The Pingry School is a

coeducation 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 t ...

al,

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 ...

college preparatory 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 ...

country day school in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, and a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus in the

Basking Ridge Basking Ridge is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community located within Bernards Township, New Jersey, Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset Count ...

section of Bernards Township. The school was founded in 1861 by John F. Pingry. The school has been accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1998 and is considered one of the most prestigious in the state and country.The Pingry School

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 5, 2011. The school has an endowment of $86.9 million. Pingry's 177 full-time faculty have 27 doctorates and half have master's degrees, with an average tenure at Pingry of 13 years. A total of 73% of faculty have advanced degrees.

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 ...

ranks Pingry 2nd on their list of 2020 Best Schools in New Jersey and 2020 Best Private High Schools in New Jersey.

Student body

The school currently enrolls 1,129 students; 288 at Short Hills and 841 at Basking Ridge; 270 in the Middle School and 571 in the Upper School. Students come from 100 area communities in twelve counties and over 90 municipalities in New Jersey. As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 841 students and 118 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 7.1:1. The school's student body was 48.5% (408) White, 22.0% (185) two or more races, 18.1% (152) Asian, 9.0% (76) Black and 2.1% (18) Hispanic.School data for The Pingry School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed September 1, 2020.

History

Pingry School was founded by the Reverend John Francis Pingry, a Presbyterian minister, in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

in 1861 to provide both scholastic training and moral education for boys. The outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

that year caused enrollment to dry up at the Pingry Select School for Boys, an academy Pingry had founded in 1854 in Roseville. After learning that Elizabeth's only professional educator had decided to enlist in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, Pingry moved to Elizabeth where he founded the Pingry School. Although Pingry gave talks on Proverbs and used the Bible for instructional purposes, the school has never been affiliated with any church or denomination. The school moved from the Elizabeth schoolhouse to the Parker Road Campus in 1893. After Pingry retired in 1893, several headmasters with relatively short tenures held his position. In 1917, C. Mitchell Froelicher became headmaster, but he was pushed out in 1920 because of his German-sounding name and the anti-German sentiment surrounding World War I. Charles Bertram Newton became the headmaster of the school, and his tenure lasted until 1936. Newton became famous for championing the Country Day School philosophy, and Pingry became a much more modern school under his tenure. In 1925, the Honor Code was written. It was revised in 1988. From 1936 to 1961, E. Laurence Springer was headmaster, and his tenure was the longest in Pingry's history. He oversaw the move to Pingry's Hillside Campus. The school moved to the edge of

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 21,404, reflecting a decline of 343 (−1.6%) from the 21,747 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

in 1953. Early in the 1970s, two important changes occurred. First, Pingry began the transition to a coeducational school. The first female students, who graduated in 1976, were succeeded by other young women who today represent half the student body. Second, Pingry grew again by merging with the Short Hills Country Day School to become a school with grades from kindergarten through grade 12. Today over 250 children attend the Pingry Short Hills Campus. In this period of about twenty years, David C. Wilson and H. Wescott Cunningham each served as headmaster. In 1983, the school moved to Martinsville, a rural area in the Watchung and

Somerset Hills The Somerset Hills is known as the northern region of Somerset County located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and includes the municipalities of Bedminster, Bernardsville, Bernards Township, Far Hills, Peapack & Gladstone. The Morris County co ...

. The campuses are approximately 25 minutes apart, and both are located near the New York metropolitan area, which continues to provide many outside resources to supplement the classroom. The old campus in Hillside is now used as a campus of

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as th ...

