The Ross School
Encyclopedia
Ross School is a private school located in the Town of East Hampton
, on Long Island
, New York
, United States
. It is the only private Pre-nursery–12 school located in the Hamptons
.
. The school quickly grew from the initial three students and by 1996 was a full middle school serving girls in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. The following year a co-ed high school was added, and the first class graduated in 2001. By that time the School was working closely with the Ross Institute to share the Ross Model with other schools and municipalities around the world. In 2002, the Middle School became co-ed and the School began working with its first international partner, Tensta Gymnasium, in Stockholm. In 2005, Ross School received accreditation from the Middle States Association (MSA) and was also chosen to receive the first International Credential ever awarded by MSA.
In the 2005-2006 school year, Ross School proposed a merger deal with the competition. The Morriss Center School, formerly the Hampton Day School, was the only other private K-12 school in the Hamptons. This deal came through, and now Ross's lower school resides on the former elementary-middle school campus of the Morriss Center, former Hampton Day School Campus.
developed by Howard Gardner
and the latest developments in curriculum design, pedagogy and communications technologies. As part of its integral and holistic approach to teaching, the school offers one vegetarian meal in its cafeteria for lunch each day, as well as breakfast in the mornings for all students, and dinner for its boarding population. Students are graded unsatisfactory, satisfactory (which was added in the 2006-07 school year), proficient, or distinguished.
Ross School’s athletic facilities on the Upper School campus include the Center for Well-Being, home to indoor volleyball and basketball courts, changing rooms, a weight room and spaces for movement and meditation. There are also three athletic fields, a baseball diamond, a full size outdoor basketball court and a new Upper School Fieldhouse, with locker rooms, a lounge and snack bar and a large recreation room with ping-pong tables and large screen projection. Opened in 2008, the Fieldhouse sits adjacent to six year-round har-tru courts. From October to May, the courts are converted to indoor courts with a bubble.
In 2000 the school proposed a 50-building, 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) expansion to its 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) campus which would have made it one of the biggest complexes in the Hamptons. Enraged environmentalists charged that Courtney Ross was polluting the debate by paying to protest proposed expansion of the Pine Barrens
protections into East Hampton.. The school eventually backed down on the expansion and in 2006 the same critics of this expansion were to applaud its "green" initiatives.
The September 2003 Education Update described the campus as follows:
"The school sits on 140 wooded acres in East Hampton founded by Courtney Ross Holst, whose first husband, Steve Ross, was head of Time Warner. Seeing Ross is to appreciate the truth of the cliché about the best that money can buy. The school is stunningly handsome, a new and renovated architectural wonder with interiors likely to stagger even a designer’s imagination. It also boasts—justifiably—superb high-end technology, including sophisticated projection systems, state-of-the-art pavilions, seminar rooms, smart boards, laptops for all, and knockout multimedia enhancements everywhere. Libraries abound, nothing is single or merely decorative. Classrooms recreate environments under study—the art and artifacts of a period, its textures, colors, materials, though the pervasive influence, warm and subtle earth tones, is Swedish and Asian. And would you believe a hall showing the history of art by way of vinyl reproductions done to scale?"
The Lower School campus in Bridgehampton includes gardens, play areas, trails and a farm with animals. Separate building spaces for grade levels are customized with age-appropriate furnishings. The Barn Building houses an art studio called the Atelier as well as some early childhood classes. The Farm Building, built as the original house for the potato farm that was on the property, is used for specials classes. The Leonard Building is shared by kindergarten, early childhood, and grades one and two. Grades three and four are situated in the Green Building. All the buildings on the campus are connected by walkways and surrounded by grass and trees.
In 2006 the school was picketed by residents of New York City when city residents protested its plans to locate the Ross Global Academy
, a Charter School
that adopted the Ross model on the Lower East Side
(with residents particularly fearing that the new school would take away space for the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math
school). The protesters declined an invitation to debate the subject when asked by an Upper School ethics class. The debate was ultimately decided when the school moved to the Tweed Courthouse
.
