Why St. Luke's?


From Alumni Parent Anna Quindlen:

"Home is a feeling that glows in your heart, that you feel deep down in your bones. I felt it powerfully the first morning I woke to the cacophony of New York. And I sensed it completely the first time we took our children by the hand and led them down the narrow path between the trees to the double doors of St. Luke's School.

Why so?

We are neither big nor showy, shiny-new nor venerable grey stone.  But from the moment you leave the chaos of the street for the peace of the enclosure where children ebb and flow like wavelets, this is a place that embraces.  In the country's largest city we have created a small town in which we all – parents, teachers, staff, especially kids – know and cherish one another. Even the squirrels have names. 'I never even knew this was here,' some people marvel when they come through the gates for the first time. But we are not a mirage.

St. Luke's School is a little miracle, cobbled together year after year with great care, a collection of strangers turned over time into a cohesive and caring community, devoted to excellence, ethics, education, and love." 

Anna Quindlen
COLUMNIST, NOVELIST, AND ALUMNI PARENT

Flowering trees surround the school grounds

 

 

Why JK - 8?

No other age level is of more importance to the future of individuals, and, literally, to that of society; because these are the years when youngsters crystallize their beliefs about themselves and firm up their self-concepts, their philosophies of life, and their values - the things that are the ultimate determinants of their behaviors.

John H. Lounsbury
UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATING THE WONDER YEARS

 

A Junior Kindergarten through Grade 8 school allows children and families to choose a high school that is right for each child. With their parents’ input and guidance from St. Luke’s faculty and administrators, students are empowered to choose a high school that best suits their individual abilities and future goals.

At St. Luke’s School, students have time to reflect on who they are, their talents and special interests, and their goals as a learner. Grade 8 students must work positively with their parents throughout the process, learning valuable life lessons in interviewing and decision making.

St. Luke's superb record of high school acceptances is a tribute to outstanding teaching and the growth that the children have experienced as learners over their years.

 advantages of a st. luke's education 


  • The needs of children ages 4 - 14 inform all that we do at St. Luke’s School, including the arrangement of the classrooms, the teachers we hire, and how and what we teach.
     

  • Teachers at St. Luke’s School are specialists in early childhood, elementary, and middle-level education.  They focus their energies on a particular developmental level in a rich and challenging intellectual environment.
     
  • Childhood is a process of learning and becoming.  At St. Luke’s, children grow “into themselves.”  It is an unfolding journey towards independence, mastery, competence, and an authentic sense of self.
     
  • The Lower School allows children to grow into and discover themselves as learners, friends, and community contributors.  In the Upper School, students extend their knowledge and interests, serve as school leaders, refine organizational and study skills, and make meaningful contributions to school and the wider world of which they are a part.
     
  • Students forge friendships across grade levels, increasing the sense of community that characterizes the school.  In the Partners Program, students from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 6 work together.  Lunch, recess, the After School Program, sports teams, Chapel, convocation, and assemblies all allow children to interact across the grades.
     
  • Students do not have the influence of high school students, thus allowing them to learn and grow in age-appropriate ways.  All of the school’s activities and curricula are geared to young children and emerging adolescents.  This allows our students to be themselves and to experience the joy and play of childhood.
  • Grade 8 students are the leaders of the school.  Students leave St. Luke’s with a clear sense of self, leadership experience, and confidence to embrace the opportunities and challenges of high school. Responsibility for self and others, an expectation that they will lead the student body through example, meaningful engagement with community and world issues, and an intentional transition to high school are given specific attention.