ABOUT

Welcome,
What do you remember about your first school? My first school was in Norway and I took two trains and climbed a mountain, a real Norwegian mountain, to get there. Our teacher always met the train and took my hand so we could climb up together. I remember my hand in hers and the sight of her lovely Conch shell pink nails swinging in my peripheral vision. I loved my teacher and my school. As ARS is our students’ first school, it will be the one they will always remember and love. It is our singular honor to serve what can be defined as the tenderest years of childhood. It is our collective goal to have each person who crosses the threshold fondly remember whatever feature was their top priority at the time. For a young prospective student, perhaps it is the friendliness of the other children. For prospective parents, perhaps it is the engagement level of the students and faculty. For trained educators, it may be the academic level at which they see our students performing. For grandparents, with an appreciation for longevity, it may be our 230-year history. For the aesthete, it may be the charm of our old-world architecture and style. Priorities change with time, but whatever one finds to value in a small, traditional, independent, coeducational elementary school, that quality even if immeasurable, should be in abundance at ARS.

It is actually the immeasurable qualities that are emphasized at ARS: passion, kindness, empathy, courtesy and thoughtfulness. All of these qualities are by-products of what is considered the core curriculum. There are many worthy measurable qualities that result from a strong curriculum offered by gifted teachers, and our students are the lucky recipients of those as well. ARS ineffably turns curious children into life-long students with a strong foundation in reading, writing (real handwriting, cursive included), mathematics, science, public speaking, multiple foreign languages, and then the subjects of the truly well educated: music, art and ethics.

If you haven’t yet come through the doorway to ARS, I invite you to do so, our students will welcome you. Come find some of these endearing and enduring qualities that define this one-of-a-kind elementary school. I will be delighted to meet you at the door and show you all that we have to offer.

Warmly,

Brinton Parson
Head of the Alexander Robertson School.

The founding mission of ARS was to serve its community’s ‘common folk’ at a time when only the elite enjoyed the luxury of educating their children. We continue to honor that original purpose and today do also attract families from all walks of life and from around the world. Our school is designed to value and educate every child as a distinct individual, and to foster an environment where students learn collectively and from one another, including from each others’ differences. We have served a broadly diverse population for more than 230 years, and are committed to continue this, both in the children we admit and the faculty we engage to teach them.

The Alexander Robertson School is a co-educational Junior-Kindergarten through Fifth Grade community of creative learners. We welcome families of every configuration, ethnicity and religious tradition. Our current families hail from 20 different countries!

We are very proud of our long history, dating to 1789. We were one of New York’s first co-educational schools and have been in continuous operation for 230 years, but our heritage begins even earlier. In 1696 the Scottish Parliament passed its “Act of Setting Schools” with the purpose of establishing a school in every parish. By 1750 literacy in Scotland was estimated at 75% compared to England’s 53%. This inspired the Scots Presbyterians of New York to replicate Scotland’s success.

Well before New York had public schools Alexander Robertson, a wealthy member of The Scotch Presbyterian Church, donated a house and lots on Pine Street as an endowment for a free school for children of the congregation who would not otherwise have been educated. Now called the Second Presbyterian Church, it continues to provide support to the school in a myriad of ways.

ARS was remarkable from the beginning for accepting both boys and girls, specifically the sons and daughters of farmers and common folk. We continue to embrace the mission of educating children from diverse backgrounds.

Our longevity, traditions, and diversity define our school. Today we are a non-sectarian school and have dwelt in several locations throughout our many years. Our core values have not changed, however. We are committed to mold students into curious and confident learners who develop into innovative thinkers and leaders, prepared for the challenges of adolescence and beyond.

Please see our Head of School, Brinton Parson’s, Blog for more about our school’s unique history and another one of its founding members, Katy Ferguson.

ARS was one of the very first schools that welcomed girls from its onset, in 1789. That initial spirit of inclusivity and its long history is a vital component of who we are. Our students hail from a mix of cultural, religious, ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Today nearly a third of our current students speak English as a second language and are bilingual in Albanian, French, Japanese, Spanish and Ukrainian.

The founding mission of ARS was to serve its community’s ‘common folk’ at a time when only the elite enjoyed the luxury of educating their children. We continue to honor that original purpose and still attract families from all walks of life and from around the world. Our school is designed to value and educate every child as a distinct individual, and to provide an environment that fosters collective learning, including learning about one another’s cultures. We have served a broadly diverse population for more than 230 years and are committed to continue this, both in the children we admit and with the faculty we engage to teach them.

Racial Literacy Program: The goal of this school-wide initiative is to build bridges and connections that will engage our students inside and outside the classroom by encouraging racial literacy, along with geographic and cultural awareness. Fiction and nonfiction texts and other media serve as talking points for classroom dialogue, widening the cultural lens of students in age appropriate ways.

ARS Ethics Curriculum: The ARS Ethics program promotes spaces and opportunities to nurture values and morals in each of our students. The program empowers them to create a world of greater justice, peace and dignity, while working both individually and collectively.

The aim of the program is to help our students build on their individual strengths, while appreciating the diversity around them, to understand and respect people from other cultures and beliefs, to think critically and understand how to create non-violent alternatives in order to live peacefully together.

