The Harley School

Infobox Secondary school
name = The Harley School
native_name =

motto = "Become What Thou Art"
established = 1917
city = Rochester
state = New York 14618
province =
country = United States
campus = Suburban
type = Independent, college preparatory school
affiliation =
affiliations =
president =
principal =
headmaster = Timothy Cottrell
rector =
dean =
founder = Harriet Bentley
chaplain =
chairman =
head =
faculty =
students =
enrollment = approx. 470
enrollment =
grades = Nursery - 12th
address = |
oversight =
accreditation = Institute for Independent Education and National Association of Independent Education
mascot = Wolves
colors = Green and white
colours =
newspaper = The Acorn Press
yearbook = The Comet
free_label_1 = Avg. SAT
free_1 = 684 (Verbal) 653 (Math)
free_label_2 = Faculty:Student Ratio
free_2 = 8:1
free_label_3 = Annual Tuition
free_3 = $19,000
website = http://www.harleyschool.org
footnotes =
picture =

The Harley School is an independent college preparatory school serving day students in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1917 by Harriet Bentley, The Harley School spans from nursery school to the twelfth grade. Admissions is very selective due to the fact that enrollment in each grade is capped, and prospective students are often placed on wait lists.

History

The Harley School was founded in 1917 by Harriet Bentley and a group of mothers who set out to establish a school for four-year-olds modeled after the schools of Maria Montessori. Originally called the 'The Children's University School of Rochester', it hired a teacher to come from New York City and serve. The school was intended to be democratic, with scholarships for less privileged children, and to work as a cooperative. It opened on Oxford Street in the city, and later moved to Park Avenue. The initial tuition was $8. With the Spanish Influenza outbreak in Rochester in 1918, the school was shut down. In the fall of that year, Harriet Bentley fell ill and died within a week. In 1924 the school was renamed 'Harley' in her honor, incorporating the first three and last three letters of her name. The school later moved to its current location on Clover Street.

Campus

The school is located in the suburb of Brighton along the Pittsford town line. The 25 acre campus is composed of a newly remodeled main building, the athletic building, known as the Fieldhouse, which contains an indoor swimming pool and tennis courts, and a landscaped courtyard. The grounds hold two soccer fields, tennis courts, and a playground, and are bordered by a creek. A distinctive element of the building is the new arts wing, which holds several art studios, a glass blowing workshop, and a pottery studio, and has a bell tower, of which unfortunately the bells are fake and do not actually ring. The school also owns numerous nearby houses for teacher residences and has plans to buy up much of the surrounding land for a new expansion.

Education

The average class size is 8 students. 75% of the faculty hold advanced degrees. In 2005, 12 students, or 29% of the class, gained National Merits status. This was the highest percentage in the state. Classes are taught in the traditional fields of history, English, mathematics, science, and foreign languages. All students are required to take three years of a foreign language before graduating. For foreign language requirements, Spanish or French may be taken, as well as Latin. Starting in the school year 08/09, Latin is considered a foreign language, instead of an elective. The school also offers many electives, including philosophy, music theory, and personal finance. For the truly ambitious, there is an ancient Greek class during the lunch period.

tudents

The school has 500 students in grades Pre-K through 12th grade. The students come from 40 different school districts, 23% are minority, and 34% are on some level of financial aid. 95% of students take Advanced Placement tests and 100% gain college acceptance, for example to the nearby University of Rochester, as well as Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Brown University, Williams College, Skidmore College, Oberlin College, Middlebury College, Princeton University, MIT, SUNY Geneseo, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Notre Dame University, George Washington University, Stanford University, The College of Wooster, Emory University, and Pomona College.

Traditions

The Harley School maintains many traditions, such as its annual Candlelight Pan-Religious ceremony, and May Day, when school is dismissed early to allow students to interact outdoors. Other important traditions include the Halloween Parade, the Christmas Feast, Scottish Exchange, the Thanksgiving Pageant, the 2nd grade overnight, and the Trivia Bowl. Most recently the student body, with the assistance and idea from the White Key Club, has spearheaded a campaign to begin building houses for Habitat for Humanity.

tudent clubs and organizations

The school has a considerable number of clubs, especially in the Upper School. Prominent clubs include:

tudent Athletics

Interscholastic leagues

Finger-Lakes West DivisionSection V Athletics

ports teams

The athletics programs at Harley are paired with another private college preparatory school in the area, Allendale Columbia School, to create larger, more competitive teams. Before the union, Harley's team mascot was a tiger. The combined Harley and Allendale-Columbia teams, frequently referred to as H.A.C. (pronounced H.A.C- NOT HACK), originally competed as the Harley Allendale-Columbia Braves. In 1997, students of both schools voted to change the team name from the Braves to the Wolves. Team supporters are known as the Wolfpack. And it is with no doubt that their tennis team is the strongest sports program. Their tennis team received seventh place at the national high school tournament in California despite the small size of their schools.

The school has had success in the Finger-Lakes West Division, including recent sectional titles in Boys and Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Soccer, and Boys Basketball. The school requires one athletic sport a year in grade 9 and 10, and afterwards strongly encourages participation.

* V = Varsity, JV = Junior Varsity, M = Modified

Athletic accomplishments

2006-07: Boys tennis (BB), Girls soccer (C)(Co-Champions with BK)

2005-06: Boys tennis (BB), Boys soccer (C)

2004-05: Boys soccer(C)

1998-99: Boys cross country (Class D), boys tennis (C), girls tennis (C)1997-98: Boys cross country (D), boys tennis (D), girls soccer (DD), girls tennis (C), girls track (D)1996-97: Boys cross country (D), boys tennis (D), girls tennis (C)1995-96: Boys cross country (D), girls tennis (C), girls track (D)1994-95: Girls tennis (C)1993-94: Girls tennis (C)

External links

* [http://www.harleyschool.org/ Official website]