Ethical Culture Fieldston School

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Ethical Culture Fieldston School

Established	1878
Type	Private Day School
Founder	Felix Adler
Head of School	Dr. Joseph P. Healey
Students	approx. 1,600
Grades	Pre-k through 12
Location	New York City, New York United States
Colors	Blue and Orange
Mascot	Eagle
Yearbook	the Fieldglass
Newspaper	Fieldston News, The Gouda
School Song	"Iam Canamus"
Website	http://www.ecfs.org

The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as Fieldston, is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. It currently (as of 2004) has about 1600 students and a staff of 400 people directed by the Head of School, Dr. Joseph P. Healey.

In the words of its founder, Felix Adler: "The ideal of the school is to develop individuals who will be competent to change their environment to greater conformity with moral ideals."

The school consists of two lower schools (Pre-k thru 6th grade): Ethical Culture (known as "Ethical" or "Midtown") located on the West Side of Manhattan, and Fieldston Lower (known as "Lower"), located on the Riverdale campus in the Bronx, both of which feed into an upper school (Forms I thru VI, grades 7-12) - The Fieldston School - also located on the Bronx campus. Ethical Culture is headed by Ann Vershbow, Fieldston Lower is headed by George Burns, and the Fieldston School is headed by Dr. John M. Love. In the 2007-2008 school year, the school will reorganize with the opening of the Fieldston Middle School, which will house the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The Principal of the Middle School will be Luis Ottley.

1 History
2 Philosophy and Academics
3 Expansion
4 Athletics
5 Special Programs
6 Notable Alumni and Former Students
7 Peer Schools
8 See also

[edit] History

The school first opened in 1878, as a free kindergarten. In 1880, elementary grades were added, and the school was then called the Workingman's School. At that time, the idea that the children of the poor should be educated was innovative. By 1890 the school's academic reputation encouraged many more wealthy clients to seek it out, and the school was expanded to accommodate the upper-class as well, and began charging tuition; in 1895 the name changed to "The Ethical Culture School", and in 1903 the New York Society for Ethical Culture became its sponsor. The economic diversity which was important then continues today: although the school's tuition is now close to $30,000 per student per year, Fieldston is said to have one of the largest financial aid funds^[1] of any independent school in the country. The school moved into its landmark building at 33 Central Park West in 1904. The entire school was located in that building until 1928 when the high school division (Fieldston) moved to its 18 acre (73,000 m²) campus on Fieldston Road, in the exclusive Fieldston section of Riverdale in the Bronx; the Manhattan branch of the Lower School remained there, and in 1932 a second Lower School was opened on the Bronx campus.

Ethical was said (see New York Review of Books: April 25, 2002) to pursue social justice, racial equality, and intellectual freedom. The school (and the affiliated Ethical Culture Society) were havens for secular Jews who rejected the mysticism and rituals of Judaism, but accepted many of its ethical teachings. Additionally, because the institutionalized anti-Semitism of the times established rigid quota systems against Jews in private schools, the Ethical Culture School had a disproportionately large number of Jewish students. Ethical was the only one that did not discriminate because of race, color, or creed. The school ended its formal ties with the Society in the 1990s, although retaining its name and striving to maintain the ethical tradition of its roots.

One of the early faculty members was the famous documentary photographer Lewis Hine.

[edit] Philosophy and Academics

The school is a prominent part of the Progressive Movement. Part of the school's curriculum, per the philosophy of its founder, Felix Adler, includes courses in ethics and moral philosophy, along with required community service. Drawing heavily on the educational philosophy of John Dewey, hands-on "learning by doing" is emphasized from pre-kindergarten through the senior year of high school. The school is known for its predominantly liberal student body and its commitment to diversity and a well-funded scholarship program. The "senior gift" given by graduating seniors and their families is frequently designated for financial aid funds.

The academic standards are high and virtually 100% of its graduates go on to college. Students in the upper school have to gather credits in a wide range of academic subjects and there are well-developed arts and performing arts programs, as well as many sports teams. There are many elective courses for the upper grades, providing flexibility for students to set their own curricula. The community service program is a cornerstone of the school, with students volunteering within the school, the surrounding community and the city at large. A hallmark of the school's ethics program has been the interaction by older students as peer advisors for younger ones, with 5th graders working with kindergarteners, and upper form students working with 7th graders, for example.

Fieldston is well known for being among the first schools to drop its participation in the Advanced Placement Program in 2002 to give its faculty the freedom to offer more challenging and thought-provoking material, rather than to "teach to the test." Students can take AP exams, but the school no longer officially sponsors such courses. While there was some concern that college admissions could be negatively affected, Fieldston's college office worked closely with admissions officers of schools across the country to explain the change, and assure that their students would be evaluated based on the quality of the courses, even without the AP designation.

The upper school's student newspaper is called the Fieldston News and the yearbook is the FieldGlass. The ECF Reporter and Field Notes provide news of the schools to alumni and parents. There are several student-run literary and art magazines, as well, such as Litmag, Dope Ink Prints, the popular satirical publication, The Gouda, and the sports magazine Season Pass.

