Though it failed as a viable venture — it closed in 1834 — it was an early effort to elevate secondary education in the United States for the sons of the New England elite.
After this disappointment, in an attempt to introduce some parts of the German system of education to the United States, and in conjunction with Joseph Cogswell, Bancroft founded the Round Hill School.
In Switzerland, Cogswell had studied the schools of the two educators, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi at Yverdon, and Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg at the estate of Hofwyl near Bern.
Beck was appointed teacher of Latin, and he soon established at Round Hill the first gym and the first school gymnastics program in the United States.
The Muhlenberg-type school was more successful than Round Hill but the influence of Cogswell, Bancroft, et al. was evident in the objective of educating the whole person to excellence.