The Harvey School

Infobox Secondary school
background = #f0f6fa
border = #ccd2d9
name = The Harvey School
native_name =

established = 1916
city = Katonah
state = New York
province = | country = United States
campus =
type = Private, Boarding, Preparatory School
affiliation =
affiliations = | president =
principal =
rector =
dean = | founder = Dr. Herbert Carter
chaplain =
chairman =
head_label = Headmaster
head = Barry W. Fenstermacher
faculty =
students =
enrollment =
grades = 6-12
address =
district =
oversight =
accreditation =
mascot = Cavalier
colours = Maroon and Blue
newspaper = Pulse
yearbook = Cavalier
free_label_1 = Asst Head
free_1 = Richard W. Wyland
free_label_2 = US Head
free_2 = Robert Cook
free_label_3 = MS Head
free_3 = Brian Mahoney
website = http://www.harveyschool.org/
footnotes =
picture =

The Harvey School is a co-educational, college preparatory school near Katonah, New York, for students in grades 6 through 12. [ [http://transact.nais.org/Custom/CompanyInformation.aspx?id=0303&addressnum= National Association of Independent Schools website] accessed 13 September 2007] Is is located on a wooded, 100-acre (40 ha) campus and has an annual budget (2005) of $10.9M. [ [http://www.eri-nonprofit-salaries.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NPO.Form990&EIN=131740454 The Harvey School Form 990 Tax filing] ] AP courses in biology, American history, calculus, chemistry, computer science, English, European history, Latin and Spanish are available. Technology is integrated throughout the curriculum, and three Internet-accessible labs are available for student use. Basketball, cross-country, dance, football, ice hockey, rugby, lacrosse, and soccer are among the sports offered at Harvey. An optional five-day residential program is available for students in grades 7 through 12.Westchester Magazine, "Private School Report Card", published Sept 2007 US]

Mission statement

The mission of The Harvey School is to help students of varying abilities maximize their potential as they prepare for successful college and university careers as well as adulthood. Through a program of academic challenge, faculty support, and out-of-class activities, Harvey encourages students to find the best of what is within them and to develop the confidence and ability to try new things and to master them.

History

The Harvey School was founded by Dr. Herbert Carter in 1916 [http://www.harveyschool.org/bins/site/templates/splash.asp School web site] accessed 12 September 2007] as a residential school for boys, enrolling students through the secondary grades. Dr. Carter, a New York City pediatrician, built the school at his farm in Hawthorne, New York. His intention was to provide a country environment and an educational program for his son, Herbert Swift Carter, Jr., who had been handicapped by severe illness. The school was named for Sir William Harvey (1578-1657), personal physician of King Charles I who claimed to be the first to describe the mechanics of blood circulation. [William Harvey, An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings, 1628] Dr. Harvey's discoveries and methods established him as one of the fathers of modern medical science.

John L. Miner was appointed as the school's first headmaster when its doors opened in October 1916, with an enrollment of twelve boys. Mr. Miner served the school for ten years before leaving to establish Greenwich Country Day School, [ [http://www.greenwichcds.org/about/overview.asp Miner starts new school] accessed 12 September 2007] originally known as The Harvey School of Greenwich. Herbert Carter, Jr. graduated from Harvey in 1919, and from Princeton University in 1923. Following a year at Oxford he returned to Harvey to teach English, and in 1926, he succeeded Mr. Miner as Headmaster.

After Dr. Carter died in 1927, the main purpose of the school was no longer to care for the physically handicapped; the educational emphasis was placed on providing a curriculum for boys from grades four through eight and preparing them for the leading eastern secondary boarding schools. The Harvey School soon established a reputation for providing a sound, traditional education of the English prep school style in a small residential setting.

In 1938, the school came under the leadership of Mr. Leverett T. Smith who served until 1963. In 1947 the school established a Board of Trustees and joined the ranks of private independent schools operating as a not-for-profit organization. The school continued operating at the Hawthorne location until 1959, when construction of a highway cloverleaf interchange pre-empted the school's property. The search for a new site led to the former Sylvan Weil Estate in Katonah, where the school resides today on more than 100 acres.

The new campus was provided with boarding facilities for sixty residential students, while the day student population continued to expand total enrollment. As the school began transitioning to being primarily a day school, Harry A. Dawe was appointed Headmaster in 1969; it was his objective to continue the transition and the growth of enrollment while retaining the residential environment.

In 1973 the school added a ninth grade, and in 1979 the remaining secondary grades were established. Harvey began admitting girls as day students when it began operating as a full high school; this transition, which served as a challenge to the administration and trustees, was further complicated by a fire that destroyed the school's central building.

The current Headmaster, Barry W. Fenstermacher, was appointed in 1986, and under his leadership the campus has developed further with the same mission – development of a quality “country school” offering a five-day residential dimension close to the metropolitan New York area. Under Mr. Fenstermacher, in March 2005 a new arts center was completed [http://www.schooldesigns.com/ResultsDetail.asp?id=2470 New arts center completed] accessed 12 September 2007] to provide an environment for studio, music and dramatic-arts education, as well as a flexible performance theater. The architecture of the $6m theatre gained a silver prize for its design.

Students and The School

Student government

The Student Council meets regularly to discuss improvements in school life and to plan all-school activities such as Family Weekend and holiday parties. The President and Vice-President, elected by a simple majority of students during the preceding year, lead the Student Council. Additional representatives are elected by individual classes.

Athletic teams

References

External links

* [http://www.harveyschool.org Harvey School website]
* [http://www.privateschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/20417 Private School Review]