. In 2013, the Martinsville location was renamed to "Basking Ridge" in an effort to make it easier to locate the campus using automated mapping tools. In 1987, John Hanly became headmaster. He served until 2000, and was well-liked and remembered by members of the community. Today, the Hanly Lecture on Ethics and Morality holds his name. John Neiswender became headmaster after Hanly, and served until 2005. Nathaniel Conard was headmaster from July 2005 to mid-2019. In late 2018, the school announced that Matt Levinson, of University Prep in Seattle, would be Head of School after Conard retired in mid-2019. Since Pingry's day, there have been 16 headmasters. Currently, Levinson holds the post, his appointment effective mid-2019. Pingry School's motto is ''Maxima reverentia pueris debetur'', a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

phrase literally meaning "the greatest respect is owed to the boys." Since becoming co-educational, the school has modified the motto's translation to "the greatest respect is due to the students." John Pingry's personal motto, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" ( Prov. 1:7), hangs as a sign in the C.B. Newton Library located at the Basking Ridge Campus. In April 2020, the school received an unspecified amount in federally backed small business loans as part of the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES A ...

. The school received scrutiny over this loan, which meant to protect small and private businesses. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tweeted that the schools should return the money, but Levinson stated they were keeping it, despite having an $80- million-plus endowment. In February 2021,

Purnell School The Purnell School was a progressive private all-girls boarding high school located in Pottersville, within Bedminster, New Jersey, about an hour and one-half west of New York City, and two hours north of Philadelphia. Purnell School was a membe ...

announced that it would cease operations upon the completion of the 2020-2021 academic year. Later that year, Pingry School paid $5 million for the campus in Pottersville in Somerset County, which will be used as an extension of its existing campuses.

The Honor Code

Pingry's Honor Code is as follows: Violations are judged by the student-run Honor Board. The Honor Code is included on every assignment and assessment, and is followed with strict standards. All students sign the Honor Code at Convocation every year, and are expected to continue to follow the Code upon leaving Pingry.

Academics

Pingry students can take multivariable calculus, calculus-based statistics, number theory, linear algebra, and discrete mathematics in the math department. English courses are taught entirely with discussion- and project-based methods. The School attracts faculty from various industries, including finance, computer science, and engineering. There are twenty faculty who have been at the school for 25 years or more. The vast majority of faculty have PhDs, EdDs, Master's degrees, or MBAs from schools such as Princeton, MIT, Yale, Columbia, UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania. Pingry has a 1:1 laptop policy. Pingry's math team has performed very well at the lower, middle, and high school levels. The lower school team got second place at the national mathleague.org competition in 2017. The middle school team also got NJ fourth place in the Mathcounts competition in 2019. The high school math team also participated in many math competitions/tournaments with first place 9th-grade team in the Lehigh University High School Math contest in 2020 and the national 4th place team in Math Majors of America Tournament for High Schools in 2020. Students at Pingry have done very well in the AMC competition series. The school had 3 AIME qualifiers in 2018, with one being a 7th grader. In 2021, Pingry had 7 AIME qualifiers. The school also had USAJMO qualifiers in 2019 and 2021, 2022. The school had a USAMO qualifier in 2022.

Extracurricular activities

* Independent Research Team: Selective club of groups working on novel research projects from genetics to microbiology to artificial intelligence, using the school's state of the art labs and technological resources * QuizBowl: Pingry's Academic team has won and placed at many tournaments, including the National Academic Championship and QUnlimited's QuizNet. They have also emerged victorious at local tournaments. * Speech and Debate Team * Math Club / Team * Orchestra / Band: All ensembles at Pingry are instructed by professional musicians * Student Government * Student Newspaper

Athletics

The Pingry School Big BluePingry School

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. competes in the

Skyland Conference The Skyland Conference is a New Jersey high school sports association under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The conference is made up of 22 public and parochial high schools covering Hunterd ...

which comprises public and private high schools in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

, and Somerset counties in west

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, and operates under the jurisdiction of the

. Pingry is also a member of the New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2010 realignment, the school had previously participated in the

Colonial Hills Conference The Colonial Hills Conference was a New Jersey high school sports association under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The conference comprised sixteen public, parochial, and private high schoo ...

which included public and private high schools covering Essex County, Morris County and Somerset County in west

Central Jersey Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, ...

