Spence School Explained

Spence School
Established:1892
Motto:Latin: Non scholae sed vitae discimus
Motto Translation:Not for school, but for life we learn
Founder:Clara B. Spence
Tuition:$60,880 (2022-2023)
Principal Label:Head of School
Principal:Ellanor "Bodie" Brizendine
Streetaddress:56 East 93rd Street (Lower School)
22 East 91st Street (Middle/Upper School)
City:New York City (Manhattan)
Country:U.S.
Zipcode:10128
Faculty:210 (2014–15)
Enrollment:736
Enrollment As Of:2014–15
Ratio:7:1
Accreditation:NYSAIS[1]
Nickname:Sabers
Colors:Blue, Gold and White

The Spence School is an American all-girls private school in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence.[2]

Spence has about 740 students, with grades K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the Middle School, and 9-12 representing the Upper School. Lower school average class sizes are 16-18 and middle and upper school average class sizes are 13–14. The student: teacher ratio is 7:1 and students of color in all grades make up approximately 33 percent of the student body.[3]

For the 2017–18 academic year, tuition and fees total $49,980 for all grades.[4] Its sister schools are the all-girls Brearley School, the all-girls Chapin School and the all-boys Collegiate School, all in New York City. Forbes magazine ranked Spence ninth on its "America's Best Prep Schools" list in 2010.[5]

History

The Spence School was founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence, who was its head for 31 years. The school's motto is "non scholae sed vitae discimus" (Latin for "Not for school, but for life we learn"). The first building was located on New York City's West 48th Street.[6] The school once had a boarding option, but all current girls are day students.

Clara B. Spence described her school as: "A place not of mechanical instruction, but a school of character where the common requisites for all have been human feeling, a sense of humor and the spirit of intellectual and moral adventure."

Spence read from Shakespeare in dramatic declamation every week. She was known for her conservative comportment and strictness, but also her devotion to women's rights. She arranged for Edith Wharton, Helen Keller, and George Washington Carver to speak at the school. Isadora Duncan taught dance classes.

In a commencement address from an unknown year, Spence said that cultivating imagination was an important skill, since “sympathy, that great bond between human beings, is largely dependent on imagination—that is, upon the power of realizing the feelings and the circumstances of others so as to enable us to feel with and for them.”[7]

The school has been located on East 91st Street since 1929.

Academics

Spence offers a liberal arts and science curriculum, including programs in the arts and foreign languages. In a Worth magazine study, out of the 31,700 private and public high schools in the United States, Spence ranked the sixth most successful school in the country in placing its graduates in Harvard, Yale and Princeton.[8]

Notable alumnae

Affiliated organizations

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.spenceschool.org/Page/About-Spence/At-a-Glance Spence School | At a Glance
  2. http://www.city-journal.org/html/11_2_survivor.html Survivor: The Manhattan Kindergarten by Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal Spring 2001
  3. http://www.spenceschool.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?page=30770 The Spence School | FAQ
  4. Web site: Tuition & Financial Aid at the Spence School in Manhattan.
  5. News: A profile of one of America's 20 best prep schools.. Forbes. April 10, 2010. Raquel. Laneri.
  6. http://www.spenceschool.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?page=30737 The Spence School | History
  7. Book: Gordon, Meryl . The Phantom of Fifth Avenue. The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark . 2014. 9781455512645 .
  8. http://www.auap.com/prepschoolclass.html CollegePrepUSA (from Worth magazine)
  9. Web site: Frances Baldwin. SFGate. August 10, 1999. Hearst Communications. December 25, 2015.
  10. [Bill Dedman]
  11. Web site: Dawn French bio. June 2, 2007.
  12. Web site: Ciaran Brown Meets the Stars(Dawn French). Ciaran Brown. April 2008. October 26, 2010.
  13. https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/126045.htm Bonnie Jenkins U.S. State Department bio
  14. Web site: Elizabeth Montgomery Bio. Biography Channel(UK). October 26, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110226072848/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/elizabeth-montgomery.html. February 26, 2011.

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