Saint David's School is an independent primary and pre-primary
school for boys on the
Upper East Side of
Manhattan,
New York City. The school educates boys 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 to
eighth grade
Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...
. Saint David's was founded in 1951.
The current headmaster is P. David O'Halloran.
History
St. David’s was originally the home of Ruth Hunter Cutting, daughter of
Robert Fulton Cutting, known as a prominent financier (he and his brother
William Bayard Cutting brought the sugar beet industry to the United States), philanthropist and as “the first citizen of New York.”
The school officially opened on February 5, 1951, and Saint David's began with one teacher and four students. Its purpose, according to its nine
founding families, was "to provide a sound substantial education for the growing boy, equal to the best, derived from institutions of a similar level."
While a school in the Roman Catholic tradition, Saint David's has always been lay-run and independent.
Chaplains
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...
that serve and have served the school are: Msgr. Thomas Leonard (1968-2003), Rev. Stephen Katsourous, S.J. (2003-2011) Rev. Patrick Bonner, S.T.B., M.S., J.C.L., and Father Christopher Keenan.
In the decades since its founding, Saint David's has undertaken several expansions, adding facilities for its academic and athletics programs.
Today, the school community includes 400 students and more than 130 faculty and staff.
Academics
Saint David's School is accredited by the
New York State Association of Independent Schools,
the
National Association of Independent Schools, and the
Educational Records Bureau.
Boys have largely moved onto day schools in New York City, such as
Regis or
Collegiate, while others moved onto boarding schools; boys have gone to
Deerfield Academy,
Kent School,
Trinity-Pawling School
Trinity-Pawling School, founded in 1907, is an independent college and preparatory boarding school for boys from 7th grade to 12th grade. The 230 acre campus is situated in Pawling, New York, a small hamlet in southern Dutchess County. It is lo ...
,
Phillips Exeter
(not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God)
, location = 20 Main Street
, city = Exeter, New Hampshire
, zipcode ...
,
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private high ...
,
Lawrenceville School, and
Phillips Andover.
Athletics
The school offers a
sports program, including
baseball,
basketball,
cross-country
Cross country or cross-country may refer to:
Places
* Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland
* Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY
* Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...
, flag football,
floor hockey,
lacrosse,
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 ...
,
squash, and
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
.
They have three gymnasiums on-campus (including one that is middle school regulation size)
As an after-school elective, Saint David's also offers an
ice hockey program which begins in kindergarten and is available until 8th grade. In the 2018-2019 hockey season, Saint David's won its first ice hockey championship in the Hudson Valley Hockey League by defeating North Park.
In early June 2019, the school was visited by
Justin Tuck, formerly of the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, to speak at an athletics networking event for alumni, parents, and students.
Community service
Saint David's participates in many
community service initiatives, some of which include their annual Halloween candy drive, their bottle cap drive, and other fundraising projects. They work with
New York Cares
New York Cares is a nonprofit organization focused on volunteer management and was founded by a group of New York residents in 1987 who wanted to take action against social issues in New York City. The organization currently engages 65,000 volunt ...
for their annual coat drive, the Graham Windham Mitten and Hat Collection, Project Cicero for book donations,
City Harvest for annual food drives,
Ronald McDonald's Fun Run, Florence Nightingale Nursing Home
and Terence Cardinal Cooke Nursing Home for nursing home visits and carols, and It's My Park Day to rejuvenate New York City Parks.
In 2004, the school raised more than $10,000 for the
Red Cross and their South East Asia Tsunami Fund.
In 2010, they raised $36,000 for Haiti's Recovery Fund.
And in 2011, they began a new initiative to raise money to build a school in the
Tigray Region of
Ethiopia with the help of Mimi's Building Blocks and
Save the Children. They raised more than $120,000 and Saint David's Kalina School opened in Ethiopia in the fall of 2013.
Notable alumni
*
Andrew Giuliani
Andrew Harold Giuliani (born January 30, 1986) is an American political commentator and golfer. He was a special assistant to the President and associate director of the Office of Public Liaison, during the Trump Administration, Trump administrat ...
,
Special Assistant to President Trump and Associate Director of the
Office of Public Liaison; son of
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
(mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001).
[A study in smutty; Porn perused at posh prep: bias suit](_blank)
Nypost.com, January 31, 2011.
*
Ryu Goto, concert violinist
*
John F. Kennedy Jr.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John-John or JFK Jr., was an American lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher. He was a son of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kenn ...
, son of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy
*
Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi, son of the last
Shah of Iran and second in line to the succession of the throne of Iran until the
Islamic Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
*
Andrew Rossi, documentary filmmaker
*
Dick Wolf, television producer
* Robert Chambers (criminal), Robert Chambers, criminal
Headmasters
*Thomas F. Herlihy (1951-1953)
*David D. Hume (1953–1990)
References
External links
Saint David's School Website
Saint David's School Headmaster's Blog
Saint David's School Facebook Page
{{New York Interschool
Boys' schools in New York City
Educational institutions established in 1951
Private middle schools in Manhattan
Roman Catholic elementary schools in Manhattan
Private K–8 schools in Manhattan
1951 establishments in New York City