Scarborough School
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The Scarborough Day School was a
private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
in Scarborough-on-Hudson, in
Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor in ...
.
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and
Narcissa Cox Vanderlip Narcissa Cox Vanderlip, née Mabel Narcissa Cox (1879-1966) was an American suffragist. She attended the University of Chicago, but left in her senior year to get married. On May 19, 1903, she married Frank A. Vanderlip in her home town of Chica ...
established the school in 1913 at their estate, Beechwood. The school, a
nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...
nonprofit college preparatory
day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...
, taught students at pre-kindergarten to
twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...
levels and had small class sizes, with total enrollment rarely exceeding 150 students. Since 1980, the buildings and property have been owned by The Clear View School, which runs a day treatment program for 83 students. The current school still uses the Scarborough School's theater, which was opened in 1917. The school campus is a contributing property to the
Scarborough Historic District The Scarborough Historic District is a national historic district located in the suburban community of Scarborough-on-Hudson, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and contai ...
. The Scarborough Day School was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...
of the
University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...
. The school also was a member of the
Cum Laude Society The Cum Laude Society is an organization that honors scholastic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which honors scholastic achievements at the university level. It was founded at The Tome School in 19 ...
and the
National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boa ...
. Its seal copies that of Scarborough, North Yorkshire; Scarborough-on-Hudson's namesake.


History

The Scarborough School was founded in 1913 by Frank A. Vanderlip and
Narcissa Cox Vanderlip Narcissa Cox Vanderlip, née Mabel Narcissa Cox (1879-1966) was an American suffragist. She attended the University of Chicago, but left in her senior year to get married. On May 19, 1903, she married Frank A. Vanderlip in her home town of Chica ...
for their six children and the children of friends and neighbors. Having met educator
Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...
during their European travels, the Vanderlips pioneered the
Montessori method The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...
at the Edward Harden Mansion in nearby Sleepy Hollow by creating the first Montessori school in the United States, in 1913. Frank Vanderlip's sister Ruth was married to Harden; the families maintained close ties. After a year existing in two rooms of the Harden residence, the school moved to the River Gate House at the north end of River Road and the Beechwood estate. The school moved to its final location in 1917, at Vanderlip Hall, a building Vanderlip constructed in 1916 bordering Albany Post Road (current U.S. Route 9). The building was designed for classes of ten, to accommodate 120 children total. It was situated on Beechwood's parkland designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
for the Vanderlips. Throughout the school's history, students were open to wander the woodlands and gardens, utilize the lawns and tennis courts, and swim in the Olympic-sized pool. There were always farm animals nearby for the children to see and play with and a circus carousel to ride on. The school had a gymnasium class, amateur theater group, folk singing, a swimming pool, and an economic forum. Frank Vanderlip had spent about $500,000 on the school ($ in ), and he remained chairman of the school board of trustees until his death in 1937. Regular art exhibits were held at the Scarborough School, including a sculpture exhibition in the Italian garden at Beechwood, which included works by Jose de Creeft, Jason Seley (a longtime professor of sculpture at
Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...
), and Richard Stankiewicz. Early on in the school's history, the Vanderlips decided to change the school's system from the Montessori method to a more formal approach with more discipline, although students still had more freedom than the average school. In the 1930s, the school was considered progressive: students were not graded and were instructed to work at their own speed. The school flourished during almost two decades under the helm of Dr F. Dean McClusky, who went on to a career as a professor in the Department of Education at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
. The studio building was devoted to younger children (grades one, two, and three), and included a lunchroom, workshop, and art studio. Frank Vanderlip enjoyed teaching simplified political economy at the school; he would act out Swiss Family Robinson on an imaginary island with students to demonstrate the development of capitalism. Narcissa Vanderlip ran the school lunchroom, and it is recorded that she served good simple food. She named some of her foods artistically (rice pudding with raisins was called ''Bête Noire a la Bolshevik''). The studio building burned down in 1959. Members of the Vanderlip family, particularly Virginia Vanderlip Schoales, continued to administer the school for sixty years. A 1959 development plan made way for a new primary school in 1961, new science facilities in 1962, expansion of the library in 1963, and the creation of an organization for alumni, of whom there were more than a thousand living in 1977. The school was unable to obtain sufficient funding and closed in 1978. In 1980, the buildings and property were taken over by The Clear View School, which opened in September 1981 after major renovations. The school runs a day treatment program for 83 students from nursery school age to 21, and is sponsored by the Association for Mentally Ill Children of Westchester; its program involves education, treatment, and crisis intervention and parent involvement.


