Frank Sutliff Hackett (1878 – February 6, 1952) was an American educator and founder of Riverdale Country Day School. He was a pioneer in the

Country Day School movement The Country Day School movement is a movement in progressive education that originated in the United States during the late 19th century. Country Day Schools sought to recreate the educational rigor, atmosphere, camaraderie and character-building ...

Biography

Hackett was born in Albany, New York, and was educated at Trinity School and Columbia College, where he received his BA in 1899. He taught English at Columbia after graduation and worked for

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

before serving as assistant headmaster of the

Berkeley School Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer t ...

in New York City. An early proponent of the

, which envisions an environment where students can receive scholarly, intimate teaching in locales with abundant recreation space, Hackett founded Riverdale Country School with his first wife, Frances Dean Allen, in 1907 and served as headmaster until 1949. During World War I, Hackett served as a

Dollar-a-year man A number of top executives in large businesses and governments have worked for a one-dollar salary. One-dollar salaries are used in situations where an executive wishes to work without direct compensation, but for legal reasons must receive a pay ...

in Washington, D.C. to assist with war efforts. He was also an early organizer and former president of the

Adirondack Mountain Club The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922. It has approximately 30,000 members. The ADK is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, wild l ...

. He founded Camp Riverdale, a summer camp for boys nine to sixteen. He was an organizer of the Guild of Independent Schools of New York City and the New York State Association of Independent Schools. He also served as an American delegate to UNESCO conferences and held key posts in a number of educational organizations, including the Schoolmasters Association of the United States and the National Camp Directors Association. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Williams College and Columbia University. Hackett died on February 6, 1952, at age 74. Hackett Park in Riverdale, Bronx, is named after him.

References

1878 births 1952 deaths {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Frank S. Educators from New York (state) People from Albany, New York Trinity School (New York City) alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni American school principals