Staten Island Academy

Staten Island Academy is a coeducational, college-preparatory day school located on a campus in Staten Island, New York City, United States. Founded in 1884 by Anton Methfessel, it is the oldest independent school on Staten Island, and is the only independent school (non-public, non-religious) in the borough. It educates students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. The current enrollment is around 390 students, with a student to teacher ratio of 7:1. Eileen Corigliano is the current head of school. The school is composed of three divisions: Lower School, Pre-K-Gr. 4; Middle School, Gr. 5-8; Upper School, Gr. 9-12. The Head of Lower, Middle and Upper School is Eileen Corigliano. The campus has seven buildings: the Early Childhood Building, the Art Barn, Haugen Hall, Kearns Hall, Crowe Hall, Alumni Hall and the OJ Buck Gymnasium. The school's accreditations include the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and the New York State Association of Independent Schools. It is chartered and registered by the Board of Regents, University of the State of New York. History Founding and early years The Academy was formally chartered on September 5, 1884 by Anton Methfessel and prominent educators that helped merge the Methfessel Institute, which was founded in 1862, with the original Staten Island Academy and Latin School. It rapidly expanded, dropped the phrase “Latin School” from its name, and gained prominence with a curriculum that was progressive for its day. In 1885, required courses for the Intermediate Form (grades 9-12) included Latin, German, French, English, geography, physiology, zoology, mathematics, history, natural philosophy, expression, music, and drawing. The Academic Form required more advanced study, and The Latin School division mandated, additionally, student literacy in both Latin and Greek. Many prominent professionals in theater, education, literature, politics and business were associated with the Academy throughout this period including actor Sidney Wollett, North Pole explorer Admiral Perry, Booker T. Washington, the Vanderbilt family, Jacob Riis, and George William Curtis, a member of the Academy's Board of Trustees and the namesake for Curtis High School.