The Birch Wathen Lenox School is a New York City college preparatory K-12 school on New York City'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...

 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...

. BWL comprises approximately 500 students from all around 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...

. The Birch Wathen Lenox School is one of 322 Independent 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...

s located in the city.

History

Birch Wathen Lenox was created in 1991 through the merger of The Birch Wathen School that was founded in 1921 by Louise Birch and Edith Wathen, and The Lenox School founded by Jessica Cosgrave Finch in 1916. The Lenox School was an all girls' school until 1974. The combined school has 500 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Extracurricular activities

Birch Wathen Lenox offers teams in a variety of different sports: soccer, volleyball, swimming, basketball, baseball, softball, cross country, track and field, golf, tennis, and hockey. Athletic teams fall under 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...

 or the (Girls Independent School Athletic League), which are leagues in the NYSAISAA (New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association). In 2004, the boys' varsity basketball team won the New York State Championship (the "Independent" title of the New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association

New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association

The New York State Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association is a sports league for independent schools in New York state...

). In 2009 they returned to glory winning the ISAL championship. Now the ISAL is now split into two divisions, and BWL is in the Big Apple Division.

Notable alumni

• Joel Crothers
  Joel Crothers
  Joel Anthony Crothers was an American actor who, in 1981, was noted by columnist Liz Smith to so strongly resemble Tom Selleck that they could be twin brothers...
  
   (BW '58), actor
• Judith Krantz
  Judith Krantz
  Judith Krantz , is an American novelist who writes in the romance genre. Her works include Scruples, Princess Daisy, and Till We Meet Again.-Early years:...
  
   (BW '44), novelist
• Murray Rothbard
  Murray Rothbard
  Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
  
   (BW '42), Economist/Historian/Political Philosopher
• Edwin Schlossberg
  Edwin Schlossberg
  Edwin Arthur Schlossberg , founder and principal of ESI Design, is an American designer, author and artist. Schlossberg specializes in designing interactive, participatory experiences, beginning in 1977 with the first hands-on learning environment in the U.S. for the Brooklyn Children's Museum...
  
  , designer and husband of Caroline Kennedy
  Caroline Kennedy
  Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is an American author and attorney. She is a member of the influential Kennedy family and the only surviving child of U.S. President John F...
  
  
• Brooke Shields
  Brooke Shields
  Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
  
  , actress and model
• Mary Stolz
  Mary Stolz
  Mary Stolz was an American writer of fiction for children and young adults. Her works received Newbery Honors in 1962 and 1966 and her entire body of work was awarded the George G. Stone Recognition of Merit in 1982.Her literary works range from picture books to young-adult novels...
  
   (BW '36), novelist
• Sarah Michelle Gellar
  Sarah Michelle Gellar
  Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
  
  , actress
• Barbara Walters
  Barbara Walters
  Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
  
  , journalist, writer, and media personality

External links

• Birch Wathen Lenox School website
• Birch Wathen Lenox School at Private School Review
• The Birch Wathen Lenox School listing in the Bunting & Lyon Blue Book