Campus

The main Scarborough School building, Vanderlip Hall, was designed by William W. Bosworth, known for landscaping
Kykuit Kykuit ( ), known also as the John D. Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room historic house museum in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York 25 miles north of New York City. The house was built for oil tycoon and Rockefelle ...
and restoring
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
. The school building was constructed in a severe, all-white Neoclassical style, and was completed early in 1917. In addition to a grand porticoed entry, there were two wings that housed classes, a library, cafeteria and gymnasium, basement science labs, and an art room measuring , ringed on three sides with French windows. In the 1960s, an additional
Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
structure was built across a stream that would ultimately house the school's lower grades. Rosemont, an estate and the birthplace of John Worden, was later used by Vanderlip as a dormitory for Scarborough School boarding students. Rosemont stood opposite the Beechwood estate, at the corner of Route 9 and Scarborough Road. Another campus building was Marie Fayant Hall, which was originally Barnesby House, home to Dr. Percy Norman Barnesby. Vanderlip built the house for him and his wife; the house was later given to the Scarborough School and served as a girls' dormitory in the 1940s and as a headmaster's residence about thirty years later.


Theater

Beechwood Theater, a replica of the Little Theater on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, was included in Wells Bosworth's design of the primary school building because Vanderlip particularly wanted his own theater. Beechwood Theater, with 256 gold velvet seats, was designed by
Winthrop Ames Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter. For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoir ...
around 1917. Details were closely examined upon construction; the lighting equipment, the scene lofts and fly gallery, and the dressing rooms were well-designed and state-of-the-art. The stage floor was designed especially for dancing, and the acoustics and theater proportions made varieties of productions possible. The theater was used for assemblies, plays, concerts, and lectures. It was also home to the Beechwood Players, an adult performing arts group which had its origins in 1919. The Players put on several plays a year, summer and winter, six plays a year and three-night runs. They had started with three one-act plays but had graduated to full-length dramas. From its first years, Broadway actors used the theater when not otherwise engaged. Among them were Sylvia Sidney, Laurette Taylor,
Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...
, James Dean,
Judson Laire Judson Laire (August 3, 1902 – July 5, 1979) was an American film, stage, and television actor best known for starring as Lars Hansen in the early CBS television series, '' Mama'' from 1949 to 1957, as well as several daytime soap operas includi ...
, and
Parker Fennelly Parker W. Fennelly (October 22, 1891 – January 22, 1988) was an American character actor who appeared in ten films, numerous television episodes and hundreds of radio programs. Early life The son of gardener Nathan Fennelly and Estelle Doll ...
. Lecturers and performers in the Beechwood Theater included Sarah Bernhardt, Robert Frost,
John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ...
,
Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was bor ...
,
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
,
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''
Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét (; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'' (1928), for which he receiv ...
, and a King of Siam. Other notable appearances at the theater included
Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), '' The More the M ...
and
Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...
. Audiences have included
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
,
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
,
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
and the last King of Poland. The theater was opened and dedicated on January 2, 1917. The first concert took place on July 30, 1916, and was by
Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;  – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...
. During his performance, the
Black Tom explosion The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies of World War I, Allies in World War I. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New Y ...
took place at a munitions works in New Jersey, more than from Scarborough. Frank Vanderlip Jr., ten years old at the time, later recalled that he saw the detonation shake the jammed theater building, and that Paderewski had played on as if nothing had happened. The automatic fire doors at the top of the theater had sprung open, and two men were sent aloft to sit on them until the end of the performance to prevent a cold draft from entering the room. Following the Scarborough School's closing, the Beechwood Theater had stood empty for many years, and was restored in 1983 by the Greater Ossining Area Community Theater. On March 17, 1984, The Clear View School presented a solo performance of ''Currier Bell, Esquire'' (a dramatization of
Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...
's life) performed by
Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...
. The performance was a $100-a-ticket benefit for the school. Also on that day, the theater was rededicated as the Julie Harris Theater.
Briarcliff High School Briarcliff High School (BHS) is a public secondary school in Briarcliff Manor, New York that serves students in grades 9– 12. It is the only high school in the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District, sharing its campus with Briarcliff ...
used the theater until its own was constructed in 1998.


