The Collegiate School
Encyclopedia
Collegiate School is an independent school
for boys in New York City
and is one of the oldest schools in the United States
. It is located on the Upper West Side
of Manhattan
and is a member of both the New York Interschool
and the Ivy Preparatory School League
.
in 1628 by the Dutch West India Company
and the Classis of Amsterdam. The school’s initial incarnation was located south of Canal Street and was an academic institution for both sexes. The school's location has changed several times over the last four centuries, although the school has been at its current location, next to the West End Collegiate Church
on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, since 1892.
and three years after the founding date of Boston Latin School
. Massimo Maglione, a historian and Upper School teacher at Collegiate, conducted research into the accuracy of this date and found that Collegiate's founder—the Reverend Jonas Michaëlius, the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church
in America—had written of his efforts to teach the catechism to Indian children as early as 1628. Based on this evidence, the school in 1984 officially moved up its founding to the earlier date. Whether Michaëlius' early teaching actually constituted the founding of a school, however, remains under debate. Maglione told The New York Times
in 1985 that "it seems clear that the school was not an official entity until 1638."
of William of Orange
, who was the founder of the Dutch Republic and of the Reformed Church in Holland and led the cause of independence and of freedom for the Reformed Church against Philip II of Spain
. Included in the school's seal are two mottoes: , Dutch for "In unity there is strength", and , Latin for "unless God, then in vain."
Collegiate School strives to educate each boy to reach his highest level of intellectual, ethical, artistic, and physical development. Drawing on what is known about boys' growth and learning, the school offers a rigorous K-12 program rich in opportunities for cultivating individual talents and interests in a climate of collaboration and respect.
, consists of four separate
buildings: The “Old Building,” Platten Hall, West End Plaza, and a new six-story extension that bridges
Platten Hall with West End Plaza. The four-story “Old Building” is part of the original church and is home to the “Upper School
,” grades 9-12. Platten Hall, originally nine stories, was extended in 1990 by two floors. It includes two gyms (in addition to the “Alumni” Gym located next to the “Old Building”), the recently renovated Ann and Edgar Bronfman Theatre, the Black Box Studio theatre, the “Lower School” (grades 1-4), the "Middle School
" (grades 5-8), a full-service library, music and art studio facilities, a dark room, two computer labs, a weight-lifting room, and the science department. West End Plaza is a hotel that was purchased by the school in 1977. Though it still serves in part as a residence for teachers, Collegiate has renovated several floors into administrative offices, classrooms for the Kindergarten (added in 1997), “Lower School” and the "Middle School
" (grades 5-8), and two cafeterias. All four buildings border a courtyard where students of all grades play various games ranging from Handball commonly played by the Lower School (although there has been a recent resurgence in the Upper School) students to Courtyard Football played by the Middle School students to Courtyard Soccer played by the Upper School students.
.
The school is private, and it functions under a New York City
non-profit statute enacted in the 1940s. Collegiate is controlled by a Board of Trustees, and the school is administered by a Headmaster.
, following a four-year tenure at Collegiate. Levison, who was head of school at the Kingswood-Oxford School
for many years, began serving at Collegiate July 1, 2006.
ranked Collegiate number one in the world in terms of percent of the senior class matriculating to eight selective American colleges. In 2002, Worth
ranked Collegiate third among the nation's independent schools in terms of percentage of graduates attending Harvard University
, Yale University
, and Princeton University
.
The school has a number of clubs, especially in the Upper School.
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...
for boys in 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...
and is one of the oldest schools in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located on the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
of 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...
and is a member of both the New York Interschool
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:...
and the Ivy Preparatory School League
Ivy Preparatory School League
The Ivy Preparatory School League, like the Ivy League for universities, was originally an athletic conference, not a scholastic one, for a group of New York City, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk county university-preparatory schools: Hackley School, Tarrytown, Trinity School, Manhattan, Riverdale...
.
History
Collegiate was founded in the Dutch colony of New AmsterdamNew Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
in 1628 by the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
and the Classis of Amsterdam. The school’s initial incarnation was located south of Canal Street and was an academic institution for both sexes. The school's location has changed several times over the last four centuries, although the school has been at its current location, next to the West End Collegiate Church
West End Collegiate Church
The West End Collegiate Church is a church on West End Avenue at 77th Street on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It is part of The Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the City of New York, the oldest Protestant church with a continuing organization in America...
on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, since 1892.
Founding date
Controversy surrounds the school's actual founding date. Prior to 1984, the common belief was that the school had been founded in 1638, placing it two years later than the founding of 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...
and three years after the founding date of Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
. Massimo Maglione, a historian and Upper School teacher at Collegiate, conducted research into the accuracy of this date and found that Collegiate's founder—the Reverend Jonas Michaëlius, the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
in America—had written of his efforts to teach the catechism to Indian children as early as 1628. Based on this evidence, the school in 1984 officially moved up its founding to the earlier date. Whether Michaëlius' early teaching actually constituted the founding of a school, however, remains under debate. Maglione told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in 1985 that "it seems clear that the school was not an official entity until 1638."
School seal and mottoes
Collegiate's official seal is an adaptation of the coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of William of Orange
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
, who was the founder of the Dutch Republic and of the Reformed Church in Holland and led the cause of independence and of freedom for the Reformed Church against Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. Included in the school's seal are two mottoes: , Dutch for "In unity there is strength", and , Latin for "unless God, then in vain."
