The Dalton School
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The Dalton School, originally called the Children's University School, is a private school in New York City. It is currently located at 108 East 89th Street in Manhattan. Dalton is recognized for its rigorous, innovative educational curriculum and offers its 1,300 students a breadth of stimulating and challenging programs taught by dedicated, professional faculty.
Ellen Stein, an alumna, is the current Head of School.
Janet Shaw is the director of the schools First Program (K-3).
Elizabeth Hixon is the director of the Middle School (4-8).
Lisa Waller is the director of the High School (9-12).
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The Dalton Plan
Inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the century, educational thinkers, such as John Dewey, began to cast a bold vision of a new, progressive, American approach to education. Helen Parkhurst caught the spirit of change and created the Dalton Plan. Aiming to achieve a balance between each child's talents and the needs of the growing American community, Helen Parkhurst created an educational model that captured the progressive spirit of the age. Specifically, she had these objectives: to tailor each student's program to his or her needs, interests, and abilities; to promote both independence and dependability; and to enhance the student's social skills and sense of responsibility toward others. Parkhurst developed a three-part plan that continues to be the structural foundation of a Dalton education: House, Assignment, and Lab.
Students at Dalton begin using the Dalton Plan from a very young age. At the First Program, children are presented with opportunities to make educational choices about their learning and in the process discover how to identify their interests and take responsibility for pursuing them. Over the years, Dalton students learn how to take responsibility for their own education. Dalton graduates frequently comment on how well prepared they were for college because the Dalton Plan taught them how to budget their time, seek out faculty, and take control of their own educational destinies.
Today, as in the early years, Dalton is committed to educating students in accordance with the Dalton Plan developed by Helen Parkhurst. This unique philosophy of education, along with fine facilities and a dedicated faculty, continues to enhance Dalton's reputation as one of the nation's most innovative and successful educational institutions.
History
The Dalton School, originally called the Children's University School, was founded by Helen Parkhurst in 1919. It was a time marked by educational reform. Philosophers, teachers, and child psychologists identified as "progressives" began to question the conventional wisdom of the day which held that education was a process of drill and memorization and that the only way to teach was to regiment children in classrooms. Their natural instincts to play, to move, to talk, and to inquire freely were suppressed.
Progressive educators believed that the development of the whole child is of primary importance; that children are social beings and that schools should be communities where they can learn to live with others; that these communities should devote themselves to the total enrichment of mind, body, and spirit.
Helen Parkhurst, after experimentation in her own one-room school with Maria Montessori, developed what she termed the Dalton Plan. It called for teachers and students to work together toward individualized goals. The Laboratory Plan was put into effect as an experiment in the High School of Dalton, Massachusetts, in 1916. From this beginning, the Laboratory Plan and The Dalton School eventually took their names and their mission.
In 1919, Helen Parkhurst relocated to New York City, where she opened her first school on West 74th Street. Larger facilities soon became necessary; the Lower School was moved to West 72nd Street, and the High School opened in the autumn of 1929 in the current building at 108 East 89th Street. Eleanor Roosevelt admired the work of Helen Parkhurst and played an important role in expanding the population and resources of the school by promoting a merger between the Todhunter School and Dalton in 1939.
Enlarged and modified through the years, Dalton has served as the center of an ever expanding community, always alert to promising innovations in education and yet, in the best sense, committed to traditional values. Dalton still celebrates many of the school-wide traditions begun by Helen Parkhurst, including the Candle Lighting Ceremony, Greek Festival, and Arch Day.
Over the years, Dalton has gained international recognition for its academic excellence. Schools in The Netherlands, Australia, England, Korea, The Czech Republic, Taiwan, and Chile have adopted the Dalton Plan. Today, there are three schools founded on the Dalton Plan in Japan. Leading educators from public and private schools and universities, from the United States and abroad, visit Dalton on a regular basis to observe its system of education and to learn more about the school's recognized achievements in the area of technology.
Dalton School Buildings
The school offers education from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The building at 108 East 89th Street, nicknamed "Big Dalton", contains grades 4-12, as well as a theater, music and art studios, and administrative space. A separate building, nicknamed "Little Dalton", on 91st Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue, has classroom space for the kindergarten and first three grades. Another building, at 87th Street and Third Avenue, contains two gyms and other areas for physical education.
The "Ivy League" and Athletics
The Dalton School is a part of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Like the Ivy League for universities, this was originally an athletic conference, not a scholastic one, but over time has evolved into a shorthand designation for some of the most prestigious private schools in New York. The athletic division includes the Horace Mann in the Bronx, Poly Prep in Brooklyn, Fieldston in the Bronx, Riverdale in the Bronx, Trinity in Manhattan, The Collegiate School in Manhattan, and Hackley School in Tarrytown. Some teams, such as varsity football, participate in different athletic conferences
Dalton offers 22 varsity teams and nine junior varsity teams in the high school athletics program. The school colors are white and blue, and the team name is the Tigers.
Noted alumni of the Dalton School
External links
The Dalton School Homepage (http://www.dalton.org)