Rye Country Day School, or Rye Country Day or RCDS, is an independent

Independent school

An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

, co-educational college preparatory school located in Rye

Rye (city), New York

Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the town of Rye, which is larger than the city. Rye city, formerly the village of Rye, was part of the town until 1942, when it received its charter as a city, the most recent to be issued in New York...

, New York. Its Upper School (grades 9–12), Middle School (5–8), and Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten-4) enroll a total of 886 students on its 26-acre campus. Noted for its rigorous academic programs, thriving student organizations, and competitive college matriculation, Rye Country Day attracts students from over 40 school districts in the tri-state area.

Foundations

Rye Country Day School was founded in 1869, when a group of local parents contacted The Reverend William Life and his wife, Susan, who ran a small school in Pennsylvania. The Lifes came to Rye and established The Rye Female Seminary under the direction of Mrs. Life. During its first year – 1869 – sixty students (25 boarders and 35 day students) enrolled in The Seminary, which was located on the present school property on Grandview Avenue.


In 1896, The Seminary was purchased by the Misses Harriet and Mary Stowe, two members of the faculty. Upon assuming leadership, the Stowe sisters initiated significant changes in the curriculum. During this period, The Seminary was part of a national trend, namely the introduction of college preparatory programs for women. Conscious of the potential financial risk for a strictly proprietary institution, a group of parents bought The Seminary in 1917 and established it as a nonprofit day school under the direction of a Board of Trustees.



Early History and Growth

The year 1921 saw The Seminary merge with a boys' school from nearby Harrison – The Rye Country School – and became known as The Rye Country Day Schools. In 1928, the "s" was dropped from the word "Schools". At this time, the School offered a program for girls from kindergarten through grade twelve, and a program for boys from kindergarten through grade nine.
In 1964 this pattern of organization was changed when the Board of Trustees extended the enrollment for boys through grade twelve.


Mission & Philosophy

According to its website Rye Country Day's Mission is to "provide students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 with an excellent education using both traditional and innovative approaches in a nurturing and supportive environment" The school is "actively committed to diversity" and "expect[s] and promote[s] moral responsibility". RCDS's goal is to "foster a lifelong passion for learning, understanding, and service in an ever-changing world.
" In addition the school states in its Philosophy that: "The School offers a comprehensive program enabling our students to think independently, to write and speak with clarity, and to appreciate the values and joys of the humanities, the arts, and the sciences" and that "the education of young people should encompass cultural, athletic, and communal experiences which stress the responsibility of each individual for the life and spirit of the whole community, resulting in a graduate able to face the world with confidence, to compete effectively, and to contribute meaningfully to society.

Community Service

RCDS students are involved in a variety of service projects, both face-to-face and charitable fundraising, throughout the year. RCDS offers age-appropriate volunteer opportunities, coordinated across divisions by a full-time Director of Community Service. Representative projects include promoting ecological awareness, visiting nursing homes and collecting blankets, coats, and toys for various charities. In the Middle School, students participate in Community Service projects in all grades. Typical efforts include making lap blankets for wheelchair patients In partnership with the Upper School's Linus Committee, fighting breast cancer through Middle School GOPiNK, fighting lung cancer through the new Lung Cancer Awareness Club in the Middle School, joining the Awareness Club, and participating in the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital Math-A-Thon. Both Lower and Middle School students participate each year in Hoops and Jump Rope for Heart. In addition, all students in Grade 8 participate in specially scheduled Service Days during the school year, working at a variety of nonprofits in the local area.

Senior Term is a graduation requirement. During their final two weeks of the school year, all seniors participate in full day, small group service projects for several organizations in Westchester, Fairfield and the Bronx. These projects are initiated and planned by the students themselves, subject to faculty approval. Representative Senior Term service sites for 2010 included East Harlem Little League, Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson, Federated Conservationists of Westchester, Mamaroneck Community Action Program, WestHELP Greenburgh, A.C.L.U., Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Mount Kisco Child Care Center, Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, Rye Nature Center, Purchase Community House, Jay Heritage Center, Friends of Austic People, Marshlands Conservancy, and Adopt-a-Dog.

In 2011 Rye Country Day appointed a Public Purpose Director to extend and deepen its Community Service program.

Athletics

RCDS supports 21 varsity teams and 62 interscholastic teams at the Varsity, JV, and middle school levels including sports like golf, ice hockey, squash and sailing in addition to standard sports like baseball, football, field hockey and soccer.

Technology

Rye Country Day School adopted a "Laptop Program" in 1999 "to make the information processing power of the computer available to students whenever and wherever needed. Students in grades 7–12 are required to have a laptop computer (either Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 or Apple

Apple Computer

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

 operating systems) and funding is provided to support this requirement. These students use a campus-wide wireless network. Students in 6th grade and below use the computer labs that are located in the Lower, Middle, and Upper school. Smartboards are used in every classroom.

Rankings

Rye Country Day was ranked 21st among US high schools of its size (60+ students per grade) in a 2007 Wall Street Journal ranking of secondary schools.

Alumni

• Edward Albee
  Edward Albee
  Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
  
  , playwright (left prior to graduation)
• Barbara Bush (left prior to graduation), former First Lady