: Professional golfer on the PGA Tour.