Garden School is a co-educational independent school in East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City offering a K-12 education.
History
In 1923 neighborhood parents banded together to organize the Garden Country Day School. The school took its name from the newly conceived garden apartment complexes built by Edward MacDougall, founder of the Queensboro Corporation, in the then-rural community of Jackson Heights.
The first classes were grades K–3 and met in the Laburnum Court Apartments under the guidance of Dorothy Gleen, Charles Townshend, and Josephine Wech. In 1925, grades 4–6 were added as John Bosworth Laing became the director. In 1927 Otis Flower assumed leadership as headmaster.
During the leadership of Flower, and with the assistance of the Queensboro Corporation, that Garden Country Day School moved to its current location. Garden Day continued to expand its educational capacity. In 1929 their first graduating class was released, presenting three students. Within three years Garden Country Day School became an independent school, with a board of trustees, under the New York State guidelines for not-for-profit schools.
The current Head of School is Christopher F. Herman.
Development plan
County Day hosts a variety of annual events, such as a Walk-a-Thon and Gala each spring to supply funds for improvements. Rory Staunton (1999-2012) was a student at the Garden School. The Staunton family was one of the leading voices in support of the effort to turn the Garden School’s athletic field into public parkland, increasing the amount of recreational space in Jackson Heights by more than half an acre.
Associations
Garden School holds active memberships in professional associations including:
- Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges
- New York State Association of Independent Schools
- The Guild of Independent Schools
- The Parents League of New York
- National Association of Secondary School Principals
- National Association for College Admission Counseling
- New York State Association for College Admission Counseling
- The College Board
- Independent Schools Athletic League (New York)
- Girls' Independent Schools Athletic League