The Dalton School

The Dalton School, originally called the Children's University School, is a private school in New York City. It is currently located at 108 East 89th Street in Manhattan and regarded as a highly elite private school.

History

The Dalton School, originally called the Children's University School, was founded by Helen Parkhurst in 1919. It was a time marked by educational reform. Philosophers, teachers, and child psychologists identified as "progressives" began to question the conventional wisdom of the day which held that education was a process of drill and memorization and that the only way to teach was to regiment children in classrooms. Their natural instincts to play, to move, to talk, and to inquire freely were suppressed.

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Progressive educators believed that the development of the whole child is of primary importance; that children are social beings and that schools should be communities where they can learn to live with others; that these communities should devote themselves to the total enrichment of mind, body, and spirit.

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Helen Parkhurst, after experimentation in her own one-room school with Maria Montessori, and visiting other progressive schools in Europe including John Haden Badley founder and headmaster of Bedales School in England, developed what she termed the Dalton Plan. It called for teachers and students to work together toward individualized goals. The Laboratory Plan was put into effect as an experiment in the High School of Dalton, Massachusetts, in 1916. From this beginning, the Laboratory Plan and The Dalton School eventually took their names and their mission.

Related Topics:
Maria Montessori - John Haden Badley - Bedales School - Dalton, Massachusetts

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In 1919, Helen Parkhurst relocated to New York City, where she opened her first school on West 74th Street. Larger facilities soon became necessary; the Lower School was moved to West 72nd Street, and the High School opened in the autumn of 1929 in the current building at 108 East 89th Street. Eleanor Roosevelt admired the work of Helen Parkhurst and played an important role in expanding the population and resources of the school by promoting a merger between the Todhunter School and Dalton in 1939.

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Enlarged and modified through the years, Dalton still celebrates many of the school-wide traditions begun by Helen Parkhurst, including the Candle Lighting Ceremony, Greek Festival, and Arch Day.

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Over the years, Dalton has gained international recognition for its academic excellence. Schools in The Netherlands, Australia, England, Korea, The Czech Republic, Taiwan, and Chile have adopted the Dalton Plan. Today, there are three schools founded on the Dalton Plan in Japan. Leading educators from public and private schools and universities, from the United States and abroad, occasionally visit Dalton to observe its system of education and to learn more about the school's recognized achievements in the area of technology.

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