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Allen-Stevenson School

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The Allen-Stevenson School is a private boys school for kindergarten through 8th grade in New York City. It opened in 1883 and has been as its present location since 1924.

Allen-Stevenson School
Address
Map
132 East 78th Street

New York City
,
New York
10075

United States
Coordinates40°46′27.4″N 73°57′35.4″W / 40.774278°N 73.959833°W / 40.774278; -73.959833
Information
TypePrivate Elementary for Boys
MottoFortiter et Recte (Strongly and Rightly)
Established1883
Head of schoolDuncan Lyon
GradesKindergarten to 8th Grade
Number of students410 (2020)
CampusUrban
Color(s)Blue and Gold
MascotThe Unicorn
RivalBuckley
WebsiteAllen-Stevenson.org

History

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The Allen School was founded in 1883 by Francis Bellows Allen at a home on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Its first class enrolled only three boys. In 1885, the school moved to rented rooms at Madison Avenue and 44th Street with an enrollment of 20 boys. In 1904, Mr. Allen met Robert Alston Stevenson, a tutor, who by chance had taken a room at 509 Fifth Avenue, where the School was then located. In 1904, Mr. Allen and Mr. Stevenson joined forces and then moved to 50 East 57th Street with 100 students. By 1918 enrollment exceeded 200. The School published its first newspaper, The Spotlight, and introduced an exercise program and team sports.

In 1924, the School purchased two brownstones for a new schoolhouse and moved to its present location on the Upper East Side. In 1939, Mr. Allen retired at the age of 80, after 56 years of service. In 1947, Mr. Stevenson retired after 43 years of service. His son, Robert "Huck" Alston Stevenson Jr., who had taught at the School, succeeded him as Headmaster.

In 1950, Joseph C. Rennard became Headmaster of Allen-Stevenson and served for nine years. The School introduced team sports at Randall's Island and required boys to wear navy blue blazers and gray flannel pants. In 1959, Henry Dyer Tiffany Jr. became Headmaster until 1974. Under his leadership, a modern science lab and a paneled library, a gift from the Bell family, were added.

Allen-Stevenson's school song was composed by Rolande Maxwell Young in 1968, the year she joined the A-S faculty as a lower-school music teacher.[1]

In 1974, Desmond Cole (previously the head of UNIS) became Headmaster and served in that capacity for 16 years.[2] During his tenure, he created the Middle School division.

In 1983, The Allen-Stevenson School celebrated its first 100 years and published The Allen-Stevenson Centennial Album. Around that time an East 77th Street addition, designed by A-S parent Alfredo De Vido, was built onto the school.

In 1990, the Board of Trustees appointed David Trower as Allen-Stevenson's seventh Headmaster. In 2001, Allen-Stevenson launched its first website to improve communication about the School.

In 2007, a total renovation-expansion of the school interior was completed, which preserved the school's Classical Revival brick and Victorian brownstone facades according to New York Landmarks Preservation Commission guidelines for the Upper East Side Historic District.

In 2008, the school completed a year-long celebration of its 125th anniversary. The Board of Trustees approved Allen-Stevenson and Its Community, a policy statement about inclusion and community life.

In 2009, Allen-Stevenson was twice recognized for its work on energy and the environment, first with a coveted Energy Star rating by the U.S. Department of Energy, and then by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for LEED Gold Certification for Existing Buildings (EB). This made Allen-Stevenson the very first elementary school in the United States to achieve LEED-EB Gold status.[3]

In 2015, Allen-Stevenson filed an application to New York City's Board of Standards and Appeals to build two new buildings behind the facades of existing brownstones for expansion of classroom, arts and athletics space, and cap them with an 18-foot rooftop greenhouse.[4]

Academics

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Allen-Stevenson's program is built on the three A's – Academics, Athletics & the Arts. Spanish is taught in all grades.

Athletics

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Fall - Soccer, Flag Football, Cross Country, and Intramurals

Winter - Basketball, Wrestling, and Intramurals

Spring - Baseball, Lacrosse, Track, and Intramurals

There is also a wellness program.

Arts

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Allen-Stevenson offers art, shop, music and theatre programs for grades K-8. These include Art and Shop, Orchestra, Chorus, and Technical Theatre programs. A key part of their theater program, is the annual Gilbert and Sullivan musical performed by members of the sixth through ninth grades. The musical in question is alternated, and potential options include: H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe, and Pirates of Penzance.

