TheProfessional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit,college-preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades four through twelve.[1] The school was founded inNew York City in 1914 to provide an academic education to young people working on the New York stage, invaudeville, or "on the road".[2]
PCS was co-founded by Jean Greer and Jane Harris Hall when they learned that children who were working in entertainment were not able to attend traditional school.[citation needed] The school's premises were originally atThe Rehearsal Club on West 45th Street inMidtown Manhattan, and later at 1860 Broadway, near West 61st Street, on Manhattan’sUpper West Side. It subsequently moved to 132 West 60th Street in theLincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan.[3]
The school's curriculum and hours have changed over time.[4][5] TheNew York Times wrote in 1994 that it "is the country's only fully accredited nonprofit school offering an academic college-preparatory education for those studying for careers in the arts and young performers with special scheduling needs."[6] Students who are especially successful in their careers, such as in ballet, may not go to college after all.[7] A book published in 2005 described scenes at the school that were common with regular schools in terms of the subjects being studied, but with added provisions for remote learning when students were on tour with a production and with the added social comfort of being around other children going through the same experiences.[8]
^Tommasini, Anthony."Beverly Sills, All-American Diva With Brooklyn Roots, Is Dead at 78".The New York Times. July 4, 2007. "But her father put an end to her child-star career when she was 12 so that she could concentrate on her education at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and the Professional Children's School in Manhattan."
