Doane Stuart School

The Doane Stuart School is a private college preparatory school in Rensselaer, New York. The School is coeducational and interfaith, and it educates students from early childhood through Grade 12.

The Doane Stuart School
Location
Rensselaer , New York United States
Information
Type	Independent school, private school, co-educational
Religious affiliation(s)	Interfaith
Established	1852 (as Kenwood Academy)
Head of school	Cecil F. Stodghill, Jr.
Grades	Early Childhood through Grade 12
Student to teacher ratio	8:1
Campus	24 acres (97,000 m^2)
Color(s)	Blue & green
Mascot	Thunderchicken
Website	www.doanestuart.org
The Doane Stuart School (formerly Van Rensselaer High School)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	199 Washington Ave., Rensselaer, New York
Coordinates	42°39′32″N 73°43′37″W
Area	24.53 acres (9.93 ha)
Built	1930-1931, 1938-1939
Architect	Clarence H. Gardinier, Howard O. Fullerton
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	12000511[1]
Added to NRHP	August 14, 2012

History

The Doane Stuart School ("Doane Stuart") was founded in 1975 as the result of a merger between the Roman Catholic Kenwood Academy (founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1852) and the Episcopal St. Agnes School (founded 1870).[2][3] The name "Doane Stuart" was chosen to honor the first Episcopal Bishop of Albany, the Right Reverend William Croswell Doane, and Roman Catholic educator Janet Erskine Stuart.[2] Doane Stuart's first home was the campus of the old Kenwood Academy in Albany, New York.[4]

Doane Stuart was established as an ecumenical Christian school,[4] but later became an interfaith school.[5] In 2007, the School offered to purchase the former Kenwood Academy from the Society of the Sacred Heart for $7.2 million. The Society rejected the offer.[6] In March 2008, the Board of Trustees of Doane Stuart announced it had decided to end its affiliation with the Network of Sacred Heart Schools[7] due to religious differences.[3] At about the same time, the Society of the Sacred Heart notified the school it would not renew its lease of the former Kenwood Academy.[7] On May 20, 2008, Rensselaer, New York voters approved the proposed sale of the former Van Rensselaer High School to Doane Stuart;[8] Doane Stuart purchased the building for $4 million in September 2008.[9] After a year-long renovation and restoration effort,[4] Doane Stuart opened on September 16, 2009 at the School's new location.[9]

The Doane Stuart School building in Rensselaer, New York was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.[1] As of April 2016, the School's 22,000-square-foot "green roof" was reportedly the largest vegetative roof in the Capital District.[10] The school is co-educational and college preparatory, and educates students from Early Childhood through Grade 12;[11] during the 2020–2021 academic year, it enrolled 183 students and had 32.4 (on a FTE basis) teaching staff.

In May 2019, the school named Cecil F. Stodghill, Jr., the new head of school following a national search.[12]

The Irish/American Exchange program

The School hosts an Irish American Exchange program, begun in 2003, which brings together Protestant and Catholic students from Lagan College (a secondary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland) to spend a year at Doane Stuart and live with local families. These students attend classes and become an integral part of the community. According to the Albany Times Union, 22 exchange students from Lagan College have spent a school year studying at Doane Stuart, while approximately 100 Doane Stuart students have made one-week visits to Lagan College.[13]

Notable Alumni

• Paul Carey, White House Special Assistant to U.S. President Bill Clinton and the 77th Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Joan Vollmer - the most prominent female member of the early Beat Generation circle.
• Alice Morgan Wright - American sculptor, suffragist, and animal welfare activist. She was one of the first American artists to embrace Cubism and Futurism.
• David Yezzi - American poet, editor, actor, and professor. He currently teaches poetry in the Writing Seminars at The Johns Hopkins University.

References

1. "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 8/13/12 through 8/17/12. National Park Service. 2012-08-24.
2. Franco, James; Bandhold, Stacy (April 10, 2008). "Doane Stuart finds new home in Rensselaer". The Record.
3. Waldman, Scott (September 18, 2012). "Abrupt exit at Doane Stuart". Times Union. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
4. Waldman, Scott (September 17, 2009). "Doane Stuart moves across Hudson River". Times Union. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
5. Rogers, Megan (June 24, 2014). "Doane Stuart welcomes new head of school for 2014-15 academic year". Albany Business Review.
6. Churchill, Chris (October 23, 2009). "On the Market: The old Doane Stuart campus". Times Union.
7. "School ends religious affiliation". Times Union. March 16, 2008. This article reports that The Doane Stuart School's Board of Trustees voted to end the school's affiliation with The Society of the Sacred Heart and the Network of Sacred Heart Schools.
8. "School election results". Troy Record. May 22, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
9. Cooper, Robin (September 21, 2009). "Enrollment grows as Doane Stuart opens new Rensselaer campus". Albany Business Review.
10. Grondahl, Paul (April 21, 2016). "'Green Roof' at Doane Stuart School is growing attraction". Times Union. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
11. "Enrichment Resources: After School Options". Spotlight News. 7 August 2018.
12. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2019/05/06/doane-stuart-new-head-of-school-cecil-stodghill.html. Retrieved 2021-01-28. Missing or empty |title= (help)
13. Grondahl, Paul (October 1, 2014). "From Belfast to Rensselaer, a lesson on tolerance". Times Union. Retrieved October 1, 2018.

External links

• Official site