Headmasters

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  1. Francis Bellows Allen (d. November 3, 1952) - 1883-1939, joins with Mr. Stevenson in 1904
  2. Robert Alston Stevenson - 1904-1947, becomes full-time Headmaster after Mr. Allen leaves in 1939
  3. Robert "Huck" Alston Stevenson Jr. - 1947-1949, son of Robert A. Stevenson Sr., takes over when his father retires after 43 years.
  4. From 1949 to 1950, Cesidio Ruel Simboli Ph.D. fills in as acting Headmaster while another one is being selected. He appears as "Acting Headmaster" in the 1950 yearbook.
  5. Joseph C. Rennard - 1950-1959, introduces navy blazers and gray flannel pants.
  6. Henry Dyer Tiffany Jr. (b. 1910, d. 1994) - 1959-1974, adds modern science lab and the paneled Bell Library to the school.[5]
  7. Desmond Francis Patrick Cole (b. 1924, d. 2008) - 1974-1990, expands the science program, introduces micro-computers, and creates the Middle School division.[6][7]
  8. David Ross Trower - 1990–2022, appointed by the Board of Trustees.
  9. Duncan Lyon - 2022-present

Notable alumni

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Notable faculty

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Allen-Stevenson in the News

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  • Allen-Stevenson Gymnastics - 1911[13]
  • Allen-Stevenson Boxing Matches - 1912[14]
  • Mr. Cole refuses to close Allen-Stevenson during the Blizzard of 1978[15]
  • Eighty members of the Allen-Stevenson School Orchestra, including then-Vice President George H. W. Bush's nephew Jonathan Bush Jr., perform at the White House on an unexpectedly rainy day in 1984, to kick off the White House Visitors Concert Series.[16]
  • A story in The New Yorker about Allen-Stevenson and dances.[17]
  • A legal battle being waged that could have a major impact on how community facilities - schools, churches and doctors' offices - are built in New York City's residential neighborhoods - 1987[18]
  • Parents Protesting the End of Standardized Testing at Private Schools[19]
  • An article about private school tuition[20]

Affiliated organizations

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  • New York State Association of Independent Schools
  • International Boys' School Coalition

References

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  1. ^ Noble, Clifton Jr. "Remembering Rolande and Robelyn Schrade," The Republican, February 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "Desmond Cole: Obituary." The New York Times, January 13, 2008.
  3. ^ Stein, Harris, and William Jose Higgins. "The Allen-Stevenson School is the First Elementary School in the U.S. to Receive LEED Gold Award for Existing Buildings." Building Energy Performance Assessment News, January 2010.
  4. ^ Chen, Jackson. "Private School's Proposed Rooftop Greenhouse Lightning Rod for UES Critics." Manhattan Express, December 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Henry Dyer Tiffany Jr., Headmaster, 84 - New York Times
  6. ^ LifeQuarters.com: Websites for Any Occasion
  7. ^ Paid Notice - Deaths
    COLE, DESMOND - Paid Death Notice - NYTimes.com
  8. ^ Obituary for Stanley D. Gauger, ObitTree
  9. ^ "Allen-Stevenson School". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "Donald Judd." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group, 2004.
  11. ^ "Paul Kellogg to retire as New York City Opera's General and Artistic Director at the end of the 2006-07 Season," Opera Today, September 15, 2005.
  12. ^ Noble, Clifton Jr. "Remembering Rolande and Robelyn Schrade," The Republican, February 2, 2015.
  13. ^ GYMNASTICS BY SCHOOLBOYS - Lads of Allen-Stevenson School Show Proficiency - Talk by Dr. Anderson. - View Article - NYTimes.com
  14. ^ BOYS, 8 TO 15, BOX IN SCHOOL BOUTS - Youngsters of Allen-Stevenson "Prep" Decide Honors at Irish-American Club. - View Article - NYTimes.com
  15. ^ Keep a Stiff Upper Lip, Chaps - Article - NYTimes.com
  16. ^ Rimer, Sara. "An 80-boy New York Symphony Makes a Rainy Washington Debut," The New York Times, May 30, 1984
  17. ^ First Night Out: Kinds of Kids : The New Yorker
  18. ^ Dunlap, David W. "School's Plan for an Annex Stirs a Dispute on East Side." The New York Times, April 20, 1987.
  19. ^ Parents Protest End of Standardized Testing at Private School – New York Times
  20. ^ Tuition Hits $26,000, and in Private School New York, That's Just for Kindergarten - New York Times
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