Calhoun School

Infobox Secondary school
name = The Calhoun School
native_name =

motto =
established = 1896
city = New York City
state = New York
province =
country = United States
campus = Urban
type = Private
affiliation =
affiliations =
president =
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headmaster =
rector =
dean =
founder =
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head_label = Head of School
head = Steve Nelson
faculty =
students =
enrollment = approx. 750
enrolment =
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address = 433 West End Avenue, New York, NY 10024
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accreditation =
mascot = Cougar
colors = Green and White
colours =
newspaper = The Issue
yearbook =
free_label_1 = Lower School Location
free_1 = 160 West 74th StreetNew York, NY 10023
free_label_2 = Average Class Size
free_2 = 12 - 15
free_label_3 = Student to Teacher Ratio
free_3 = 7:1
Average SAT scores Verbal:636 Math:576
website = http://www.calhoun.org/
footnotes =
picture =

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.

Philosophy

The Calhoun School is committed to a progressive educational approach that values intellectual pursuit, creativity, diversity, and community involvement. It accepts about 35% of students that apply. There has been controversy over this matter due to the fact that John C. Calhoun (with whom the school shares its name) was a racist, anti-semetic confederate who fought against the North in the Civil war from 1861-1865.

History

In 1896, The Calhoun School was founded by Laura Jacobi as the Jacobi School in a brownstone at 158–160 West 80th Street. Originally, the Calhoun School was an all-girls school, but it went co-ed in 1971.

Athletics

Calhoun has revampled 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), GISAL, PSAL, and PSAA leagues. Varsity teams have recently won four championships: 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 nin 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 on West 81st St and West End Avenue. Originally completed in 1975, the building was designed by Costas Machlouzarides. (The building is easy to spot as 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 Roof 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 (due to its former facade) 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 Japan, Brazil, Italy, Ireland and Great Britain to see how the School has taken a leadership position in green architecture and sustainability.

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 ( [http://www.calhoun.org/performingarts] ). The guests artists and speakers bring added richness to the school and local community; 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 Stiller ’83, American comedian, actor, and film director
*Wendy Wasserstein ’67, playwright and author
*Ann Godoff ’68, president and publisher, Penguin Press
*Suzi Oppenheimer ’52, New York State Senator, 36th District of Westchester, New York
*Allyson Young Schwartz ’66, Democratic Pennsylvania Congresswoman
*Jordan Peele ’97, Actor-Comedian, MAD TV
*Peggy Guggenheim 1915, patron of the arts
*Toby Emmerich, '81, COO of Newline Cinema
*Adam Redfield, '77, actor

External links

* [http://www.calhoun.org/] Official Calhoun Web site
* [http://www.calhoun.org/page.cfm?p=62] Admissions Office