Mission
Currently, the school teaches students in grades K-12. The school's mission is the following:Collegiate School strives to educate each boy to reach his highest level of intellectual, ethical, artistic, and physical development. Drawing on what is known about boys' growth and learning, the school offers a rigorous K-12 program rich in opportunities for cultivating individual talents and interests in a climate of collaboration and respect.
Campus
The campus, located between 77th and 78th Streets and West End AvenueWest End Avenue
West End Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River.West End Avenue originates at West 59th Street; the continuation of the street below 59th Street is called Eleventh Avenue. It runs from 59th Street to its...
, consists of four separate
buildings: The “Old Building,” Platten Hall, West End Plaza, and a new six-story extension that bridges
Platten Hall with West End Plaza. The four-story “Old Building” is part of the original church and is home to the “Upper School
Upper school
Upper Schools tend to be schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. There is some variation in the use of the term in England.-State Maintained Schools:...
,” grades 9-12. Platten Hall, originally nine stories, was extended in 1990 by two floors. It includes two gyms (in addition to the “Alumni” Gym located next to the “Old Building”), the recently renovated Ann and Edgar Bronfman Theatre, the Black Box Studio theatre, the “Lower School” (grades 1-4), the "Middle School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
" (grades 5-8), a full-service library, music and art studio facilities, a dark room, two computer labs, a weight-lifting room, and the science department. West End Plaza is a hotel that was purchased by the school in 1977. Though it still serves in part as a residence for teachers, Collegiate has renovated several floors into administrative offices, classrooms for the Kindergarten (added in 1997), “Lower School” and the "Middle School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
" (grades 5-8), and two cafeterias. All four buildings border a courtyard where students of all grades play various games ranging from Handball commonly played by the Lower School (although there has been a recent resurgence in the Upper School) students to Courtyard Football played by the Middle School students to Courtyard Soccer played by the Upper School students.
Structure
Each grade has approximately 50 boys, many of whom attend Collegiate for the full course of study, thirteen years (these young men are nicknamed "Survivors"). A financial aid program is in place: though as with many of its peer NYC schools, the majority of the students come from affluent households. More than a quarter of Collegiate teachers hold a Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
.
The school is private, and it functions under a 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...
non-profit statute enacted in the 1940s. Collegiate is controlled by a Board of Trustees, and the school is administered by a Headmaster.
Leadership
Collegiate's Board of Trustees selected Lee M. Levison to serve as the school's 28th Headmaster, replacing W. Lee Pierson, who served as interim headmaster for two years after Kerry Brennan left to become headmaster at Roxbury Latin SchoolRoxbury Latin School
The Roxbury Latin School is the oldest school in continuous operation in North America. The school was founded in Roxbury, Massachusetts by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. Since its founding in 1645, it has educated boys on a continuous basis.Located...
, following a four-year tenure at Collegiate. Levison, who was head of school at the Kingswood-Oxford School
Kingswood-Oxford School
Kingswood Oxford School is a private day school located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Originally two separate schools, Kingswood School and Oxford School for boys and girls respectively, KO is now a co-educational institution and offers grades 6 through 12...
for many years, began serving at Collegiate July 1, 2006.
Curriculum
Collegiate's Upper School (high school) curriculum consists of English, Math, Science, History, Modern Foreign Languages (Spanish, French, or Chinese), Classics (Latin and Ancient Greek), Religion & Ethics, Music, Visual Art, Drama, Technology, and Physical Education.Rankings
In 2007, The Wall Street JournalThe 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....
ranked Collegiate number one in the world in terms of percent of the senior class matriculating to eight selective American colleges. In 2002, Worth
Worth (magazine)
Worth is an American wealth management magazine for high net worth individuals. It is published on a bi-monthly basis and circulated to over 110,000 recipients.-History:Worth was founded in 1992 as a wealth management magazine for high net worth individuals...
ranked Collegiate third among the nation's independent schools in terms of percentage of graduates attending Harvard University
Harvard 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....
.
Sports and co-curricular activities
The school's athletic success has mainly been with the varsity basketball, baseball, track and field, soccer, and cross country teams. The Collegiate Soccer team won the NYSAIS state championship in 2010, proving to have the best private school soccer team in the state. Collegiate also has wrestling, lacrosse, and tennis teams. Students not participating in a sport take either physical education, yoga, or weightlifting. Yearly fitness tests are administered in the lower and middle schools.The school has a number of clubs, especially in the Upper School.
Affiliated organizations
- Ivy Preparatory School LeagueIvy Preparatory School LeagueThe Ivy Preparatory School League, like the Ivy League for universities, was originally an athletic conference, not a scholastic one, for a group of New York City, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk county university-preparatory schools: Hackley School, Tarrytown, Trinity School, Manhattan, Riverdale...
- National Association of Independent SchoolsNational Association of Independent SchoolsThe National Association of Independent Schools is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1963, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boarding, and day/boarding schools; elementary and secondary...
- New York State Association of Independent SchoolsNew York State Association of Independent SchoolsThe New York State Association of Independent Schools , founded in 1947, is an association of some 180 independent schools, ranging from nursery to high schools. In 2005, its member schools had approximately 65,000 students...
- Interschool