ARS has a strong relationship with our sister school in Malawi, the Jacaranda School for Orphans, which provides comprehensive, free primary and secondary school education and care to orphans and other vulnerable children. From third grade pen pals to a Carnival-themed fundraiser, the bonds between the schools enrich our students by giving them personal connections with children from a completely different culture.

Located at 3 West 95th Street just steps away from Central Park the Alexander Robertson School offers many wonderful opportunities for play, for nature walks, for visiting the Central Park Zoo, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and some of the world’s most important cultural institutions.

It is also easily accessed via the 96th Street Transverse from Manhattan’s East side.

The B and C subway trains stop right by our door and the 1, 2 and 3 trains just a couple of blocks West on Broadway and 96th Street.

Coming by bus? Take the M7, M10, M11 to 94th or 96th Street or take the M96 to Central Park West.

Eli Lederman, Chair, is the youngest of four brothers who attended ARS in the 1960’s and 70’s. He has started and run innovative businesses in electronic trading and financial technology, including a pan-European stock market. He is the author of two novels, High Finance and From Pillar to Post.

Ali Meli, Vice Chair & Treasurer, retired from Goldman Sachs in April 2019, where he was global co-head of Structured Finance, Investing and Lending (SFIL). Ali was previously based in Hong Kong and before that London, where he was co-head of Principal Funding and Investment (PFI) in Europe. His experience includes structuring, pricing, risk management and execution of various debt financing transactions globally. His son, Taj, is an alumnus of ARS.

Steven Glauberman, Secretary, is a partner at Becker & Poliakoff, PA and specializes in business law. He concentrates on a wide range of corporate, securities, mergers and acquisitions and commercial matters, including federal and state securities law and corporate governance.

Dr. Marjorie Goldsmith has directed three independent schools: First Presbyterian Church Nursery School, The Rockefeller University Child and Family Center and All Souls School, retiring from there in 2016. She was the educational director of Plaza Head Start and taught at Hunter College and CCNY. She served on the board of the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY) from 2010 to 2015 and is a board member of Resurrection Episcopal Day School. Dr. Goldsmith graduated from ARS where her mother, Thelma Goldsmith, taught for 30 years.

Nancy M. Hughes is a clinical social worker and recently consulted at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, advising MSW students studying childhood trauma. She formerly worked in interactive multimedia design and video production. She is Clerk of the Session of the Second Presbyterian Church.

Rachael Levine is a Corporate Vice President at CCS, a strategic fundraising firm that partners with nonprofits to plan, manage and implement campaigns and development programs. She is also an adjunct instructor at New York University. She serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees at All Souls School and supports Princeton University’s fundraising efforts as a member of the Special Gifts Committee in her reunion years. Her son, James, is in second grade at ARS.

is a managing partner with her family’s commercial real estate firm. Prior to joining the family firm, she worked as a clinical social worker in the mental health field. Amy’s favorite role though is that of a proud parent to three school-age daughters. A life-long New Yorker, she is thrilled to be raising her family in this extraordinary city.

Brinton Parson became Head of School at ARS in July, 2020, having earlier been its Academic Dean and a Kindergarten teacher. She most recently served at Park Avenue Methodist Day School as a ‘turn-around director,’ and was previously founding director of The Day School at Christ & Saint Stephen’s. She has had teaching and administrative posts in public, independent, early childhood and on-going schools in Washington DC, Florida and New York City. She currently serves on the boards of Musica de Camara and Mare Nostrum Elements.

Solomane Sirleaf is President and CEO of BELIEF Inc. (Benkoma Liberia Education Fund), which provides scholarships to children in Liberia. A data engineer, Solomane leads a team at the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (NYC DOITT). Solomane was a Fellow at the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, and is pursuing a graduate degree in Urban Science and Informatics from New York University. Among other honors, Solomane received the NYC DOITT’s Education & Professional Achievement Certificate and the Academic Excellence Award from Kingsborough Community College.

Dr Lydia Spinelli is the Director, and serves on the Board of, Summer Steps at The Brick Church School, a summer program for low income children applying to and entering independent school kindergarten. She is also President of the Board of African Dream Academy Foundation which supports a nursery through 12th grade school in Liberia, West Africa. She was Director of The Brick Church School for 36 years before retiring in July, 2019, and previously served on the Accreditation Commission and Professional Development Committee of the New York State Association for Independent Schools (NYSAIS).

Eve Stuart, a lifelong New Yorker, has always been committed to art and education. She has served for many years on the Board of LREI (Little Red Schoolhouse and Elisabeth Irwin High School), including seven years as Chair, and provided leadership when the organization was in crisis. She currently serves on its Committee on Trustees and the Finance Committee. Her other passions include family and photography.

Jingying Wu, a daughter of two university professors, has a passion for education. She came to the United States after finishing college in China, and has worked in the finance industry since graduate school. She is the founding board member of a non-profit organization providing opportunities for underprivileged children.

Ex Officio Members

Joan Harrison, Director of Admissions

Polly Roston, Director of Development

Bonnie Thurston, President of Parents Association

A Welcome from our Head of School, Brinton Parson:

Our Mission

Diversity Statement

Our History

Our Diverse and Inclusive Community

Our Location

Contact Us

Meet Our Board of Trustees