Calhoun school
Encyclopedia
The Calhoun School is an independent, coeducational college preparatory school located in New York City's Upper West Side
. Classes are offered for preschool (3s and 4s) through 12th grade. It was founded in 1896, and currently has approximately 750 students enrolled in the lower, middle and upper schools.
, GISAL, PSAL, and PSAA leagues. Varsity teams have recently won four championships: Girls' Varsity Division 1 Volleyball (league champions 2008); Boys' ISAL Basketball in 2005 and 2006 (undefeated), Boys' PSAA Volleyball in 2006 (undefeated), and Girls' Basketball (2008). Students also excel in track-and-field: in the last few years, their performance has taken them to the New York State Championships, where they've taken medals in the 100- and 400-meter races as well as the 4x100 meter relay.
Grades 2–12 are taught in the Main Building, located at 433 West End Avenue, at 81st Street. Originally completed in 1975, the building was designed by Costas Machlouzarides. The building is easy to spot because the façade once looked like the front of a television set. Calhoun prides itself on its free and open learning experience, and the building's architecture reflects this. Wide expanses of window help create a light, open environment. Instead of halls and classrooms, the first three academic floors are divided into classroom areas by bookshelves, dividers and flexible walls.
In September 2004, Calhoun completed a 4-year renovation of its main building. Four more stories were added, including the following:
, Brazil
, Italy
, Ireland
, and Great Britain
to see how the school has taken a leadership position in green architecture and sustainability
.
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...
. Classes are offered for preschool (3s and 4s) through 12th grade. It was founded in 1896, and currently has approximately 750 students enrolled in the lower, middle and upper schools.
Philosophy
The Calhoun School is committed to a progressive educational approach that values intellectual pursuit, creativity, diversity, and community involvement.History
In 1896, The Calhoun School was founded by Laura Jacobi as the Jacobi School in a brownstone at 158–160 West 80th Street. Miss Jacobi came to this country from Germany with the help of her uncle, Dr. Abraham Jacobi, professor of pediatrics at New York Medical College and Columbia. Through her uncle and her aunt, Miss Jacobi was exposed to a progressive circle committed to women's rights, community health and civil reform. Initially, Miss Jacobi began her program as a "brother-and-sister" school, counting among its first students the son and daughter of Franz Boas, one of the founders of American cultural anthropology. It gradually evolved into a girls school, attracting the daughters of socially prominent Jewish families—including Peggy Guggenheim, the children of the Morgenthaus and the Strausses. The school's nonsectarian curriculum emphasized languages and history. Eleanor Steiner Gimbel '14 remembered Miss Jacobi's commitment to civil liberties and her "teaching of race understanding as one of the high points of her school days." In 1916, Laura Jacobi chose Mary Edwards Calhoun to succeed her as headmistress. A member of a Philadelphia Quaker family, Miss Calhoun was a former editor of the Women's Page at the Herald Tribune as well as a teacher at various schools before coming to The Jacobi School. Ella Cannon, a former employee with the National Women's Suffrage Publishing Company, was hired to teach economics and, in 1923, was named co-headmistress. The school was renamed after its beloved headmistress, Mary Calhoun, in 1924. In 1939, Miss Calhoun incorporated the school as a non-profit institution. She retired in 1942; Miss Levis continued as Head until her retirement in 1946, after which Elizabeth Parmelee and Beatrice Cosmey became co-headmistresses—remaining in that position until their retirement in 1969. Philip (Pem) E. McCurdy was selected by the Board to be the first male Head of School, and was given a mandate to guide Calhoun's transformation into a fully coeducational school (1971). Pem's initiatives were completed under the leadership of Eugene Ruth, who completed Calhoun's transformation to a progressive educational institution dedicated to "learner-centered instruction and independent learning" based on an understanding of "individual differences" in learning styles. The new building opened at 433 West End Avenue at 81st Street in the spring of 1975, and the first coed class graduated that June. A renovation in 2004 added five floors. The school offers a rigorous academic program.Athletics
Calhoun has revamped its entire athletic program, thanks to a new full-size gym and fitness room, completed in September 2004 as part of a major renovation. The school offers an extensive physical education program that promotes team play and individual fitness. Among the special electives are pilates, weight training, and a Project Adventure facility that includes rock-climbing walls. Calhoun plays interscholastic sports as part of the Independent Schools Athletic League (New York)Independent Schools Athletic League (New York)
The Independent Schools Athletic League is a sports league for independent high schools in New York state.-Member schools:Split into Two Divisions:Big Apple Division *Birch Wathen Lenox*Brooklyn Friends*Churchill School*The Dwight School...
