St. Luke's School is a coeducational elementary and middle school which is divided into a Lower School (Grades JK-4) and an Upper School (Grades 5–8). It is located on the block of The Church of St. Luke in the Fields in the West

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

at 487 Hudson Street,

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. In 2020, the school completed an expansion, during which the school grew from a one-class-per-grade model to two classes per grade. Total enrollment for 2021-2022 is 340, which includes one class of Junior Kindergarten and two classes of Kindergarten through Grade 8. Class sizes range from 18 to 20. The student-teacher ratio is 7:1. Bart Baldwin served as

Head of School A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

from 2007 to 2023. His successor, Tracy Fedonchik, was named in January 2023. The current Upper School Head is Amy Francisco, and the current Lower School Head is Karina Otoya-Knapp. The current Chief Officer of Admissions and Enrollment is Susan Harriot.

History

Today's St. Luke's School is really the fourth school on its current grounds. Three times over the years, the Church of St. Luke in the Fields established parish day schools, but the constantly changing neighborhoods made it difficult to sustain them. As World War II ended and young middle-class families moved into the West Village, St. Luke's responded to the community's need for a school. With the help of Trinity Church, St. Luke's School opened its doors on September 24, 1945, with 19 children and two teachers in classrooms in the Parish House. The school operated as a division of the church until it achieved independence in 2012. In 2020, St. Luke's School fully expanded its student body after a decade of growth. In fall 2022, the school opened its brand new rooftop play field and learning space. Past heads of school have included Katharine Taylor, Barbara Belknap (sister of Robert L. Belknap), Katherine Johnson (interim), Jessie-Lea Hayes, and Ann Mellow. Robert Snyder was a teacher at the school between 1973 and 2011. Freyda Rapp was a physical education teacher from 1985 to 2012.The Winged Ox: Tales from St. Luke's School - Summer 2012
/ref> An influential past librarian was Grace Sawyer, after whom the current library is named.

Notable alumni

Nicholas Birns Nicholas Birns (born May 30, 1965) is a scholar of literature, including fantasy and Australian literature. As a Tolkien scholar he has written on a variety of topics including " The Scouring of the Shire" and Tolkien's biblical sources. His analy ...

, literary critic *

Caleb Carr Caleb Carr (August 2, 1955 – May 23, 2024) was an American military historian and author. Carr was the second of three sons born to Lucien Carr and Francesca Von Hartz. Carr authored '' The Alienist'', '' The Angel of Darkness'', '' Casing t ...

- Author *

Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born October 1969) is an Irish Canadians, Irish Canadian novelist, screenwriter, playwright and literary historian. Her 2010 novel ''Room (novel), Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donog ...

—author * Kate Edwards, costume designer * Lukasz Gottwald aka

Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...

- record producer and songwriter. * Madeleine Gruen, intelligence analyst. * Dorothy Huse Dowe—vice mayor of Greenville, SC * Christopher Krovatin, novelist. * Ledlie I. Laughlin III, Episcopal priest. * Victoria Leacock Hoffman—theatrical producer. * Maxime Pradié - Chef * Henry Reukauf- Investment Analyst *

Kate Schellenbach Katherine A. Schellenbach (born January 5, 1966) is an American musician and television producer. She is the drummer of Luscious Jackson and was a founding drummer of Beastie Boys. Career Born in New York City, she played with Beastie Boys from 1 ...

, musician,

Luscious Jackson Luscious Jackson is an alternative rock/rap-rock group formed in 1991. The band's name is a reference to former American basketball player Lucious Jackson. The original band consisted of Jill Cunniff (lead vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, ...

Affiliations

References

{{coord, 40, 43, 57.52, N, 74, 0, 24.32, W, region:US-NY_type:edu, display=title Private elementary schools in Manhattan Private middle schools in Manhattan Greenwich Village Private K–8 schools in Manhattan 1945 establishments in New York City Educational institutions established in 1945