Grace Church School

Families that send their children to Grace Church School value the school both for the fine academic preparation it affords as well as the unique climate of social diversity, acceptance and understanding it fosters among all members of the school community. Community values, service, and ethics are part of the course of study and woven into the daily experience.

The special traits of the school are evident in every classroom or activity: pleasure in learning, seriousness of purpose and genuine affection and respect for others. In the earliest grades, students take part in a full range of programs including music, art, computer, laboratory science, instruction in French, Spanish and Latin, physical education, dance, and drama, in addition to the traditional curriculum. Older students have a wider choice of languages, athletics and team sports as well as opportunities for international exchange, in-depth independent study projects, and the option to delve deeply into their intellectual passions by taking courses at nearby NYU and Cooper Union. Community values, service, character education, and ethics are part of the course of study and woven into the daily experience.

Because it is impossible for a website to convey the spirit that makes Grace Church School what it is, or the warmth of feeling that keeps us together, we invite you to visit Grace. Consider how our approach matches what you want for your child. Common values are the core of family-school relationships. They make our GCS community a thriving, energetic, caring place where committed teachers and eager students are absorbed in the exciting process of learning and growing.

Grace Church School aims to establish in its students firmly rooted confidence in themselves and their abilities. Because we believe that school experience sets the foundation for lifelong intellectual and social growth, we strive to develop in each student mental keenness, physical confidence, pleasure in learning, and the skills basic to understanding one's self and the world. Our structured curriculum, enriched with broad opportunities for creative expression, assumes as fundamental the mastery of a specific range of academic skills, especially the ability to express one's own ideas and to appraise those of others.

Yet the educational goals of the school are broader than intellectual and social development. We nurture in our students a steady, affectionate trust in themselves and their world, made resilient by the interaction of different ethnic, religious, and socio-economic influences. We strive to help each student develop an active ethical consciousness, supported by close acquaintance with Judeo-Christian beliefs and enhanced by the beauty and faith inherent in Grace Church.

Since its founding, Grace Church School has integrated ethical consciousness and academic excellence by addressing the moral, personal, and spiritual development of students as naturally as we promote their intellectual and cognitive growth. We believe that leadership, critical thinking, and creativity develop best in tandem with integrity, compassion and care for others.

We are an intentionally inclusive community where reverence for the dignity of each individual informs all aspects of school life. The Episcopal school tradition recognizes the unique, intrinsic worth of every human being, bestowed upon each by a loving God. In this spirit, we welcome, openly and with warmth, families of all faiths and no faith at all. We seek out a rich diversity of students, families, faculty and staff, and strive to instill in our students a deep respect for differences in race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and culture. Our expectation is that Grace Church School students will live these ideals, honoring our common humanity with kindness, respect and love.

Grace has a long tradition of high academic expectations, which prepare to students to excel in future academic pursuits. The curriculum is designed around a “three-legged stool.” Each leg works with the others to build a foundation for the curricular and pedagogical decisions that define a Grace education. The first leg of the stool is that the school seeks traditional outcomes. We believe there are things you need to know and things you need to know how to do. As students progress through the school they take classes in traditional academic areas: English, mathematics, history/social studies, science, foreign languages including Latin, philosophy and ethics, technology, physical education, and the performing and visual arts.

The final leg of the stool is a pedagogy of joy. Students who have a positive self-concept are going to be more effective and happier. Students who feel connected – to other students, teachers, coaches, and parents – feel safe, which provides a key ingredient for student success. Students need to have a sense of fulfillment, in that what they do is meaningful to them and to others. When these three things happen for students, they are joyful learners.

Grade 9 to Grade 12 Campus:
Address: 46 Cooper Square
Phone: +1 212 4755610