Staten Island Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

, college-preparatory day school located on a campus in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. Founded in 1884 by Anton Methfessel, it is the oldest independent school on Staten Island, and is the only

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

(non-public, non-religious) in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

. It educates students from

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through grade 12. The current enrollment is around 390 students, with a student to teacher ratio of 7:1. Eileen Corigliano is the current head of school. The school is composed of three divisions: Lower School, Pre-K-Gr. 4; Middle School, Gr. 5-8; Upper School, Gr. 9-12. The campus has seven buildings: the Early Childhood Building, the Art Barn, Haugen Hall, Kearns Hall, Crowe Hall, Alumni Hall and the OJ Buck Gymnasium. The school's accreditations include the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

, and the New York State Association of Independent Schools. It is chartered and registered by the Board of Regents,

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state governmental umbrella organization that oversees all educational institutions, including schools, libraries, and museums in New York State. It is governed by the Board of Regents. D ...

History

Founding and early years

The Academy was formally chartered on September 5, 1884 by Anton Methfessel and prominent educators that helped merge the Methfessel Institute, which was founded in 1862, with the original Staten Island Academy and Latin School. It rapidly expanded, dropped the phrase “Latin School” from its name, and gained prominence with a curriculum that was progressive for its day. In 1885, required courses for the Intermediate Form (grades 9-12) included Latin, German, French, English, geography, physiology, zoology, mathematics, history, natural philosophy, expression, music, and drawing. The Academic Form required more advanced study, and The Latin School division mandated, additionally, student literacy in both Latin and Greek. Many prominent professionals in theater, education, literature, politics and business were associated with the Academy throughout this period including actor Sidney Wollett,

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

explorer Admiral Perry, Booker T. Washington, the

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...

Jacob Riis Jacob August Riis ( ; May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, " muck-raking" journalist, and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in the United States of Ame ...

, and George William Curtis, a member of the Academy's Board of Trustees and the namesake for Curtis High School. In 1891 the school bought land at the corner of Wall Street and Academy Place, a street that was named after the school, in the St. George section of Staten Island. Because of the expanding student population, a grand new building of English architectural design was built, and the cornerstone was laid in December 1895. The new building was dedicated at commencement in June 1896. The historic cornerstone now stands outside Alumni Hall on the school's Todt Hill campus, while the original building is now the Staten Island Museum.

21st century

The fall of 2002 marked a new chapter in the Academy's history with the installation of Diane J. Hulse as the 15th Head of School. During the summer of 2003, the Stanley Library was completely renovated, the Patrick Commons dining hall was upgraded, new playground equipment was installed, and outdoor benches and tables were added. A school fitness center was opened in late 2003. In the summer of 2004, the school's athletics fields were upgraded. The Alexander Robbins Steinman Foundation partially funded the project in honor of Alex Steinman, Class of 1986, who died on 9/11. Other projects included the restoration of the Art Barn and the Haugen Hall entry steps, upgrades to classrooms, the art room, and computer labs. In Spring 2018, the Renaissance Campaign was announced, which is a five-year development to drastically reshape the Academy. Over $6.02 million has currently been funded, with a stated goal of $10 million. Some of the funds will be used for financial aid for “qualified students”. As part of the campaign, Crowe Hall will be completely renovated and expanded, notably the addition of classrooms on the second floor and an overall area expansion of the first floor. Construction was hoped to begin in early 2019.

Heads of School

*Anton Methfessel, 1862–1884 *Frederick E. Partington, 1884–1907 *Frank C. Page, 1907–1920 *Dr. John F. Dunne, 1920–1925 *Charles H. Garrison, 1925–29 *Thomas Burton, 1929–1933 *Charles L.S. Easton, 1933–1935 *Stephen J. Botsford, 1935–1942 *Dr. Harold E. Merrick, 1942–1962 *Harvey H. MacArthur, 1962–1967 *Dr. Mary E. Meade, 1967–1968 *Peter M. Webster, 1968–1976 *Dr. J. Stevens Bean, 1976–1989 *F. Graham Brown Jr., 1989–1996 *Carmen M. Marnell, 1996–2002 *Diane J. Hulse I, 2002–2012 *Albert R. Cauz, 2012–2022 *Dr. Eileen Corigliano 2022-

Athletics

The Academy's mascot is the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

, and its colors are

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. Athletic offerings include Cross Country,

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

2014

The Girl's Varsity Tennis team went undefeated in both the Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) and PSAA tennis leagues, winning the season and playoff championships. The Girl's Varsity Basketball team championed the Lady Tigers Holiday Tournament and the Fieldston Tip-Off Tournament. The Girl's Varsity Lacrosse team championed the AAIS league. The team also participated in the NYSAIS tournament.

2015

The Boy's Varsity Volleyball team championed the PSAA regular season and playoffs. The Girl's Varsity Basketball team championed the Lady Tigers Holiday Tournament and the Fieldston Tip-Off Tournament. The Girl's Varsity Softball team were the PSAA regular season champions. The team additionally were the NYS Federation "B" champions.

Notable alumni

The Academy publicizes a "representative" list of "distinguished graduates". Among the alumni who achieved wider notability: * Chris Agoliati, professional US soccer player. * Oscar Auerbach, pathologist who helped prove that smoking causes lung cancer. *O.J. Buck, World War II fighter pilot who died over

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1942, two years after he graduated. The Gymnasium is named after him. * Donald Davidson, Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. * John Peoples Jr., director of Fermilab from 1989–1999, director of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from 1998–2003. * Joseph Rallo, Commissioner of Higher Education for

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. * Alan Seeger, poet and World War I hero ('' I Have a Rendezvous with Death''); uncle of

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

External links

Staten Island Academy official website

References

{{authority control Preparatory schools in New York City Private high schools in Staten Island Private middle schools in Staten Island Private elementary schools in Staten Island Educational institutions established in 1884 1884 establishments in New York (state) Todt Hill, Staten Island