Dalton School

The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located in four buildings within the Upper East Side of Manhattan. In the 2024–25 academic year, tuition rates totaled $64,300.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

File:Dalton 53 E91 St sunny b jeh.jpg

91st Street "Little Dalton"

The Dalton School, originally called the Children's University School, was founded by Helen Parkhurst in 1919. After experimentation in her own one-room school with Maria Montessori, Parkhurst visited other progressive schools in Europe including Bedales School and its founder and headmaster John Haden Badley in England. She developed what she called the Dalton Plan, which encouraged teachers and students to work together toward individualized goals. The Laboratory Plan was first put into effect as an experiment in the high school of Dalton, Massachusetts, in 1916. The estate of her benefactor Josephine Porter Boardman, was also near the town of Dalton and from this beginning the Laboratory Plan and school eventually took their names.<ref name="Parkhurst1922">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Susan F. Semel 1998 pp 111-113">Susan F. Semel, "Dalton Plan" in Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States, ed. by Linda Eisenmann (1998) pp 111-113.</ref>

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 for girls (founded by Winifred Todhunter) and Dalton in 1939.<ref name="Susan F. Semel 1998 pp 111-113"/>

Enlarged and modified through the years, Dalton still celebrates many traditions like lighting candles before winter break and holding a Greek Festival.Template:Citation needed Academically, the school still subscribes to the Dalton Plan, which Parkhurst helped to create. Over the years, the Dalton Plan has been adopted by schools around the world, including schools in Australia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Austria,<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> Belgium,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chile, the Czech Republic,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hong Kong,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Japan,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Netherlands.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Admission

As of early 2013, the overall acceptance rate for grades K–12 at Dalton was reported by Peterson's to be 14%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Parental anxiety created by the highly competitive admission process was the subject of press coverage from 1999 to 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Long seen as a bastion of privilege, Dalton's efforts to broaden its mandate for diversity have met with some difficulty. In 2010, a financial aid budget of $6.5 million supported an outreach program for socio-economic diversity at the school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="babby">Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2008 students of color made up 38% of the Dalton First Program.Template:Citation needed In the 2008–2009 school year, the kindergarten was composed of 44% children of color.<ref name="hollander">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Citation neededTemplate:Update after Articles in The New York Times and The Atlantic have described difficulties experienced by some African-American children at the school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

American Promise was a PBS documentary that followed two African American students who enrolled at Dalton as kindergartners and the challenges they faced due to Dalton's lack of diversity.<ref name="dargis">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="pbs">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2020, Dalton found itself in controversy during the broader diversity, equity, and inclusion movement that followed the murder of George Floyd. The discussions continued into the following school year and resulted in the departure of school head Jim Best.<ref name="gordon"/><ref name="revolution">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="vanity">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bellafante">Template:Cite news</ref>

Notable people

Alumni

• Ronnie Abrams, US judge<ref name="abrams">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Dan Barber, chef<ref name="barber">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Antony Blinken, former U.S. Secretary of State<ref name="horowitz">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Montgomery Clift, actor<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Anderson Cooper, journalist<ref name="cooper">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Rachel Covey, actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Claire Danes, actress<ref name="danes">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Edgar de Evia, photographer<ref name="deevia">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Samuel R. Delany, writer<ref name="delaney">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Blu DeTiger, musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Maxim Dlugy, chess grandmaster<ref name="dlugy">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Shaun Donovan, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Director of the Office of Management and Budget<ref name="dalton.org"/>
• Edward Downes, musicologist and radio quizmaster
• Naomi Ekperigin, writer and comedian<ref name="ekperigin">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Noah Emmerich, actor<ref name=jjour>Noah Emmerich of ‘The Americans:’ Emmy Awards watch | The Ticket. Jewish Journal (2013-06-29). Retrieved on 2014-06-05.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Mark Feuerstein, actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Frances FitzGerald, journalist<ref>[2]Template:Dead link</ref>
• Barrett Foa, actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Helen Frankenthaler, painter<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Laura Geller, rabbi<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Alexis Glick, television personality<ref>[3] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Sam Gold, theater artist<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Carol Grace, actress<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jennifer Grey, actress<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Vanessa Grigoriadis, journalist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jefferson Y. Han, research scientist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Hannah Higgins, writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Marni Hodgkin, editor<ref name=Guardian>Template:Cite news</ref>
• A. J. Jacobs, journalist<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jason Jorjani, writer
• Max Joseph, filmmaker<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Joshua Katz, classicist
• Brooks Kerr, jazz pianist<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Rachel Kovner, United States federal judge<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dylan Lauren, businesswoman<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Clyde Lawrence, musician<ref name="Lawrence">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Gracie Lawrence, musician<ref name="Lawrence" />
• Steve Lemme, actor<ref>[4] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Sean Lennon, musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Andrew Levitas, painter and sculptor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• J. Kenji López-Alt, chef and food writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Jenny Lumet, actress and #MeToo activist<ref name=NewYork-Dalton-1986>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Mary Stuart Masterson, actress<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Helly Nahmad, art dealer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jennifer O'Neill, actress<ref>[5] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Morgan Pehme, filmmaker, journalist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Tracy Pollan, actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dara Resnik, screenwriter and producer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Simon Rich, writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• James B. Rosenwald III, entrepreneur<ref name=distress>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Matthew Ross, film director, screenwriter, journalist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Marco Roth, editor and founder of N+1 magazine<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Melissa Russo, journalist<ref name="dalton.org">[6] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Eric Schlosser, journalist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Marian Seldes, actress<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Wallace Shawn, actor, playwright<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Fazal Sheikh, photographer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Christian Slater, actor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Marina Squerciati, actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jill Stuart, fashion designer<ref name="FE Snodgrass">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Emma Sulkowicz, performance artist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Veronica Vasicka, record label founder and DJ<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Josh Waitzkin, chess player<ref>[7] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Dean Wareham, musician<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Julie Warner, actress<ref>[8] Template:Webarchive</ref>
• Bokeem Woodbine, actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• David Yassky, Director, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.<ref name="dalton.org"/>
• Matt Yglesias, writer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Andrew Zimmern, chef<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Head of School

José Manuel De Jesús became Head of School in 2022.<ref name="gordon">Template:Cite news</ref> Former Head of School Jim Best resigned in 2021<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> after 16 years at the school.

Faculty

• Donald Barr, headmaster c. 1964–74<ref name="Barr">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Joe Frank, taught literature and philosophy 1965–1975; radio performer, writer.
• Rhys Caparn, art instructor 1946–1972<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Jeffrey Epstein, taught 1974–76. Financier; convicted child sex offender<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Yves Volel, taught c. 1968–85. Lawyer, activist, assassinated while running for Haitian presidency<ref name="volel">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Melissa Zexter, photography instructor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• History of education in New York City

Further reading

• Semel, Susan F. "Dalton Plan" in Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States, ed. by Linda Eisenmann (1998) pp 111–113.
• Semel, Susan F. The Dalton School: The Transformation of a Progressive School (1992).

External links

• Official website