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The Chapin School (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
The Chapin School is an American
all-girls
, private
day school
located in the Manhattan
borough
of New York City
, New York
.
as "Miss Chapin's School for Girls and Kindergarten for Boys and Girls" with an enrollment
of 78 students and seven teacher
s. Following a move to East 58th Street in 1905 and a later move to East 57th Street
in 1910, the school relocated, in 1928, from Midtown Manhattan
to its present location on Manhattan's Upper East Side
at 100 East End Avenue
at East 84th Street.
The first Chapin diploma
s were awarded in 1908; 1917 marked the last year that boys were included in the school. Its sister schools are the Spence School
,an all-girls school, the Brearley School
, also an all-girls school, and the Browning School
, an all-boys school.
The name was changed to The Chapin School in 1934.
curriculum
, student
s are instructed and supported by a dedicated faculty
. Class sizes are small in each of the three divisions: Lower School (kindergarten
through grade 3), Middle School (grades 4 through 7), and Upper School (grades 8 through 12). The school is a member of the New York Interschool Association
. Annual tuition
per student is $35,100. The school does not have the usual two sets of exams; instead, one set is given to eighth through twelfth graders before the spring recess.
, Fortiter et Recte (Bravely and Rightly), shows Miss Chapin's determination to get women to speak up, just as she did in her suffragette
days.
The school's emblem, a wheel, is modeled after the wheel that was meant to kill Saint Catherine of Alexandria, but miraculously fell apart. The wheel is claimed to symbolize a Chapin student's spirit of endurance and moral
fortitude. The students leave assembly in a wheel pattern.
Chapin has a longstanding tradition of green/gold field day. Every year, all the fourth graders and new students fifth grade and above are placed on either the green or the gold team
. This is done at a special assembly, in which all of the new team members are given either a green or gold ribbon
. Since descendants
of many former students attend the school, a girl is assigned to the same team as her relative. For example, if a girl's grandmother
was a "green", the girl will be a "green" also. Throughout the school year, the girls compete in green versus gold games. The rivalry between the two teams is fierce, and most students choose to dress in their team colors, with some going as far as to dye their hair and use face paint during the most competitive day, field day. At the end of the year the final team winner is announced and a banner
with the winning team's name on it is hung in the gymnasium.
Chapin is also traditionally fierce rivals with its neighboring school, Brearley School
.
.
, Yale University
and Princeton University
. In late 2007, the school placed third (in a list limiting the scope to schools that had senior classes of at least 50) in a ranking
in The Wall Street Journal
of college placement
at a sampling of universities and liberal arts colleges.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
all-girls
Single-sex education
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...
, private
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
located in the Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
History
Founded by Maria Bowen Chapin, the Chapin School originally opened in 1901, at 12 West 47th Street47th Street (Manhattan)
47th Street is an east-west running street between First Avenue and the West Side Highway in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs one way along the street, from east to west, starting at the United Nations Headquarters....
as "Miss Chapin's School for Girls and Kindergarten for Boys and Girls" with an enrollment
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
of 78 students and seven teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s. Following a move to East 58th Street in 1905 and a later move to East 57th Street
57th Street (Manhattan)
57th Street is one of New York City's major east-west thoroughfares, which runs east-west in the Midtown section of the borough of Manhattan, from the New York City Department of Sanitation's dock on the Hudson River at the West Side Highway to a small park overlooking the East River built on a...
in 1910, the school relocated, in 1928, from Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
to its present location on Manhattan's Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
at 100 East End Avenue
East End Avenue
East End Avenue in Manhattan is the easternmost avenue on the Upper East Side. Principally residential in character, it only runs from E 79th to E 90th Street through the Yorkville neighborhood. Carl Schurz Park, the location of Gracie Mansion, is adjacent to the avenue....
at East 84th Street.
