for New York Family's FREE weekly newsletter with our picks for the best family events, resources, shopping, giveaways, and fun in the city and beyond. CLICK HERE

OUTSTANDING PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL

Traditional Values Meet Academic Excellence
Friendships—and skills—to last Collegiate’s boys a lifetime

Tony Award-winning playwright John Weidman, Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler and actor David Duchovny are some of Collegiate’s most recognizable graduates. But Collegiate is not an institution that worries about fame and fortune. Educators at this private boys’ day school have an entirely different mission: giving young men strong academic and ethical foundations that will last a lifetime.

“There is a simultaneous focus on high-powered academics and individual decency and personal depth,” said Bruce Breimer, who is both principal and a graduate of this Upper West Side school. “There is a value structure here. It is a highly charged but very supportive community and one need not succeed at the expense of others.”

This commitment to all-around excellence has made Collegiate a top choice among parents—and colleges.

“When we got to Collegiate and took the tour and saw the boys it was such a unique culture of traditional values along with academic excellence,” said Barbara Green, head of the Parents Association. Green enrolled her three sons at Collegiate. Her oldest graduated in 2005. “It has a small, low-key environment where boys can develop this camaraderie and bonding that enables them to foster friendships that will take them through their lifetime.”

The school’s culture also played an important part in attracting its new headmaster, Lee Levison. Levison took the reins at Collegiate in September 2006 after serving as Head of School at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn. since 1992. He said that he and his family were happy in West Hartford, so it took a very special school like Collegiate to entice him to make a move. “It was an opportunity for me to work at a school that while respectful of its long history and tradition, has adapted to the times,” he said.

In fact, Collegiate is the oldest independent school in the United States. It was established in 1628 for the colonists of New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company and the Classis of Amsterdam, the parent ecclesiastical body of the Dutch Reformed Church. Back then, there were only a handful of students and one teacher and Collegiate was located on the southern tip of Manhattan. Over the years it has moved several times before settling at its current home next to West End Collegiate Church. These days there are almost 650 young minds in grades K to 12 and the “campus” includes four buildings connected through an intricate series of bridges from 77th to 78th streets between Broadway and West End Avenue.

Until the late 1960’s the number of students enrolled in the upper school was much smaller than the number in the lower and middle schools. However, the opening of Platten Hall provided space for younger students, allowing upper school students to occupy the other buildings.Today there are more than 200 students in the upper school, which has nine academic departments ranging from English to visual arts.

Each department offers elective courses as well as the opportunity for independent study. Students also get a chance to participate and compete in a variety of sports ranging from soccer to tennis at the varsity and junior varsity levels. A faculty advisor, with the involvement of parents, helps students plan for each term. Upon enrollment, families automatically become members of the Parents Association, which offers regular input on school-wide happenings. Parents must also approve their sons’ course selections.

Upper school students spend most of their time in the schoolhouse on West 77th Street, which was built in 1892.The building includes a student center, departmental offices for faculty and college counseling, a ground-floor gymnasium and an upper school computer laboratory. Class sizes are small and students are given individual attention, with community service being an important requirement. College is pretty much a given for graduates, and Collegiate boasts a proud admissions record to an impressive list of top schools.

“Every ounce of energy at the school is dedicated to meeting the needs of the boys, to help them grow intellectually, ethically, artistically and physically,” said Levison, the head of school.

Principal Breimer stressed that “appreciating and learning the English language” has long been the primary thrust of the school. “We’re a school of writers and readers. Our students like to write, they like to use the language.”

Indeed many students do go on to become writers or educators, much like Breimer. He started his career at Collegiate as a nursery school student, making his way up the ladder to graduate, history teacher, director of college guidance, and most recently, principal.

Still, Collegiate’s mission is not to encourage students to choose one career over another, but rather to give them the skills they need to pursue goals later in life. There are many elective programs available, including theater and classical Latin and Greek studies.

“We provide an opportunity for students to test out their abilities and passions so they can take it to the next level,” Breimer said. “There’s room in our school for a great diversity of talent.”

Take “X-Files” actor David Duchovny. He came to Collegiate in ninth grade. “I taught him and coached him,” Breimer said. “He was an athlete and a scholar. He didn’t do any theater at Collegiate. He thought he wanted to be a college professor.”

Collegiate’s admissions process is highly competitive. The bulk of students are admitted in kindergarten, seventh and ninth grades; however, openings may occur at any grade level. Standards are high, with interviews, tests, recommendations and school records all taken into consideration.

“It’s very competitive, but we try to have our student body be reflective of the population in New York City,” Breimer said. “There is also a very healthy scholarship program.”

According to parent Barbara Green, gaining admission is well worth it. “There is no question that it has had an impact on the boys,” she said. “The school has taught them to be the best they can be. It allows the kids to be individuals while at the same time teaching them traditional values to help them become responsible good citizens.

“My older son said to me recently, ‘I want to do really well in college so that I can be successful and raise my kids in Manhattan and send them to Collegiate.’”

-- Sherry Karabin