Dwight School

The Dwight School is a selective, combined elementary and secondary private school on the Upper West Side in New York, NY.

Related Topics:
Upper West Side - New York, NY

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The school was founded in 1880 by Julius Sachs, founder of The College Board and member of the Goldman Sachs banking family. Throughout the early decades of the school, it catered to the Upper East Side's "German Jewish aristocracy," in the words of Stephen Birmingham in his book, "Our Crowd": The Great Jewish Families of New York (see famous alumni below). In the 1890s, Timothy Dwight became involved in the affairs of the school and it became a feeder school for Yale University. The school's campus was originally located on Central Park South, adjacent to the Plaza Hotel, but later moved to a more economically viable location on York Avenue and 71st Street as a result of the Great Depression. Around that time, the school became a major feeder for service academies such as West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1993, Dwight merged with the Anglo-American International School (formerly known as the Franklin School, founded 1872) and moved its campus to Anglo-American's location on Central Park West and 89th Street. In addition to the original building on 89th street, the school expanded, occupying several floors of a building across the street at 294 Central Park West.

Related Topics:
1880 - Julius Sachs - Timothy Dwight - Yale University - Plaza Hotel - Great Depression

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Children who are enrolled in Dwight's selective lower school are placed in an immersion program where they are expected to become fluent in a foreign language. Dwight has traditionally expected their lower school students to become proficient in French, but has recently switched to Spanish in an effort to update their curriculum. In the 1980s, Dwight became the first school in the United States to offer the three International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, grades K-12.

Related Topics:
United States - International Baccalaureate

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Despite the school's small size of about 400 students, 37 countries are represented due to the large diplomatic contingent that schools its kids there, representing at least a quarter of the students in most classes. Many of the parents are United Nations ambassdors, consuls general to New York, or employees of the United Nations Secretariat.

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Dwight's faculty is considered among some of the most accomplished in New York City. The majority of faculty hold a diplomafrom an Ivy League University. Two current teachers are Dr. Scott Hoerle, formerly a humanities professor at Harvard, and Radomir Kovacevich a three-time Olympic champion. The former coach of Dwight's state champion basketball team Pee Wee Kirkland is a New York City streetball legend and Chicago Bulls draft pick who was featured in a major article in Sports Illustrated. Dwight is also a powerhouse in fencing and tennis, in which it has won national championships.

Related Topics:
Ivy League - Pee Wee Kirkland

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Dwight's mascot is the "Dwight Tiger," a visible symbol around the school. Their school colors are Blue and White, and an annual "Blue and White" competition between students is held annually. The school motto is: "Use your spark of genius to build a better world."

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Famous alumni include:

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Government

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Henry Morgenthau Secretary of the Treasury to president Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York City

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Robert Moses Master builder of New York City

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Herbert Lehman Governor of New York, Senator, Investment banker (co-founder of Lehman Brothers)

Related Topics:
Herbert Lehman - Lehman Brothers

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Walter Lippmann Advisor to President Harry Truman, political columnist and arguably intellectual forrunner to the neo-conservatives.

Related Topics:
Walter Lippmann - Harry Truman

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Arts and Entertainment

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Paris Hilton, famous for being famous

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Vin Diesel Actor, The Fast and the Furious, Saving Private Ryan

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Truman Capote, Writer

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Three of The Strokes, Music sensation

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Hal Prince, Legend of the American stage, 20 time Tony award winner

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Roy Lichtenstein, famous artist, known for using comic book motif in paintings

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Lizzie Grubman, High profile agent, son of super-agent Allen Grubman, famous for crashing her car into a crowd of Hamptons socialites. Supposedly kicked out of Dwight and went to Beekman, a typical destination for such students.

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Dwight is infamous for the acronym: Dumb White Idiots Getting High Together. After pressure from an article released by W Magazine, the school administration created a drug abuse prevention program to combat the wide use of high-end narcotics within the school.

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The current Chancellor of Dwight, Stephen Spahn, a Rhodes Scholar, is the longest-serving head of a private school in New York City. He holds the title of Chancellor because he is also the nominal head of Dwight's sister school, the Woodside Park International School in London, United Kingdom. It was originally the "Anglo" component of the Anglo-American International School. Spahn's father, Morris "Moe" Spahn, who previously ran the Anglo-American International School, was the 1937-38 MVP of the American Basketball League, a predecessor of the National Basketball Association.

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