The first Chapin diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
s were awarded in 1908; 1917 marked the last year that boys were included in the school. Its sister schools are the Spence School
Spence School
The Spence School is an American all-girls independent school in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence.-Overview:Spence has about 688 students, with K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the Middle School, and 9-12 representing the Upper School. Lower school average class...
,an all-girls school, the Brearley School
Brearley School
The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, New York, United States. It is located on the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The school is divided into the Lower School , Middle School and Upper School...
, also an all-girls school, and the Browning School
Browning School
The Browning School is a United States college preparatory school for boys founded in 1888 by John A. Browning. It offers study from Pre-Primary level through Form VI and is ranked as one of the top private schools in New York City...
, an all-boys school.
The name was changed to The Chapin School in 1934.
Academics
Through Chapin's liberal-artsLiberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
, student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s are instructed and supported by a dedicated faculty
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. Class sizes are small in each of the three divisions: Lower School (kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
through grade 3), Middle School (grades 4 through 7), and Upper School (grades 8 through 12). The school is a member of the New York Interschool Association
New York Interschool
The New York Interschool Association, Inc., is a consortium of eight independent schools in Manhattan that serves students, teachers, and administration.-Overview:...
. Annual tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
per student is $35,100. The school does not have the usual two sets of exams; instead, one set is given to eighth through twelfth graders before the spring recess.
Traditions
The school's mottoMotto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
, Fortiter et Recte (Bravely and Rightly), shows Miss Chapin's determination to get women to speak up, just as she did in her suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
days.
The school's emblem, a wheel, is modeled after the wheel that was meant to kill Saint Catherine of Alexandria, but miraculously fell apart. The wheel is claimed to symbolize a Chapin student's spirit of endurance and moral
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
fortitude. The students leave assembly in a wheel pattern.
Chapin has a longstanding tradition of green/gold field day. Every year, all the fourth graders and new students fifth grade and above are placed on either the green or the gold team
Team
A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team...
. This is done at a special assembly, in which all of the new team members are given either a green or gold ribbon
Ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...
. Since descendants
Lineal descendant
A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent. The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc...
of many former students attend the school, a girl is assigned to the same team as her relative. For example, if a girl's grandmother
Grandparent
Grandparents are the parents of a person's own parent, whether that be a father or a mother. Every sexually-reproducing creature who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, etc...
was a "green", the girl will be a "green" also. Throughout the school year, the girls compete in green versus gold games. The rivalry between the two teams is fierce, and most students choose to dress in their team colors, with some going as far as to dye their hair and use face paint during the most competitive day, field day. At the end of the year the final team winner is announced and a banner
Banner
A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...
with the winning team's name on it is hung in the gymnasium.
Chapin is also traditionally fierce rivals with its neighboring school, Brearley School
Brearley School
The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, New York, United States. It is located on the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The school is divided into the Lower School , Middle School and Upper School...
.
Facilities
Because of growth in its student body the school expanded the fifth and sixth floors and added a seventh and eighth floor. The addition, completed in 2008, provides new facilities for art, language, science and a greenhouseGreenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
.
College placement and rankings
Chapin ranked 14th at sending students to Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. In late 2007, the school placed third (in a list limiting the scope to schools that had senior classes of at least 50) in a ranking
Ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either 'ranked higher than', 'ranked lower than' or 'ranked equal to' the second....
in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
of college placement
College admissions
University admission or college admissions is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution....
at a sampling of universities and liberal arts colleges.
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
- Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
- Yale University
- Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
- University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
- Williams CollegeWilliams CollegeWilliams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
Notable alumnae
- Lake BellLake Bell-Early life:Bell was born in New York City, the daughter of Robin Bell, owner of the design firm Robin Bell Design, Inc. in New York, and Harvey Siegel. Her father is Jewish and her mother is Protestant, and Bell has stated that she was raised in a "comically dysfunctional family".Bell attended The...
- Patricia BosworthPatricia BosworthPatricia Bosworth is an American journalist and biographer. A former faculty member of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, she has also been an editor, actress and model.-Early life and career:...
