TheAllen-Stevenson School is a private boys school for kindergarten through 8th grade located on theUpper East Side ofManhattan. It opened in 1883 and has been as its present location since 1924. The school has two divisions: Lower Division (K-4) and Upper Division (5-8) with a student body of approximately 389 pupils.[1] The head of school is Duncan Lyon, the fifth head to be appointed since the school's founding.
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.
The school building on East 78th Street
In 1924, the School purchased two brownstones for a new schoolhouse and moved to its present location on theUpper 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 atRandall'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 byRolande Maxwell Young in 1968, the year she joined the A-S faculty as a lower-school music teacher.[2]
In 1974, Desmond Cole (previously the head ofUNIS) became Headmaster and served in that capacity for 16 years.[3] During his tenure, he created the Middle School division.
In 1983, The Allen-Stevenson School celebrated its first 100 years and publishedThe Allen-Stevenson Centennial Album. Around that time an East 77th Street addition, designed by A-S parentAlfredo 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 toNew York Landmarks Preservation Commission guidelines for theUpper 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 theU.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.[4]
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.[5]
Allen-Stevenson has a highly selective admissions process. A financial aid program ensures that the boys remainheterogeneous; as with many of its peer NYC schools.[6] The school is private, functioning under a New York City non-profit statute.[7] The school is governed by a board of trustees and administered by a head of school.
Allen-Stevenson’s EdTech team, including Sarah Kresberg, Director of Library Services, and Ainsley Messina, Technology Integrator, has been at the forefront of exploring positive uses of AI in schools. The team recently presented, "Making the Machine Less Scary - Introducing AI to your School Community," atISTE. Messina was also included in Dan Fitzpatrick’s book, "Back-To-School AI Guide 2024/25: 46 Steps & Tools For Educators Exploring Artificial Intelligence."[10]
Allen-Stevenson has a competitive sports program for boys with eight interscholastic sports: cross country, soccer, flag football, basketball, wrestling, track, lacrosse, and baseball. The school includes both a varsity program for seasoned athletes and no-cut junior varsity teams.[11] Allen-Stevenson offers a basketball summer camp for grades 4-8.
Allen-Stevenson's basketball teams have achieved championship status, with the Varsity team winning the Manhattan Private Middle School League (MPMSL) Championship in the 2022-2023 season. In 2024, both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams were league champions in the 2024-2025 season. The school's athletics program has a lengthy history, with 42 total league championships across all sports.[12]
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 annualGilbert 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, andPirates of Penzance.
Francis Bellows Allen (d. November 3, 1952) - 1883–1939, joins with Mr. Stevenson in 1904
Robert Alston Stevenson - 1904–1947, becomes full-time Headmaster after Mr. Allen leaves in 1939
Robert "Huck" Alston Stevenson Jr. - 1947–1949, son of Robert A. Stevenson Sr., takes over when his father retires after 43 years.
From 1949 to 1950, Cesidio Ruel Simboli Ph.D. fills in as acting Headmaster while another one is being selected. He appears as "Acting Headmaster" in the 1950 yearbook.
Joseph C. Rennard - 1950–1959, introduces navy blazers and gray flannel pants.
Henry Dyer Tiffany Jr. (b. 1910, d. 1994) - 1959–1974, adds modern science lab and the paneled Bell Library to the school.[13]
Desmond Francis Patrick Cole (b. 1924, d. 2008) - 1974–1990, expands the science program, introduces micro-computers, and creates the Middle School division.[14][15]
David Ross Trower - 1990–2022, appointed by the board of trustees.
Bill Block - Class of 1968 - Founder and CEO ofQED International, a leading independent motion picture production, financing and sales distributions company
Andy Heyward - Class of 1964 - chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, was the co-creator of Inspector Gadget as a writer for Hanna-Barbera in the early 1970s
Jeffrey Hollender - Class of 1970 - Co-founder and CEO of Seventh Generation Inc
Mr. Cole refuses to close Allen-Stevenson during the Blizzard of 1978[24]
Eighty members of the Allen-Stevenson School Orchestra, including then-Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush's nephewJonathan Bush Jr., perform at the White House on an unexpectedly rainy day in 1984, to kick off the White House Visitors Concert Series.[25]
A story inThe New Yorker about Allen-Stevenson and dances.[26]
A legal battle being waged that could have a major impact on how community facilities - schools, churches and doctors' offices - are built in New York City's residential neighborhoods - 1987[27]
Parents Protesting the End of Standardized Testing at Private Schools - 2004[28]
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