| Poly Prep Country Day School | |
|---|---|
| Poly Prep Country Day School | |
| Motto | Virtus victrix fortunae |
| Established | 1854 |
| Type | Private |
| Headmaster | David B. Harman |
| Faculty | approximately 270 |
| Grades | N-12 |
| Location | 9216 Seventh Avenue, Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11228, United States |
| Accreditation | NYSAIS |
| Campus | 26 acres (110,000 m2) |
| Colors | Blue & Grey |
| Mascot | Blue Devil |
| Yearbook | The Polyglot |
| Newspaper | The Polygon (Upper School), The Tower Times (Middle School) |
| Website | http://www.polyprep.org/ |
Poly Prep Country Day School (known familiarly as "Poly Prep") is headquartered in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Initially founded as part of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, Poly Prep now offers classes from the nursery grade to 12th grade, occupying buildings on two campuses. The Middle and Upper School Divisions are located at the school's Dyker Heights Campus while the Lower School is located at the school's Park Slope Campus.
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Poly Prep Country Day School was founded in 1854 in Downtown Brooklyn as "The Polytechnic Institute." 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 amongst students and faculty alike.
After 45 years, the future of the Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute was re-evaluated in 1889 when the preparatory school and the collegiate division were finally separated. Both divisions still exist. In 1891, the construction of a new building next door provided a home for the college which became known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. After the initial split, the Polytechnic Preparatory Institute remained an all-boy 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.
Poly Prep moved to its current location on July 1, 1916 when a twenty-five acre parcel of land, formerly part of the Dyker Heights Golf Course, was offered to trustees. Classes began during the fall of 1917 in the new campus amidst continued construction and renovations that helped shape much of the school’s current appearance. Under the leadership of Headmaster William M. Williams, the school began the transition to co-education in the mid 1970s, graduating its first coed class in 1979.
Poly Prep’s most recent, and dramatic, expansion occurred in 1997, with its acquisition of the historic Hulbert Mansion, formerly the 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. 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 New York State.
In April 2009, Poly Prep's Lower School also won the prestigious Lucy B. Moses Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy as an outstanding example of historic preservation and renovation.
Poly Prep consists of three divisions, beginning with the Lower School located at 50 Prospect Park West in Brooklyn. Poly's 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 grade 4. The Middle School Program begins at grade 5 at which point Poly students enroll at the Middle and Upper School campus located at 9216 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn where they continue their education through 8th grade and then into high school.
The Upper, Middle and Lower Schools are run by their own division heads; Larry Donovan, Head of the Lower School, Nancy M. Posner, Head of the Middle School and Bud Cox, Head of the Upper School. Poly's Headmaster, David Harman, oversees the entire school.
Poly Prep is known for its demanding academic requirements and offerings. The school currently offers a variety of advanced placement courses and three foreign languages.
Students in the Upper School are expected to complete the following mandatory requirements in the listed concentrations in order to graduate in their senior year:
Beginning in 11th grade, students are provided with the opportunity to begin shaping their course load around a variety of electives in areas such as forensic science, electromagnetism, short story writing, American politics, American law, psychology and statistics amont others.
Finally, in their senior year, Poly Prep students must complete a project known as a senior plan. The projects are viewed as senior theses in which students are paired with faculty advisors to choose subject matters of interest under a given a topic headline. The projects are then researched and presented as 20 minute lectures and 20 minutes of questions and answers to a panel of faculty judges. Only upon completion of a student’s senior plan may a student be eligible to graduate.
The arts curriculum starts at a young age in the Lower school in which students are taught by their classroom teachers about dance, drama, music and theater production. In Grades 5 and 6, all students participate in sections of dance, drama, music, and visual arts classes through an arts core rotation. In Grades 7 and 8, students may elect their own arts cores, however they are required to take one semester of visual arts (ceramics, art studio), performing arts (drama, dance), and musical arts (general music, chorus, band). In the Upper School, students have arts cores as electives for two years. After school, students may choose to become involved with theater productions — both onstage and behind the scenes — to join one of several singing groups, or to be part of the band or smaller instrumental ensembles. The Upper School performing Arts Department puts together one major play and musical every year, along with an accompanying freshman play and musical and smaller senior-directed performances.
Poly Prep bases its admissions decision upon an applicant’s previous grades, teacher recommendations and results on the ISEE test.
5th and 6th grade are Poly’s two largest enrollment years as well as 9th grade entrance into the high school. After 9th grade, a smaller portion of students are admitted each year based upon a number of factors.
Press reports indicate the schoool was subject ot a federal lawsuit filed in Brooklyn in 2009. The case centered on the sexual abuse of students by Philip Foglietta, football coach at the school from 1966 to 1991. A 2004 suit against the school was dismissed due to the statute of limitations. The 2009 case attempts to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act as a means of airing charges the school covered up the coach's conduct.[1]
Far down on the heights called Dyker,
Overlooking New York Bay,
Stands a school with a tall white tower,
Greeting ships that ply their way.
Her sons, as they leave her portals
With visions of worldwide fame,
Carry with them the fight of Poly,
Where they learned to play the game.
Poly! Poly! Poly! Poly!
Poly! Poly! Poly! Poly!
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 New York State. There are football, basketball, and baseball programs.
| 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
Girls Squash |
Golf | |||||
| Football | Collegiate Wrestling | Boys Tennis | Ultimate Frisbee | Indoor Track and Field | Outdoor Track and Field | Hockey |
Extracurricular activities comprise a key component of the Poly Prep education. Clubs, caucuses, and organizations provide students with an opportunity to work in a group dynamic, produce publications, participate in activism and develop interests in a wide range of topics.
In the 93 years since the opening of the Dyker Heights campus in 1917, Poly has had four headmasters, Joseph Dana Allen (1917-1949), J. Folwell Scull (1949-1970), William M. Williams (1970-2000) and David Harman (2000-present).
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