- Stockard ChanningStockard ChanningStockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
- Brenda FrazierBrenda FrazierNot to be confused with actor Brendan FraserBrenda Diana Duff Frazier was an American debutante popular during the Depression era...
- Anna Roosevelt Halsted
- Mary Phelps JacobMary Phelps JacobCaresse Crosby , born Mary Phelps Jacob , was an American patron of the arts, poet, publisher, and peace activist...
- Anne Morrow LindberghAnne Morrow LindberghAnne Morrow Lindbergh was an American author, aviator, and the spouse of fellow aviator Charles Lindbergh.She was an acclaimed author whose books and articles spanned the genres of poetry to non-fiction, touching upon topics as diverse as youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and...
- Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
- Theodora KeoghTheodora KeoghTheodora Roosevelt Keogh O'Toole Rauchfuss was an American novelist writing under her first married name, Theodora Keogh, in the 1950s and 1960s.-Life:...
- Alexandra KoturAlexandra KoturAlexandra Kotur is an American author and fashion journalist. Kotur is the style director of U.S. Vogue. Kotur is an international taste-maker and member of the International Best-Dressed List.-Background and Career:...
- Galt NiederhofferGalt NiederhofferGalt Niederhoffer is an American movie producer and novelist.Her movie credits as a producer include Prozac Nation , Lonesome Jim , The Baxter and Grace Is Gone...
- Queen Noor of Jordan
- Lilly PulitzerLilly PulitzerLillian Pulitzer Rousseau , better known as Lilly Pulitzer, is a socialite and prominent fashion designer. She is known for founding Lilly Pulitzer, Inc., which produces clothing and other wares featuring bright, colorful prints...
- Samantha RonsonSamantha RonsonSamantha Judith Ronson is an English singer-songwriter and disc jockey who lives in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Ronson was born in London and raised in St John's Wood...
- Laura RothenbergLaura Rothenberg-Early life:Rothenberg grew up in New York City. She attended The Chapin School in Manhattan and then Brown University.-Work:Rothenberg authored Breathing for a Living, a memoir about her fight with cystic fibrosis and her subsequent double lung transplant...
- Delia ShermanDelia ShermanCordelia Caroline Sherman , known professionally as Delia Sherman, is a fantasy writer and editor. Her novel The Porcelain Dove won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award...
- Ivanka TrumpIvanka TrumpIvanka Marie Trump is an American businesswoman, socialite, heiress, and fashion model. The daughter of Ivana and Donald Trump, she is Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organization...
- Sunny von BülowSunny von BülowMartha Sharp Crawford von Bülow , known as Sunny von Bülow, was an American heiress and socialite. Her husband, Claus von Bülow, was convicted of attempting her murder by insulin overdose, but the conviction was overturned on appeal...
- Vera WangVera WangVera Ellen Wang is a Chinese American fashion designer based in New York City and former figure skater. She is known for her wide clientele of couture bridesmaid gowns and wedding gown collections.-Personal life:...
- Sigourney WeaverSigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
- Betty Peh T’i WeiBetty Peh T’i Wei- Biography :Born in China to Hsioh-ren Wei, a Chinese scientist, educator and diplomat, Wei moved to New York City at the age of 16. She was the first Asian student to study at the Chapin School....
- Christine Todd WhitmanChristine Todd WhitmanChristine Todd "Christie" Whitman is an American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. She was New...
- Lauren WilligLauren WilligLauren Willig is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance novels. Her books follow a collection of Napoleonic-Era British spies, similar to the Scarlet Pimpernel as they fight for Britain and fall in love.-Biography:...
- Jane WyattJane WyattJane Waddington Wyatt was an American actress perhaps best known for her role as the housewife and mother on the television comedy Father Knows Best, and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on the science fiction television series Star Trek...
External links
- The Chapin School, official website