. With 435 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools). The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Non-Public Group III for football for 2018–2020. The school offers 33 varsity teams, with a total of over 70 teams covering seventh to twelfth grade. Many of the school's athletes have been recognized as athletic scholars, and many have gone on to play for college teams. In addition, the school's facilities include two full-court gymnasiums, a 25-meter indoor pool, a state of the art weight and aerobics room with full-time trainers, athletic training room with full-time staff, full locker rooms for women, men and visiting teams, The Miller Bugliari '52 World Cup Field (which has hosted World Cup practices for the '95 Italian National team, the '02 United States National team, and the '13 Ecuadorian National Team) for soccer and baseball, Parsons Field ( which offers stadium seating, a press-box and a scoreboard with a sound system) for football, lacrosse and track and field events, total that allow for a cross-country course, 12 tennis courts, and numerous practice fields including the John Taylor Babbitt '07 Memorial Field. The Miller A. Bugliari Athletic Complex was opened in 2017 and includes eight squash courts, two basketball gyms and a weight room.

Facilities

Pingry added a middle school building, designed by USA Architects and Planners, to the Basking Ridge Campus. In early 2007, Forms I and II (grades 7 and 8) moved into the new building. Grade 6 was moved from the Short Hills campus to this new facility at the beginning of the 2007–2008 school year. The building's most notable feature is its specially designed large common area, which is used by the community as an assembly area and by the students as a place to gather informally. This new building shares the cafeteria, the library, the arts wing, the Student Technology and Publishing Center, and the athletic facilities with the upper school. The Pingry School's Basking Ridge campus used to have a modern-looking turquoise and pink architecture. The turquoise bricks that used to compose the school's central clock tower were originally supposed to be navy blue, but by the time the incorrectly colored paint arrived it was too late to make a change. The main building was designed by the architecture firm

Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates' (HHPA) was an internationally recognized American architecture firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Established by Hugh Hardy, Malcolm Holzman and Norman Pfeiffer in 1967 in New York, HHPA was noted ...

. The building has now completed construction, which involved removing the tiles from the clock tower and replacing them with the type of stones used in the making of the new middle school building mentioned previously. This construction project also involved the repair of the roof. Sports facilities include the Bristol Gymnasium (competition space), the Hyde & Watson Gymnasium (general purpose), the Beinecke Pool (swimming), a fitness facility (weight room and cardio studio), a multi-sport turf field, tennis courts, an eight-lane track, a football field, a cross country running trail, two baseball diamonds, and numerous fields used for soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse. In January 2017, the Miller A. Bugliari '52 Athletics Center opened, with eight squash courts and the state of the art Greig Family memorial exercise weight and conditioning facility.

Student publications

* ''The Pingry Record'' – school newspaper * ''Vital Signs'' – current events magazine * ''Pingry Community Research (PCR)'' – science journal * ''The Bluebook'' – school yearbook * ''Polyglot'' – foreign language magazine * ''The Broken Wreckord'' – satirical newspaper * ''Calliope'' – a collection showcasing the writing and artistic ability of Pingry School students

Accreditation

The Pingry School is accredited by the

, 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, boar ...

, the

New Jersey Association of Independent Schools The New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) serves independent elementary and secondary schools throughout the state of New Jersey. The Association consists of 70 member schools with a total enrollment of approximately 26,000 students ...

and the

New Jersey Department of Education The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...

. The Pingry School is a member of the

National Association for College Admission Counseling The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), founded in 1937, is an organization of more than 25,000 professionals from around the world dedicated to serving students transitioning from secondary to postsecondary education ...

Notable alumni

* Michael Arrom (class of 2013), keyboardist with

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

, who has appeared on ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''. *

John D. Bates John Deacon Bates (born October 11, 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2001, and has adjudicated several cases ...

(born 1946, class of 1964), Senior Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia * Hanna Beattie (born 1995),

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward for the Connecticut Whale in the

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...

. *

Frank Chapot Francis Davis "Frank" Chapot (February 24, 1932 – June 20, 2016) was an American equestrian who competed at six consecutive Olympic Games - from 1956 to 1976 - and won two silver medals in team Show Jumping, show jumping, at 1960 Summer O ...

