The Calhoun School History

Calhoun was founded in 1896 by educator Laura Jacobi. The Jacobi School, as it was known at its founding, was located on West 80th Street and soon evolved into an all-girls school. The school had a reputation for high standards and excellent faculty, and from the beginning sought to excite its students and engage with the vibrant surrounding Upper West Side neighborhood.
Despite the fact that in the early 20th century most women were not expected to go to college, an impressive number of Jacobi alumnae had professional careers and participated in philanthropic work. 

When she retired in 1916, Jacobi chose Mary Calhoun to succeed her as headmistress. Mary Calhoun had a reputation as an exceptional educator. She was a graduate of Columbia University’s Teachers College, an editor of the Women’s Page at The Herald Tribune, and had taught at Barnard College, the Horace Mann School and the Packer Collegiate Institute. The story goes that families who no longer remembered Jacobi requested that the school be renamed The Calhoun School, in honor of their current Headmistress. 

Key Dates

• 1896: School founded by educator Laura Jacobi as The Jacobi School in a brownstone at 158-160 West 80th Street. Started as a "brother and sister" school, it gradually evolved into a girl's school.
• 1916: Mary Edwards Calhoun appointed Headmistress.
• 1923: School moves to 309 West 92nd Street; Ella Cannon Levis named Co-Headmistress; Parent-Teacher Association formed.
• 1924: School name changed to The Calhoun School in honor of Mary Edwards Calhoun, Headmistress until 1942.
   

The repercussions of major world events in the first half of the twentieth century didn’t bypass “the house on 92nd Street” (as it was affectionately known by students at the time). Like many private schools around the country, Calhoun grappled with economic hardship during the Great Depression; because of a significant drop in enrollment, it closed its elementary school in 1937. 

Both World Wars also hit close to home for the Calhoun community. During World War II, multiple teachers were summoned away to war duty. The school installed an air-raid alarm, and the Parents Association held talks for families such as “How the War Is Affecting Our Adolescents,” to address the increased anxieties of raising children in troubling times. 

Perhaps most profoundly, the momentous upheavals of this period helped shift Calhoun students’ understanding of their role in society. 

Key Dates

• 1939: Calhoun incorporated as non-profit institution; Board of Trustees formed.
• 1942: Ella Cannon Levis appointed Headmistress.
   

“Calhoun was awakened to the problems of the world and responded by producing graduates who were well aware of the difficulties which they had to face, and who were capable of coping with them. With heads held high and spirits strong, the graduates departed the little house on 92nd Street and entered a future which held only uncertainty.”
A graduation paper from the 1940s; author unknown

After World War II, Elizabeth Parmelee and Beatrice Cosmey became Co-Headmistresses. Their 20-year tenure was marked by efforts to prepare students for a rapidly changing society, and set the stage for the school’s growth. 

Reflecting a renewed global awareness, Calhoun added classes to the curriculum that covered comparative religion and international issues, among other subjects, and introduced community service and the Model United Nations program. The demographics of the Upper West Side neighborhood––and the needs of the student population––were also shifting, which ultimately led Calhoun to reopen its Lower School in 1958, this time as a co-educational division.

Parmelee and Cosmey had their eyes on the future, and focused on fundraising initiatives that would help Calhoun expand. They dreamed of a school that would include all grades, be entirely coeducational, and be more engaged with the surrounding community. It wouldn’t be until later, though, that the seeds planted by their vision would fully blossom.

Key Dates

• 1946: Elizabeth Parmelee and Beatrice Cosmey appointed Co-Headmistresses.
• 1958: Calhoun reopens coeducational Lower School, marking the first time in 21 years that Calhoun once again offered classes for pre-K through 12th grade. The Lower School was located in two townhouses at 431 and 433 West End Avenue. (Middle and Upper School remain all-girls.)
• 1963: First Spring Fair (now the Calhoun Carnival) is sponsored by the Parents Association.
• 1964: St. Michael's Montessori School (SMMS), which would later become Metropolitan Montessori School, founded at St. Michael's Episcopal Church on 99th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
• 1965: Mario Montessori, Maria Montessori's son, visits

  St. Michael’s Montessori School.

• 1969: Philip E. McCurdy appointed Head of School.