[edit] Expansion

Each year the number of students enrolled in the school system grows. In 2002, talk of expansion began; plans were laid out the following year. A new middle school as well as new gym facilities have been planned, and construction began in June of 2004 with an estimated date of completion of September of 2007. Currently, the lower schools start with Pre-K and go up to 6th grade, and the upper school goes from 7th to 12th grade, with Forms 1 and 2 (7th and 8th grade) somewhat distinct from the high school, but sharing the same space, and with some overlap of faculty and much interaction among students. With the new middle school, to be located on the Fieldston campus, students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade will be in their own building, with their own curriculum and faculty, and less interaction with the high school. This will have the positive result of additional classrooms for the lower and upper schools which are overcrowded. There has been much controversy among the alumni, parent and student body concerning the issue, as some felt that Fieldston was losing its unique identity with this change, but economic and space pressures prevailed. The community remains divided on whether a separate middle school was pedagogically warranted, with strong feelings on both sides. More information on the construction of new facilities available here: [1]

[edit] Athletics

Fieldston's athletic program includes 44 teams covering 14 sports. The teams, known as the "Fieldston Eagles", play in the Ivy Prep League against other private schools in the region. (The school's hockey team, however, does not play in the league and schedules its own games.)

[edit] Special Programs

Fieldston Outdoors - a six-week environmental day camp
Weeks of Discovery/Computer Camps - one-week sports, computer, and other activity camps during school breaks
BeforeSchool and AfterSchool - at the two Lower schools
Fieldston Enrichment Program (FEP) - tutoring program for selected public school students in preparation of public and private high school entrance exams and requirements
Young Dancemakers Company - acclaimed summer dance program

[edit] Notable Alumni and Former Students

Among its many notable alumni and former students are the following:

Jill Abramson - managing editor for news, The New York Times
Clifford Alexander Jr - former Secretary of the Army
Diane Arbus - renowned photographer
Alan Bergman - member, Songwriter's Hall of Fame
Jordan Bratman - music producer
Nancy Cantor - Chancellor, Syracuse University
Matt Cohler - entrepreneur
Sofia Coppola - Oscar winning writer/director (attended middle school at Fieldston)
Andrew Delbanco - critic and author
Nicholas Delbanco - novelist
David Denby - film critic, The New Yorker
Ralph de Toledano - author
Samuel C. Florman - engineer, author
Darcy Frey - author
John S. Friedman - Oscar-winning documentary film producer (for Hôtel Terminus)
Rita Gam - film actress
Rob Glaser - Internet pioneer
Charlie King - New York civic leader and politician
Ernest Kinoy - screenwriter of early TV (Roots, The Defenders, Dr. Kildare)
Walter Koenig - actor, played Pavel Chekov on TV's Star Trek; he held a school record in track and field until the late '80s.
Joseph Kraft - public affairs columnist
Joan Kron - author and editor
Andrew Langer - small business lobbyist in Washington, DC; political strategist; national activist on property rights and limited government
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt - author, New York Times book reviewer
Sean Ono Lennon - musician
Carl P. Leubsdorf - Washington bureau chief, Dallas Morning News
Robert Levey - columnist, Washington Post
Doug Liman - Director of the film Swingers
Andrew Litton - Conductor, Dallas Symphony
Jeffrey Lyons - film critic, WNBC-TV, New York
Jane Mayer - staff writer, The New Yorker
Steven Mayer - pianist
Nicholas Meyer - noted film Director, directed Fieldston Alumnus Walter Koenig in both Star Trek II and Star Trek VI
Jo Mielziner - stage designer (South Pacific, Guys and Dolls)
Marvin Minsky - pioneer in artificial intelligence
Robert M. Morgenthau - New York County District Attorney
Robert Moses - (attended for two years, per Robert Caro's Power Broker)
Howard Nemerov - former United States Poet Laureate
Hugh Nissenson - author
J. Robert Oppenheimer - Father of the atomic bomb
Gus Ornstein - University of Notre Dame Quarterback and NFL player for the Jets and Colts; baseball prospect for Yankees
Emanuel R. Piore - Chief Scientist of IBM, and noted pioneer of electical engineering.
Belva Plain - author
Letty Cottin Pogrebin - author
Edward Pressman - film producer
Richard Ravitch - business and civic leader
Dan Rottenberg - author and editor
Muriel Rukeyser - poet and playwright
James Scheuer - U.S. Congressman (N.Y.)
Gil Scott-Heron - Musician
Stephen Slesinger - creator of the Red Ryder comic strip
Tess Slesinger - author/screenwriter
Alan B. Slifka - Investor and philanthropist
Stephen Sondheim - composer, attended the Fieldston Lower School
Andy Stein - Musician frequently on Prairie Home Companion
Stewart Stern - screenwriter (e.g., Rebel Without a Cause)
Paul Strand - photographer and filmmaker
Thomas Strauss - former president, Salomon Brothers
James Toback - Filmmaker
Richard Tofel - author
Doris Ulmann - photographer of Appalachia
Eden Wurmfeld - producer of the film Kissing Jessica Stein
Eli Zabar - gourmet food purveyor
Mike Epstein - tons of fun

Because of its prominence as one of New York City's top independent schools, many famous "movers and shakers" in entertainment, politics, news, business and the arts have sent their children to ECS-Fieldston over the past 100 years; many families have multi-generational alumni.

[edit] Peer Schools

Ethical Culture Fieldston is a part of the Ivy Preparatory School League, with many of the city's elite private schools. The high schools of Fieldston, Riverdale, and Horace Mann together are known as the "Hill schools", as all three are located within a short walking distance of each other in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, on a hilly area above Van Cortlandt Park. The three also share perhaps the greatest amount of inter-school sports rivalry.