; Dave Matthews
and Tim Reynolds
; Billy Joel
; James Taylor
and Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers. The price of a ticket to the series was $15,000. Guests in other years have included Aretha Franklin
and the Jonas Brothers
.
Faculty
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
, on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the only private Pre-nursery–12 school located in the Hamptons
Hamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
.
History
Ross School was founded by Courtney and Steven J. Ross in 1991. The unique evolution of consciousness "Spiral Curriculum" was designed for the school by the noted cultural historian William Irwin ThompsonWilliam Irwin Thompson
William Irwin Thompson is known primarily as a social philosopher and cultural critic, but he has also been writing and publishing poetry throughout his career and received the Oslo International Poetry Festival Award in 1986. He describes his writing and speaking style as "mind-jazz on ancient...
. The school quickly grew from the initial three students and by 1996 was a full middle school serving girls in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. The following year a co-ed high school was added, and the first class graduated in 2001. By that time the School was working closely with the Ross Institute to share the Ross Model with other schools and municipalities around the world. In 2002, the Middle School became co-ed and the School began working with its first international partner, Tensta Gymnasium, in Stockholm. In 2005, Ross School received accreditation from the Middle States Association (MSA) and was also chosen to receive the first International Credential ever awarded by MSA.
In the 2005-2006 school year, Ross School proposed a merger deal with the competition. The Morriss Center School, formerly the Hampton Day School, was the only other private K-12 school in the Hamptons. This deal came through, and now Ross's lower school resides on the former elementary-middle school campus of the Morriss Center, former Hampton Day School Campus.
Curriculum
Ross School’s curriculum is based on world cultural history and the evolution of consciousness. The curriculum incorporates skills and content from all disciplines. Because history is studied in a continuous and consecutive thread, students are equipped with a narrative that accounts for significant historical shifts leading up to the major transformation of the present time. Ross School’s teaching methods are informed by the Theory of multiple intelligencesTheory of multiple intelligences
The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 as a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific modalities, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability....
developed by Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner
Howard Earl Gardner is an American developmental psychologist who is a professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero and author of over twenty books translated into thirty languages. Since 1995, he has...
and the latest developments in curriculum design, pedagogy and communications technologies. As part of its integral and holistic approach to teaching, the school offers one vegetarian meal in its cafeteria for lunch each day, as well as breakfast in the mornings for all students, and dinner for its boarding population. Students are graded unsatisfactory, satisfactory (which was added in the 2006-07 school year), proficient, or distinguished.
Athletics
Ross School students are required to participate in at least one team sport while at Ross, though many choose to participate and develop their athletic skills beyond that requirement. Ross partners with other local schools for some sports such as baseball and lacrosse to field more competitive teams. Ross teams have enjoyed several recent successes. The Ross boys varsity tennis team is the 2010 Suffolk County League Champion. The tennis program has several world-class coaches, led by Vinicius Carmo.Campus
There are seven buildings on the Upper School campus, with functions ranging from academics and administration to wellness. The High School building houses several classrooms, a large library, two science labs, a large art studio and a film viewing area called the Duomo. The Media and Humanities Pavilion contains classrooms, performance practice rooms and sound recording studios, video production and editing studio and the sculpture and ceramics studio. A reference library, art studio, darkroom and digital photography editing studio, two science labs and a lecture hall equipped for multimedia presentations are found in the Senior Thesis building. The Middle School houses the Middle School library, an art studio and another science lab. The Center for Well-Being is home to the Ross Café, the multi-purpose Great Hall and Court Theater and spaces for movement and meditation. The Upper School Art Gallery has rotating exhibitions of work by students and local artists.Ross School’s athletic facilities on the Upper School campus include the Center for Well-Being, home to indoor volleyball and basketball courts, changing rooms, a weight room and spaces for movement and meditation. There are also three athletic fields, a baseball diamond, a full size outdoor basketball court and a new Upper School Fieldhouse, with locker rooms, a lounge and snack bar and a large recreation room with ping-pong tables and large screen projection. Opened in 2008, the Fieldhouse sits adjacent to six year-round har-tru courts. From October to May, the courts are converted to indoor courts with a bubble.