Alumni

Notable alumni of the Scarborough School include Secretary of the Army Stephen Ailes,
Benjamin Cheever Benjamin Hale Cheever (born October 8, 1948) is an American writer and editor. He is the son of Mary Winternitz and writer John Cheever and brother of Susan Cheever. To date, he has written four adult fiction novels, one children's book, and tw ...
and his sister
Susan Cheever Susan Cheever (born July 31, 1943) is an American author and a prize-winning best-selling writer well known for her memoir, her writing about alcoholism, and her intimate understanding of American history. She is a recipient of the PEN New Englan ...
,
Richard Pousette-Dart Richard Warren Pousette-Dart (June 8, 1916 – October 25, 1992) was an American abstract expressionist artist most recognized as a founder of the New York School of painting.Kimmelman, Michae"Richard Pousette-Dart, 76, Dies; An Early Abstract E ...
, an
Abstract Expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
artist, graduated from the school in 1935.
Anna Roosevelt Halsted Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Halsted (May 3, 1906 – December 1, 1975) was an American writer who worked as a newspaper editor and in public relations. Halsted also wrote two children's books published in the 1930s. She was the eldest child and only d ...
lived with
Curtis Bean Dall Curtis Bean Dall (October 24, 1896 – June 28, 1991) was an American stockbroker, Vice-Presidential candidate, author, and the first husband of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, daughter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. Life and care ...
on nearby Sleepy Hollow Road; their children Eleanor "Sistie" and Curtis "Buzzie" (grandchildren of President and Mrs. Roosevelt) attended the Scarborough School. Other notable alumni include
Mark Helprin Mark Helprin (born June 28, 1947) is an American novelist, journalist, conservative commentator, Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and M ...
, a writer who graduated in 1965; the three children of Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr.; John Kelvin Koelsch, a U.S. Navy officer during the Korean War and the first helicopter pilot to receive the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
, who also lived in Scarborough; Ralph J. Menconi, a medallic sculptor; Ilyasah Shabazz, an author and a daughter of
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
; and Richard Yates, a writer who attended from 1937 to 1939 while his mother taught sculpture there. The theatrical traditions of the school attracted many pupils with interests or family connections in the performing arts, including actresses Joan Evans,
Tina Louise Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the las ...
, Alexandra Berlin, Broadway producer Dasha Amsterdam Epstein, musical theater composer
Henry Krieger Henry Krieger (born February 9, 1945 in New York City) is an American musical theatre composer. He most notably wrote the music for the Broadway shows ''Dreamgirls'' (1981, with lyrics and book by Tom Eyen), ''The Tap Dance Kid'' (1983), and ''Si ...
(who attended the school with his sister), Margot Feiner (a niece of Richard Rodgers), and Daniel and Margaret Da Silva (children of Howard Da Silva).


Headmasters

Headmasters included: * Elizabeth Moseley Dean (1913–1916) * Dr. Ernest Horn (1917–1918) * Wilford M. Aikin (1918–1922) * Morton Snyder (1922–1926) * Dr. Arthur H. Sutherland (1926–1927) * Dr. Frank M. McMurry (1927–1928) * Dr. F. Dean McClusky (1928–1945) * Cornelius B. Boocock (1945–1948) * Philip L. Garland (1948–1951) * Thomas C. Schuller (1951–1961) * H. L. Richardson (1964–1965) * Robert C. Mellow (1967–1971) * A.W. Rousseau (1971–1972) * Donald F. Cantrell (1972–1974) * Douglas G. Carner (1976–1978) * Richard Pierce (1978)


Gallery

File:ScarboroughSchool1917-2.jpg, alt=A vocational classroom with workstations, School Auto repair shop in 1917 File:ScarboroughSchool1917-3.jpg, alt=A two-story school building, School studio building in 1917 File:ScarboroughSchool1917-4.jpg, alt=A school cafeteria with students eating, School dining room in 1917 File:ScarbBarnesHall.tif, alt=A one-story school building, William T. Barnes Hall in 2014 File:ScarboroughSchool2.tif, alt= A wooden one-story porticoed building, The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation Center for the Arts, opened May 17, 2006


See also

*
Beechwood (Vanderlip mansion) Beechwood is a Hudson River estate in Scarborough-on-Hudson, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. The estate was most notably the home of Frank A. Vanderlip and his family, and is a contributing property to the Scarborough Historic District. The house ...
* Country Day School movement


Notes


References


External links


Scarborough School alumni websiteThe Clear View SchoolOlmsted Brothers images of the school
{{authority control Briarcliff Manor, New York Defunct schools in New York (state) Private high schools in New York (state) Private middle schools in New York (state) Private elementary schools in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1913 Schools in Westchester County, New York U.S. Route 9 1913 establishments in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York Historic district contributing properties in New York (state) School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)