At a Glance
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Robert Louis Stevenson School is an independent, progressive, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Manhattan. Located in a landmark building just off Central Park West, Stevenson serves students from all five boroughs of New York City, as well as the surrounding suburban areas of Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Mission
The Robert Louis Stevenson School helps bright, underachieving adolescents by providing a college preparatory educational program within a therapeutic milieu that provides the necessary academic, social and emotional help for them to succeed. Stevenson aims to help its students achieve on a level commensurate with their abilities, and to prepare them to cope with the demands and pressures of both college and everyday life.
Number of students
75 students, ages 13 - 18 years
Number of teachers, counselors and psychologists
Stevenson has 16 faculty members, 2 psychologists, a learning specialist, as well as a counselor (college and general). Faculty are also advisors, meeting with students at least three times a day.
Our student to staff ratio is 4:1.
Colleges
Stevenson graduates have attended (partial list):
Antioch College, Bard College, Barnard College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Carnegie Mellon University, Goucher College, Hampshire College, Ithaca College, Middlebury College, New York University, Oberlin College, Sarah Lawrence College, Rhode Island School of Design, Skidmore College, Stevens Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Reed College, Rensselaer Polytechnic University, University of Massachusetts, Vassar College. In addition, graduates have attended CUNY and SUNY schools.
Class size
Average class size is 8.
Student/Computer Ratio
1:1
Accreditation
- New York State Association of Independent Schools
- Registered and chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and Department of Education
Affiliations
- National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
- New York Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS)
- The College Board
Founded
1908
Brief History
Stevenson was established in 1908 as a girls’ finishing school by Dr. William Whitney. In 1936 it became a progressive college preparatory school for girls under the direction of Dr. Annette T. Rubenstein. Then, toward the end of the 50’s, the model changed.
In the late 1950’s Leo and Lucille Rhodes had their fingers on the pulse of trends that would grow, and, some would argue, engulf us as decades have passed. They recognized burgeoning pressure, demands, and competition arising in post-sputnik America, and they realized these stressors took a toll. Perhaps predictably, the response among adolescents was particularly negative. Many bright teens were not thriving in high schools of the time. The Rhodes’ wanted to begin a different kind of school that could reach these adolescents.
They researched educational principles, school models and the growing body of psychological knowledge to inform their search for a program that would work. After a two-year project of consultation with experts in innovative education (public, independent, remedial, and special), adolescent development, psychology and psychiatry, Leo and Lucille launched Stevenson to provide a college preparatory program that offered a rigorous academic program with the therapeutic support that would ensure success.