Allendale Columbia School (often shortened to Allendale Columbia or abbreviated as A.C.) is an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
,
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 ...
,
college preparatory school
A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...
for students in nursery through twelfth grade in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
, USA.
The Columbia School for girls, established in 1890 by Caroline Milliman and Alida Lattimore, and the Allendale School for boys, established in 1926 by a group of Rochester businessmen, merged in 1972 to form the current co-educational school. Allendale Columbia students come from 28 different school districts in the greater
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
region, as well as from 10 different countries. International students live in two houses on campus. The school was named by ''
Worth'' magazine as of one of the top 100 feeder schools to
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
universities. It was also ranked as the best private high school in
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe:
* Monroe County, Alabama
*Monroe County, Arkansas
* Monroe County, Florida
* Monroe County, Georgia
*Monroe County, Illinois
*Monroe County, Indian ...
by
Niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
and
The Post-Standard
''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''The ...
.
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
named Allendale Columbia as one of the best
STEM
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
schools in America.
Mission Statement
At Allendale Columbia, we prepare students for the world they will inherit. In our trusting and responsive environment, students in nursery through grade 12 grow in confidence and develop scholastic independence. Together, our students and teachers imagine, design, and create in order to make a positive impact locally and globally.
Faculty
Allendale Columbia has sixty-nine teachers. Of the twenty-five Upper School faculty members, 96% hold advanced degrees.
Campus
Allendale Columbia School occupies more than in
Pittsford, New York
Pittsford is a town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census.
The Town of Pittsford (formerly part of the town of Northfield) was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. The ...
that stretches to
Oak Hill Country Club
Oak Hill Country Club is a country club in the northeastern United States, located in Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Founded in 1901 and best known for its East golf course, the club has hosted multiple major championships ...
. The school is separated into three divisions: Lower School, Middle School and Upper School. The school also offers pre-primary school for children 18 months to three years old. While these divisions each have their own areas on campus, they share many common spaces, including a 500-seat performance center, library, dining commons for locally sourced lunches, and athletic, music and arts facilities. The students change buildings for various classes and use the entire campus throughout their day.
The main buildings house 41 classrooms, five science laboratories, nine computer laboratories (three classroom and six mobile), three music classrooms, two art studios, a
darkroom
A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...
, a digital photography laboratory, a foreign language laboratory, a library, a performance center, two gymnasia, and a science wing.
In 2012, the school opened residences for foreign students, and it hosts 25-35 international students from as many as 15 different countries and four continents.
In 2013, students began organizing and hosting an annual TEDx conference on campus, as an independently organized
TED
TED may refer to:
Economics and finance
* TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar
Education
* ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association
** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey
** Transvaal Education Depa ...
event.
In 2014, Allendale Columbia School created a summerLEAP partnership with School 17 of the
Rochester City School District
The Rochester City School District is a public school district that serves approximately 24,900 students in the city of Rochester, New York. It is currently operating with a budget of $983 million, which comes out to approximately $39,500 per st ...
to provide summer enrichment programs for RCSD students.
In 2015, the school unveiled a new design and innovation laboratory with 3D printers, Mac computers, drafting tables, and tools. That year, the school also partnered with the
Hybrid Learning Consortium. It creates a globalized learning community offering a diverse variety of online courses to students around the world.
In 2016, the school celebrated its 125th anniversary.
Athletics
Allendale Columbia School is merged with
The Harley School
The Harley School is a college preparatory, independent day school in Rochester, New York, United States.
History
Founded in 1917 by Harriet Bentley, The Harley School was first called “The Children’s University School of Rochester.” The ...
for interscholastic sports competition in grades 7 through 12. The two schools began coordinating their athletic programs during the 1972–1973 school year. The joint program is referred to as Harley Allendale Columbia (HAC) and originally competed as the Harley-Allendale Columbia Braves. In 1997, students of both schools voted to change the team name from the Braves to the Wolves. Team supporters are known as the Wolfpack.
The HAC enforces a "no-cut" athletic program, and varsity places are guaranteed for any committed seniors. The HAC co-ordination exists to enhance the interscholastic athletic program of both schools by combining student bodies and resources, as well as faculty for coaching purposes. The school has had success in the Section V Finger-Lakes West Division, including sectional titles in boys' and girls' tennis, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' cross country and boys' and girls' basketball.
* V =
Varsity, JV =
Junior Varsity
Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate level ...
, M = Modified
Notable alumni
*
Alison Castle
Alison Castle is an American photographer and book editor who most prominently worked on ''The Stanley Kubrick Archives'' for Taschen She is also the editor of '' Linda McCartney's Life in Photography'', ''Some Like It Hot'', ''Kubrick's Napoleon: ...
, photographer and author
*
Carson Cooman
Carson P. Cooman (born June 12, 1982, Rochester, New York) is an American composer and organist.
Cooman was first given piano lessons as a three-year-old and began studying organ under Bruce Klanderman at age ten. He graduated from Allendale Colu ...
, Composer-in-Residence at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
*
Richard C. David, politician and
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
*
Taye Diggs
Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals ''Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series ''Private Practice'' (2007-2013), ''Murder in the ...
(later transferred to
School of the Arts (Rochester, New York)
School of the Arts (SOTA) is a progressive alternative public middle school and high school in Rochester, New York. Administered by the Rochester City School District, SOTA is located on the corner of Prince Street and University Avenue, within wa ...
, actor
*
Nancy Northup
Nancy Northup (born 1960) is an American political activist. She is the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights organization, in New York City.
Under her leadership, the Center helped win Whole Woman's Health v. Helle ...
, President of the
Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...
*
Katelin Schutz, physicist and cosmologist
*
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...
, actress and comedian, student, 1987-89
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Private high schools in New York (state)
Preparatory schools in New York (state)
Schools in Monroe County, New York
Private middle schools in New York (state)
Private elementary schools in New York (state)