Helen Parkhurst, "Education on the Dalton Plan," 1922

Not until learning is envisaged from the learner’s point of view will our youth come out from school really educated…Under the old system the teacher has become the chief actor in the play. She is, perhaps unconsciously, occupied in trying to impress her personality and her ideas upon the children. But the Dalton Plan reverses these parts and gives the child’s personality a chance; the teacher’s part being to accompany the enfolding life step by step. This is not to relegate the instructor to an inferior plane. To understand the child and to keep pace with his growth she must grow herself, for the same fundamental laws that govern growth prevail on every successive plane.

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  • Developing Open, Driven Minds

    While programs, curricula, and attitudes have evolved over Dalton’s long history, the school has always enjoyed a vital, colorful, and superbly talented faculty. Even today, our faculty today remains devoted to developing open, driven minds and to educating young people as they become adults in an increasingly complicated world. The intellectual and emotional maturation of each student, the fulfillment of each child’s potential, and the development of a student's social conscience remain the primary goals of Dalton's faculty.

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  • Experts in Their Field

    The Dalton faculty is composed of more than two-hundred-and-twenty dynamic, stimulating, and passionate scholars who make their courses come alive for their students. Across disciplines, Dalton teachers bring subject matter expertise, which informs their teaching practice and ensures their curricula includes cutting-edge research in their respective fields. Several faculty members hold doctorates, have published original research, and continue to contribute to their field's body of knowledge through research and writing. Annually, one faculty member is offered a sabbatical in which they spend the year researching a topic that will inform their curriculum. In addition, the school and the Parents Association offer faculty curricular and travel grants allowing teachers to extend their content or pedagogic expertise through their own experiential education.

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  • Bringing The Dalton Plan to Life

    Our tripart educational framework, The Dalton Plan, is the foundation of teaching and learning at Dalton. Teachers craft Assignments that offer students freedom to explore their ideas while providing structure, rich resources, and a common basis of knowledge that drives student learning. The Dalton Plan — especially House and Lab — coupled with Dalton’s 7:1 student/teacher ratio, provides unique opportunities for teachers and students to work closely together and enables supportive relationships to develop with individual students of all ages. Many of Dalton's most cherished traditions and events are a direct result of The Dalton Plan in action, like the First Program Post Office, Archaeotype, Greek Festival, and Dance Theater Workshop.

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  • A Love of Learning

    The ability to instill in students a love of learning is a hallmark of a Dalton education. Combining rigorous academic preparation with progressive approaches to teaching, faculty members teach Dalton students how to think critically, creatively, and independently. Teachers help students to develop sound work habits and necessary skills so that they can become more effective scholars. From the earliest grades, students are encouraged to explore passions and interests, and as their skills and knowledge grow, with the support and guidance of the faculty, those interests blossom into creative, original work that is deeply meaningful and relevant to their lives beyond their time at Dalton.

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Grades K-3

53 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128

Grade 4 & PE Center

200 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128

Grades 5-12

108 East 89th Street, New York, NY 10128

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