, GISAL, PSAL, and PSAA leagues. Varsity teams have recently won four championships: Girls' Varsity Division 1 Volleyball (league champions 2008); Boys' ISAL Basketball in 2005 and 2006 (undefeated), Boys' PSAA Volleyball in 2006 (undefeated), and Girls' Basketball (2008). Students also excel in track-and-field: in the last few years, their performance has taken them to the New York State Championships, where they've taken medals in the 100- and 400-meter races as well as the 4x100 meter relay.
Facilities
The Calhoun School's 200 preschoolers, 3s through first graders, are taught at the Robert L. Beir Building, on West 74th St between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenue, in a completely renovated five-story townhouse. The building houses one of Calhoun's two theaters, its own gym and rooftop garden, as well as large, bright classrooms, a library, an art/woodshop. and an outdoor play terrace.Grades 2–12 are taught in the Main Building, located at 433 West End Avenue, at 81st Street. Originally completed in 1975, the building was designed by Costas Machlouzarides. The building is easy to spot because the façade once looked like the front of a television set. Calhoun prides itself on its free and open learning experience, and the building's architecture reflects this. Wide expanses of window help create a light, open environment. Instead of halls and classrooms, the first three academic floors are divided into classroom areas by bookshelves, dividers and flexible walls.
In September 2004, Calhoun completed a 4-year renovation of its main building. Four more stories were added, including the following:
- A full-sized gym and weight room
- A performing arts center with theater and rehearsal rooms
- Three new, fully equipped science labs
- A greatly expanded art studio with kiln, darkroom, and woodshop
- Additional classrooms for language classes
- An eco-friendly Green RoofGreen roofA green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
Learning Center that also provides programmable space for educational purposes, light recreation, and the school's herb and vegetable garden (for the school's nutritious lunch program).
Architecture
Once called the television building because of its former façade, Calhoun's original building at 81st Street was completed in 1975 and designed by Costas Machlouzarides. In 2000, The Calhoun School hired FX Fowle to design a four-story addition, which was completed for the 2004 school year. DesignShare [(http://www.designshare.com)], a journal of educational facilities planning, called the four-floor addition a "courageous design," with special mention of the School's Green Roof as "an innovation in the architecture for learning." The Green Roof and FX Fowle were named DesignShare's recipients of a 2007 Merit Award—one of only seven recipients worldwide to receive the award. In fact, the Green Roof has attracted international attention and acclaim, with architects and educators coming from as far away as JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to see how the school has taken a leadership position in green architecture and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
.
Performing arts
Calhoun's new Mary Lea Johnson Performing Arts Center is used for student productions, assemblies, and school events, as well as for Calhoun's Performing Arts Series, open to the public. The yearly series hosts professional Children's Theater, Music Concerts, Dance, Documentary Films, and Town Hall Meetings and Lectures, all at nominal cost and all open to the public . Students and faculty have the added benefit of meeting with many of these artists and guest speakers prior to the events, in class or specially arranged assembly programs.Distinguished Alumni
- Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
1983, American comedian, actor, and film director - Wendy WassersteinWendy WassersteinWendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
1967, playwright and author - Ann Godoff 1968, book publisher
- Judge Peter Swann '83, Arizona Court of Appeals
- Suzi Oppenheimer 1952, New York State Senator, 36th District of Westchester, New York
- Allyson Young Schwartz 1966, Democratic Pennsylvania Congresswoman
- Jordan PeeleJordan PeeleJordan Peele is an American actor and comedian known as a cast member on MADtv from 2003–2008 and currently for his recurring role as Dr. Brian on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital...
1997, Actor-Comedian - Peggy GuggenheimPeggy GuggenheimMarguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R...
1915, patron of the arts - Toby EmmerichToby EmmerichToby Emmerich is an American producer, film executive, and screenwriter. He was born in New York City, the son of Constance , a concert pianist, and André Emmerich , a Frankfurt-born gallery owner and art dealer...
, 1981, COO of New Line CinemaNew Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner... - Eleanor Gottheil (Nora Benjamin KubieNora Benjamin KubieNora Benjamin Kubie was an American writer, artist and amateur archaeologist.Born Eleanor Gottheil, she was the daughter of Muriel H. and Paul Gotteil, an executive with the Cunard Line in New York. She graduated from the Calhoun School in New York, delivering the valedictory speech in 1916...
), 1916 (valedictorian) - Dr. Ruth Finkelstein '26, Pioneering OBGYN
External links
- http://www.calhoun.org/ Official Calhoun Web site
- http://www.calhoun.org/page.cfm?p=62 Admissions Office