History
The Allen School was founded in 1883 by Francis Bellows Allen at a home on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street. Its first class enrolled only three boys. In 1885, the school moved to rented rooms at Madison Avenue and 44th Street with an enrollment of 20 boys. In 1904, Mr. Allen met Robert Alston Stevenson, a tutor, who by chance had taken a room at 509 Fifth Avenue, where the School was then located. In 1904, Mr. Allen and Mr. Stevenson joined forces and then moved to 50 East 57th Street with 100 students. By 1918 enrollment exceeded 200. The School published its first newspaper, The Spotlight, and introduced an exercise program and team sports.
In 1924, the School purchased two brownstones for a new schoolhouse and moved to its present location on the Upper East Side. In 1939, Mr. Allen retired at the age of 80, after 56 years of service. In 1947, Mr. Stevenson retired after 43 years of service. His son, Robert "Huck" Alston Stevenson Jr., who had taught at the School, succeeded him as Headmaster.
In 1950, Joseph C. Rennard became Headmaster of Allen-Stevenson and served for nine years. The School introduced team sports at Randall's Island and required boys to wear navy blue blazers and gray flannel pants. In 1959, Henry Dyer Tiffany Jr. became Headmaster until 1974. Under his leadership, a modern science lab and a paneled library, a gift from the Bell family, were added.
Allen-Stevenson's school song was composed by Rolande Maxwell Young in 1968, the year she joined the A-S faculty as a lower-school music teacher.[1]
In 1974, Desmond Cole (previously the head of UNIS) became Headmaster and served in that capacity for 16 years.[2] During his tenure, he created the Middle School division.
In 1983, The Allen-Stevenson School celebrated its first 100 years and published The Allen-Stevenson Centennial Album. Around that time an East 77th Street addition, designed by A-S parent Alfredo De Vido, was built onto the school.
In 1990, the Board of Trustees appointed David Trower as Allen-Stevenson's seventh Headmaster. In 2001, Allen-Stevenson launched its first website to improve communication about the School.
In 2007, a total renovation-expansion of the school interior was completed, which preserved the school's Classical Revival brick and Victorian brownstone facades according to New York Landmarks Preservation Commission guidelines for the Upper East Side Historic District.
In 2008, the school completed a year-long celebration of its 125th anniversary. The Board of Trustees approved Allen-Stevenson and Its Community, a policy statement about inclusion and community life.
In 2009, Allen-Stevenson was twice recognized for its work on energy and the environment, first with a coveted Energy Star rating by the U.S. Department of Energy, and then by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for LEED Gold Certification for Existing Buildings (EB). This made Allen-Stevenson the very first elementary school in the United States to achieve LEED-EB Gold status.[3]
In 2015, Allen-Stevenson filed an application to New York City's Board of Standards and Appeals to build two new buildings behind the facades of existing brownstones for expansion of classroom, arts and athletics space, and cap them with an 18-foot rooftop greenhouse.[4]
Academics
Allen-Stevenson's program is built on the three A's – Academics, Athletics & the Arts.
Spanish is taught in all grades.
Athletics
Fall - Soccer, Flag Football, Cross Country, and Intramurals
Winter - Basketball, Wrestling, and Intramurals
Spring - Baseball, Lacrosse, Track, and Intramurals
There is also a wellness program.
Arts
Allen-Stevenson offers art, shop, music and theatre programs for grades K-8. These include Art and Shop, Orchestra, Chorus, and Technical Theatre programs. A key part of their theater program, is the annual Gilbert and Sullivan musical performed by members of the sixth through ninth grades. The musical in question is alternated, and potential options include: H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe, and Pirates of Penzance.
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