In 2000 the school proposed a 50-building, 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) expansion to its 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) campus which would have made it one of the biggest complexes in the Hamptons. Enraged environmentalists charged that Courtney Ross was polluting the debate by paying to protest proposed expansion of the Pine Barrens
Pine barrens
Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pinelands occur throughout the northeastern U.S. from New Jersey to Maine as well as the Midwest and Canada....
protections into East Hampton.. The school eventually backed down on the expansion and in 2006 the same critics of this expansion were to applaud its "green" initiatives.
The September 2003 Education Update described the campus as follows:
"The school sits on 140 wooded acres in East Hampton founded by Courtney Ross Holst, whose first husband, Steve Ross, was head of Time Warner. Seeing Ross is to appreciate the truth of the cliché about the best that money can buy. The school is stunningly handsome, a new and renovated architectural wonder with interiors likely to stagger even a designer’s imagination. It also boasts—justifiably—superb high-end technology, including sophisticated projection systems, state-of-the-art pavilions, seminar rooms, smart boards, laptops for all, and knockout multimedia enhancements everywhere. Libraries abound, nothing is single or merely decorative. Classrooms recreate environments under study—the art and artifacts of a period, its textures, colors, materials, though the pervasive influence, warm and subtle earth tones, is Swedish and Asian. And would you believe a hall showing the history of art by way of vinyl reproductions done to scale?"
The Lower School campus in Bridgehampton includes gardens, play areas, trails and a farm with animals. Separate building spaces for grade levels are customized with age-appropriate furnishings. The Barn Building houses an art studio called the Atelier as well as some early childhood classes. The Farm Building, built as the original house for the potato farm that was on the property, is used for specials classes. The Leonard Building is shared by kindergarten, early childhood, and grades one and two. Grades three and four are situated in the Green Building. All the buildings on the campus are connected by walkways and surrounded by grass and trees.
In 2006 the school was picketed by residents of New York City when city residents protested its plans to locate the Ross Global Academy
Ross Global Academy
Ross Global Academy Charter School, or RGACS, was a public Charter School located in Lower Manhattan. It opened in September 2006 with 160 students and closed June 2011. The school was developed in collaboration with New York University's Steinhardt School and Ross School in East Hampton, which...
, a Charter School
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
that adopted the Ross model on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
(with residents particularly fearing that the new school would take away space for the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math
NEST M
New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math, usually referred to as NEST+m, is a New York City Department of Education city-wide coeducational school for Gifted & Talented students, grades K to 12...
school). The protesters declined an invitation to debate the subject when asked by an Upper School ethics class. The debate was ultimately decided when the school moved to the Tweed Courthouse
Tweed Courthouse
The building is composed of a central section with two projecting wings, with an addition in the center on the south facade. The entry portico on the main Chambers Street facade rises three and a half stories from a low granite curb, supported by four Corinthian columns...
.
Summer Events
Every summer the school hosts its largest annual benefit, the Starlight Ball, which has featured Aretha Franklin, the Jonas Brothers, Martha Stewart and “Saturday Night Live’s” Seth Meyers. In the summer of 2007 it held its largest event: a series of five musical concerts entitled "Social @ Ross" with PrincePrince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
; Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
and Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...
; Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
; James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
and Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
and the Heartbreakers. The price of a ticket to the series was $15,000. Guests in other years have included Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
and the Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
.
Notable alumni and faculty
Alumni- Alexa Ray JoelAlexa Ray JoelAlexa Ray Joel is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She is the daughter and only child of singer-songwriter Billy Joel and supermodel Christie Brinkley....
, singer
Faculty
- Hal McKusickHal McKusickHal McKusick is an American-born jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist, most notable for his work with Boyd Raeburn from 1944 to 1945 and Claude Thornhill from 1948 to 1949.-Biography:...
, jazz musician