The Browning School is an independent school for boys in New York City. It was founded in 1888 by John A. Browning. It offers instruction in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. The school is a member of the New York Interschool consortium.
History
"Whatever I Want" - H2O @ Browning CLC - Fall 2015 - Working with the students of Browning CLC, we worked with the students to develop ideas about potential careers they might like to pursue as they grow into ...
The school was founded in 1888 by John A. Browning. Arthur Jones succeeded Browning as Headmaster in 1920 and moved the school from West 55th Street to its present location on East 62nd Street. Extracurricular activities expanded in his time. Jones retired in 1948 and Lyman B. Tobin, a Browning teacher for more than 30 years, became Browning’s third Headmaster.
In 1952, upon Tobin’s retirement, the school named Charles W. Cook ’38, an alumnus and teacher, as its fourth Headmaster. Under his leadership for thirty-six years, the Browning School expanded rapidly. After a lengthy fund-raising drive, the school bought the adjoining carriage house and rebuilt it. The new building opened in 1960. The school’s expansion continued in 1967, with the building of a larger gymnasium on the roof, and in the late 1970s, with the acquisition of an interest in the building next door.
In 1988, Stephen M. Clement, III became Browning’s fifth Headmaster and served in this role for 28 years. John M. Botti is the current Head of School, having been appointed in 2016. Today, the school has over 400 students, more than double its size fifty years ago. Furthermore, Browning has completed a new library, four new science laboratories, two new art studios, and additional classrooms.
Browning is a part of Interschool, a consortium of eight schools to enhance academic, extracurricular, and administrative sharing, consists of four schools for girls (Brearley, Chapin, Nightingale-Bamford, and Spence), two schools for boys (Collegiate and itself), and two coeducational schools (Dalton and Trinity). Additionally, Browning enjoys strong relationships with both Marymount and Hewitt.
Academics
Browning has a highly selective admissions process. The school does not typically accept transfer students for 11th and 12th grades.
There are approximately 25-34 boys per grade at the school. A financial aid program ensures that the boys remain heterogeneous; as with many of its peer NYC schools. The school is private, functioning under a New York City non-profit statute enacted in the 1940s. The school is governed by a Board of Trustees, and administered by a Headmaster
The school's upper level curriculum consists of 10 departments: English, Math, Science, History, Modern Foreign Languages (Spanish or French), Classics (Latin and Ancient Greek), Music, Visual Art, Technology, and Physical Education.
Athletics
Browning teams compete in interscholastic soccer, cross country, basketball, squash, baseball, tennis, golf, and track. Interscholastic team sports are open to students in Grades Seven through Grade Twelve in good academic standing. Interscholastic competition in basketball begins at Grade Five. There are also intramural opportunities at Browning in the fall, winter, and spring. Finally, fencing is available at the Chapin School as a team sport through Interschool.
In anticipation of the fall and spring seasons, coaches provide preseason training to support boys in the honing of their game skills. Fall preseason camp takes place in the Berkshires at the end of August, and the spring camp is over break in Florida.
The athletic department makes use of both facilities at school and those of New York City. The soccer and baseball teams practice at fields on Randall’s Island. The track team makes use of Randall’s Island and Central Park. In addition to the Upper and Lower gyms at school, the basketball teams take advantage of the gymnasium facilities at Equinox, Basketball City and Chelsea Piers for practices and games. The tennis team practices and plays a number of its matches at the National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open, in Flushing, Queens as well as The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. Golf team practices are held at the driving ranges on Randall’s Island and Chelsea Piers; matches are held at Mosholu.
Notable alumni
- John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 1893
- Percy Avery Rockefeller 1894
- Harold Fowler McCormick 1891
- Christian A. Herter 1911
- Whitman Knapp '27
- R. Sargent Shriver '34
- Claiborne Pell '36
- Thomas Hedley Reynolds '38
- Osborn Elliott '41
- Thomas E. Lovejoy '59
- Jeff Moss '59
- Linton Wells II, '63
- Thomas Oliphant '63
- Howard Dean '66
- Winthrop P. Rockefeller '66
- Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. '70
- Jamie Dimon '74
- Paul Dano, Jr. '02
Affiliated organizations
- New York State Association of Independent Schools
- New York Interschool Association, Inc.
References
External links
- Browning School website