| Poly Prep Country Day School | |
| Motto: | Virtus victrix fortunae |
| Motto Translation: | Virtue is the victor over fate |
| Established: | 1854 (as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute) |
| Streetaddress: | 9216 Seventh Avenue |
| City: | Dyker Heights, Brooklyn |
| State: | New York 11228 |
| Country: | United States |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Campus Size: | 26acres |
| Type: | Independent Country Day School |
| Gender: | Co-educational |
| Affiliation: | New York Interschool |
| Headmaster: | Audrius Barzdukas |
| Faculty: | Approx. 270 |
| Enrollment: | 1,021 |
| Grades: | N–12 |
| Accreditation: | NYSAIS |
| Mascot: | Blue Devil |
| Conference: | Ivy Preparatory School League |
| Colors: | Blue and grey |
| Newspaper: | The Polygon The Tower Times |
| Yearbook: | The Polyglot |
| Coordinates: | 40.612°N -74.025°W |
Poly Prep Country Day School (commonly known as Poly Prep) is an independent, co-educational day school with two campuses in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The Middle School (5th to 8th grades) and Upper School (9th to 12th grades) are located in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, while the Lower School (nursery to 4th grade) is located in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood. Initially founded as part of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (predecessor of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering), Poly Prep now offers classes from nursery school through 12th grade.
Poly Prep was established years ago in 1854 as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute in Downtown Brooklyn. It was one of the first private boys' schools in the city of Brooklyn. The initial aim of the school was to offer an academic program similar to that of boarding schools of the time while striving to maintain a strong community feel among students and faculty alike.
After 45 years, the future of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute was re-evaluated in 1889, when the preparatory school and the collegiate division were finally separated. In 1891, the construction of a new building next door to the school's original building provided a home for the college, which became known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Both divisions still exist, although the collegiate division, after many changes of name, was eventually acquired by New York University (NYU) in 2008 and, as of 2014, is now known as the New York University Tandon School of Engineering.[1]
After its initial separation from the collegiate division, the Polytechnic Preparatory Institute remained an all-boys collegiate preparatory program at 99 Livingston Street and, by the mid-1890s, had already become one of the largest prep schools in the country, with over 600 students.
The school acquired its Dyker Heights location in 1916 after a 25-acre parcel of land, formerly the Dyker Meadow Golf Course, was offered to the trustees. Classes began during the fall of 1917 at the new campus, amid continued construction that helped shape much of the school's current appearance.
During the tenure of headmaster William M. Williams, the school began the transition to co-education in 1977 when it first admitted girls, graduating its first co-ed class in 1979.
Poly Prep's most recent and dramatic expansion occurred in 1995, with its acquisition of the historic Hulbert Mansion from the Brooklyn Ethical Culture Society, a site formerly rented by the now defunct Woodward Park School. The new property was converted into Poly's Lower School, offering classes for students from nursery through 4th grade.
In the 2006–2007 school year, a modern expansion was added onto the Park Slope building. As part of its "Blue and Gray Goes Green!" initiative, Poly chose to reduce the new Lower School's ecological "footprint". Poly's renovated Lower School became the first LEED-certified school building in New York City, and the first such primary school building in the state.
In April 2009, Poly Prep's Lower School won the Lucy B. Moses Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy as an outstanding example of historic preservation and renovation.
The school was the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn in 2009 centering on the sexual assault of students by Philip Foglietta, the head football coach from 1966 to 1991.
The allegations surfaced during Foglietta's first year at the school, during the tenure of Headmaster J. Folwell Scull, who was the head of Poly Prep from 1949 to 1970. They persisted during the tenure of William M. Williams, who was the headmaster from 1970 to 2000. Despite ongoing accusations of rape and molestation, no action was taken for 25 years, until Foglietta's contract was not renewed in 1991. However, even then, the school announced that Foglietta had decided to retire and made no mention of the abuse.
Alumni continued to press the matter, and eventually Williams's successor, David Harman, wrote to alumni in 2002 that the school had "recently [emphasis added] received credible allegations" of abuse—36 years after the first report of molestation.[2]
Two years later 12 victims filed suit in state court, but the suit was dismissed due to New York State's statute of limitations. However, U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block subsequently ruled that portions of the suit could proceed in federal court. The suit was settled for $10 million in December 2012. On February 21, 2014, the school issued what the Wall Street Journal called "a sweeping apology" for the abuse and the school's failure over the decades to respond appropriately when victims revealed their abuse.[3] Headmaster Harman and the chairman of the board of trustees, Scott Smith, subsequently resigned. A permanent memorial to the victims of the abuse was placed in a prominent location of the campus.
Poly Prep consists of three divisions, beginning with the Lower School located at 50 Prospect Park West in Brooklyn.[4] Lower School education commences with the nursery school program, which consists of early childhood learning up until the pre-kindergarten level, and continues on through fourth grade. The middle school program begins at grade 5, at which point Poly students enroll at Poly Prep's Middle and Upper School campus located at 9216 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn,[4] where they continue their education through 8th grade and then into high school.
Poly Prep is part of the Ivy Preparatory School League, a division of the greater New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), which comprises all the private schools in the state. The school has a number of award-winning programs, most notably football, basketball, and baseball. Hockey was introduced in 2010.
| Fall teams | Winter teams | Spring teams | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys' soccer | Girls' basketball | Softball | |
| Girls' soccer | Boys' basketball | Baseball | |
| Cross country | Girls' swimming | Girls' lacrosse | |
| Girls' tennis | Boys' swimming | Boys' lacrosse | |
| Girls' volleyball | Boys' squash | Golf | |
| Football | Girls' squash | Ultimate frisbee | |
| Collegiate wrestling | Outdoor track and field | ||
| Hockey | Boys' tennis | ||
| Indoor track and field | Crew |
In the years since the opening of the Dyker Heights campus in 1917, Poly has had six headmasters (currently known as Head of School): Joseph Dana Allen (1917–1949), J. Folwell Scull (1949–1970), William M. Williams (1970–2000), David Harman (2000–2016), Audrius Barzdukas (2016–2023), John Rankin - interim (2023-2025), and Noni Thomas López (2025 - TBD)