“Our purpose is to continue changing with changing times. We shall do our best to make those changes which will enable the school to continue to hold its place of educational leadership, and to help [students] develop the inner strength and serenity that are the only source of security in a world whose immediate and distant future we are unable to predict.”
A school anniversary bulletin from 1946

The world was evolving, and so was Calhoun. On the heels of the great social changes of the 1960s, Calhoun continued to look for ways to align its pedagogy with the latest innovations in education, as it had throughout its history. This plan came to fruition in the 1970s, when the school pioneered a progressive, learner-centered model of education in the Middle School. This model would soon become the basis of the curriculum for the entire school. 

In 1975, Calhoun moved to a new building on West End Avenue and 81st Street, with a modern open floor plan that was designed to mirror the forward-thinking nature of the school’s learning philosophy. That same year, Calhoun became a fully co-educational school for the first time in its 79-year history.

Key Dates

• 1971: The Middle and Upper Schools become co-educational.
• 1973: Dr. Eugene D. Ruth appointed Head of School. School breaks ground on new 81st Street campus. 
• 1975: New building at West 81st Street and West End Avenue opens in the spring of 1975. Calhoun now has classes for preschool through Upper School under one roof.
• 1975: The last all-girls class graduates from Calhoun.
• 1980: Dr. Neen Hunt appointed Head of School.

In 1989 Calhoun opened the 74th Street building, which set off a wave of growth in the Lower School. More growth was yet to come: In the early 2000s, the “Growing Up With Calhoun” campaign triggered further investment in Calhoun’s facilities at 81st Street, opening doors to enhanced curricular offerings to serve a booming student population. 

It was a time of other “firsts” for Calhoun. Alongside two new teaching floors, state-of-the-art science labs, a full-size gym and a dedicated theater space, Calhoun added a Green Roof to its 81st Street building––the first usable Green Roof for a New York City school. In 2005, Calhoun reimagined its food program and created Eat Right Now, which became a nationally recognized model for healthy school lunches. The launch of other public-facing initiatives, such as the Performing Arts TALKS series and the Deconstructing Race program, deepened connections between the school and the broader community. All of these changes helped put Calhoun on the map as a leader in progressive education. 

Key Dates

• 1989: Robert L. Beir Lower School building opens on West 74th Street for preschool through first grade.
• 1993: Mariana S. Leighton appointed Head of School.
• 1996: St. Michael's Montessori School (SMMS) moved from the school’s original home at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church to 325 West 85th Street and changed its name to Metropolitan Montessori School (MMS).
• 1996/97: Calhoun celebrates its Centennial.
• 1998: Steven J. Nelson appointed Head of School.
• 2002/03: Chef Bobo revamps the school's lunch program, which soon garners international attention. 
• 2004: Four new floors at 81st Street open in time for the school year, including a full-size gymnasium and athletic center, performing arts center, science labs and art studios.
• 2005: Calhoun's Green Roof Learning Center opens – the first Green Roof in New York City that offers an eco-friendly space for educational programming. 

"Calhoun was obviously a very different place than it is now. First of all, it was all girls. Second of all, it was really small. I think there were twenty girls in my class, and I can still remember not only all of their names, but their shoes. . . . [B]ut what I remember even more than the shoes were my wonderful teachers. . . . I do believe, at Calhoun, I was able to find my own voice."
Wendy Wasserstein '67, speaking on the occasion of the dedication of the new 81st Street theater in October 2004

As we look back on our history, we can celebrate the fact that the future will continue to be forged by the students, families and educators of today and tomorrow––because, ultimately, it’s up to the next generation of Calhouners to decide what to carry forward. We can’t predict Calhoun’s future, but with the past as our guide, the openness to change that has characterized our school throughout its history will continue to push our community forward to new and exciting terrain.

Key Dates

• 2015: Renovation completed at 81st Street to include the new Calhoun Commons, the redesigned Neen Hunt Library, new tech and learning resource offices, and a multi-use classroom.
• 2016: Metropolitan Montessori School (MMS) completed a two-year renovation project that combined its existing building with an adjacent townhouse.
• 2017: Steven Solnick joins as Calhoun's 11th Head of School, upon the retirement of Steve Nelson.
• 2018: In December 2018, the Board of Trustees adopts a new strategic plan for The Calhoun School, titled Calhoun 2025. 
• 2021/22: Calhoun celebrates its 125th anniversary.
• 2022: Calhoun announces a merger with Metropolitan Montessori School and plans to introduce New York City’s first dual-track early-childhood program.
• 2023: In July 2023, Calhoun officially merges with Metropolitan Montessori School and moves its Lower School from 74th Street to MMS's previous home at 85th Street.