(1932-2016), equestrian who competed at six Olympic Games from 1956 until his final effort in 1976 where he won two silver medals in the Team

Show Jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

. * Mike Chernoff (born , class of 1999), General Manager of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. H ...

(born 1953), Secretary of

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...

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Garden State National Bank Garden State National Bank ("Garden State") was a mid-size commercial bank located in northern New Jersey that enjoyed success in the increasingly wealthy New Jersey suburbs of New York City during the 1970s. The significant media coverage it receiv ...

who missed his last year at Pingry due to illness. *

Mael Corboz Mael Corboz (born September 6, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for SC Verl. Early life Born to French-born parents, Michel and Christine, Corboz has a dual citizenship with France. Corboz's father is a fo ...

(born 1994), professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

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midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

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. * Robert C. Crane (1920–1962), newspaper publisher who was elected to the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

shortly before his death. * Mark Donohue (1937–1975, class of 1955), race car driver, winner of the 1972 Indianapolis 500 and the 1973 Can-Am Championship *

Paul W. Downs Paul W. Downs (born November 21, 1982) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. He is the co-creator, co-showrunner and star of the critically-acclaimed HBO Max series ''Hacks'', for which he has received a Primetime Emmy, Golden G ...

(born 1982), Emmy-Award winning American actor, writer, and director best known for his portrayal of Trey Pucker on the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

series ''

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series ...

''. * Steve Elmendorf (class of 1978), deputy campaign manager for Presidential candidate

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. *

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(born 1993),

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specializes in

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

events. * Michelle Friedland (born 1972, class of 1990), United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. *

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(born 1973, class of 1991), guitarist for the rock band

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. *

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. *

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celebrity. * Miguel Gutierrez (born 1971, class of 1989), choreographer. *

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(1882–1959), Fleet Admiral in the

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. *

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(born 1983, class of 2001), green-tied keyboardist and writer of indie rock band

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. *

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(born 1937, class of 1954), former CEO and founder of

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, billionaire on ''

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'' Magazine list. *

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(1940–2015, class of 1958), Federal Judge * Jamie Johnson (born 1979), clothing designer of ''Black Sweater'', documentary film maker, whose documentary films '' Born Rich'' and '' The One Percent'' appeared on

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(born 1976), Olympic foil fencer. *

Micah Kellner Micah Z. Kellner (born December 5, 1978) is an American politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he was formerly a member of the New York State Assembly from the 76th district, which includes Manhattan's Upper East Side and Roosevelt Is ...

(born 1978, class of 1997), Member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

.Staff
"Wayne Kasserman '94"
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and the

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. * Robert H. McCarter (1859–1941),

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(born 1968, class of 1986), Newark City Councilman / Candidate for Congress 10th District. * Jon Sarkin (born 1953, class of 1971), self-taught artist and stroke survivor.Achievement in the Arts Inaugural awardees
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Notable faculty

* Stephen Kovacs (1972–2022),

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Sexual abuse scandal

Initial allegations

On March 29, 2016, The Pingry School sent a letter to "parents of current students, the entire alumni and school trustees" informing them that the School had "recently learned from a few of our alumni that students were sexually abused by Thad Alton, an employee of Short Hills Country Day School from 1972 to 1974 and, following the merger of the two institutions, an employee of The Pingry School from 1974 to 1978." The letter stated that Pingry had hired a security firm to conduct an investigation on behalf of the school. The letter was signed by Headmaster Nathaniel E. Conard and Jeffrey N. Edwards, chair of the board of trustees. At that time, Crew Janci LLP, "a law firm that specializes in suing schools and youth organizations for their negligent handling of sexual abuse announced it has been investigating Alton's tenure at Pingry for over a year." Crew Janci LLP's investigation on behalf of the victims was "credited with persuading the 166-year-old ingryschool to launch its own investigation Crew Janci's website made clear that its investigation on behalf of the victims would continue, despite the announcement of the Pingry School's commissioning of an investigation. On April 1, 2016, ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'' revealed court documents indicating that Alton had previously been convicted for his sexual abuse of Pingry students. The spokesperson for the Pingry School was quoted as responding to this information by saying: "I'm afraid such a conviction is news to us" and that " wasn't until recently that the ingryschool's current administration knew anything about this situation in the '70s, which prompted us to act A news article published on April 8, 2016, detailed how Alton moved from Pingry School in 1978 to The Peck School, "10 miles away in Morristown." The Peck School sent a letter to its alumni explaining "that Alton had nothing but 'positive job references' when he was hired, fresh from six years at the Short Hills Country Day School, which merged with Pingry." After leaving the Peck School in 1979, Alton continued on as an educator at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York until he was arrested in December 1989 in relation to his sexual abuse of more than 50 children. On April 27, 2016, ''The Star- Ledger'' ran a report of interviews with several of the victims. Then, on April 28, "Pingry Survivors" – a group of individuals who were sexually abused as children while at Pingry— posted an open letter to the "Pingry Community." In their open letter, the Pingry Survivors stated their goals as follows: "(1) For the Pingry Community to learn the whole truth about the extent of the problem of child sexual abuse at the Pingry School – including a complete and accurate disclosure about the School's response at the time of the abuse (and since); (2) For The Pingry School to hear, understand, and acknowledge the suffering of each victim and to make meaningful amends; and, (3) For The Pingry School to dedicate itself to ensuring that this history can never be repeated (including an independent review of policies, practices, and culture, as well as implementation of meaningful changes)." The Pingry Survivors went on to say that they "hope that we and the current Pingry School leadership – with the support of the greater Pingry Community – can find a path forward that is collaborative and allows for true healing and reconciliation."

Outcome

During the year following Pingry's announcement of its investigation in March 2016, the school's child sexual abuse scandal was mentioned in multiple national media reports on private schools with pervasive sexual abuse in their pasts, including '' Vanity Fair'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. On March 28, 2017, The Pingry School released a letter announcing that it had concluded its "independent investigation into the sexual abuse allegations and circumstances surrounding Thad Alton's tenure." The school posted a "Report to the Pingry Community" on a website other than its official page called "www.pingryresponse.org." It is unclear whether the school received a more comprehensive investigative report. The "Report to the Pingry Community" substantiated 27 victims of child sexual abuse by Alton, as well as abuse by other former Pingry faculty and staff. The school announced that their investigator's report "affirms the abuse by former Pingry teacher and assistant Lower School principal Thad Alton. Pingry's investigative report revealed that at least one "school board member learned of Alton's activities in 1979," but that the Pingry School "never shared the information with its faculty, alumni or the family of its students." The school acknowledged in its letter that "the culture, structure, and policies of the school... allowed such atrocities to occur in the past." The school asserted: " are deeply sorry for the pain the survivors have suffered, and are grateful to them for coming forward. In our commitment to ongoing efforts to fully understand and address these troubling events in Pingry's past, we will be engaging with survivors to learn how we can best support them. Our hope is to heal as a community and continue to foster the culture of safety and well-being that our students deserve. This healing requires our continued partnership, collaboration, and candor." In the days after the release of the Pingry School's report, victims of abuse at Pingry went to the media with their stories about the abuse and the impact it had on their lives. In some of those media reports, the "Pingry Survivors" group asserted "their school knew what was going on" with the abuse at the time it was occurring. Alton has never been criminally prosecuted for his sexual abuse of most of the Pingry victims. He lives in Manhattan and is a registered sex offender in the State of New York. On December 4, 2017, an article appeared on the front page of ''The New York Times'' detailing Pingry's attempts to invoke to statute of limitations to avoid compensating former students who were victims of sexual abuse at the school.

References

External links

The Pingry School official website

College profile for the class of 2008

Pingry School Overview

WSJ High School Rankings

Pingry School

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