Poly Prep

Poly Prep Country Day School (commonly known as Poly Prep) is an independent, co-educational day school with two campuses in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The Middle School (5th to 8th grades) and Upper School (9th to 12th grades) are located in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, while the Lower School (nursery to 4th grade) is located in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood. Initially founded as part of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (predecessor of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering), Poly Prep now offers classes from nursery school through 12th grade.

Poly Prep Country Day School
The clock tower atop the main building
Address
9216 Seventh Avenue

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
,
New York 11228

United States
Coordinates40°36′43″N 74°01′30″W
Information
TypeIndependent
Country Day School
MottoVirtus victrix fortunae
(Virtue is the victor over fate)
Established1854 (as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute)
HeadmasterAudrius Barzdukas
FacultyApprox. 270
GradesN–12
GenderCo-educational
Enrollment1,021
CampusUrban
Campus size26 acres (110,000 m2)
Color(s)Blue and grey
Athletics conferenceIvy Preparatory School League
MascotBlue Devil
AccreditationNYSAIS
NewspaperThe Polygon (Upper School)
The Tower Times (Middle School)
YearbookThe Polyglot
AffiliationNew York Interschool
Websitewww.polyprep.org

History

Poly Prep was established 169 years ago in 1854 as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute in Downtown Brooklyn. It was one of the first private boys' schools in the city of Brooklyn. The initial aim of the school was to offer an academic program similar to that of boarding schools of the time while striving to maintain a strong community feel among students and faculty alike.

After 45 years, the future of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute was re-evaluated in 1889, when the preparatory school and the collegiate division were finally separated. In 1891, the construction of a new building next door to the school's original building provided a home for the college, which became known as the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Both divisions still exist, although the collegiate division, after many changes of name, was eventually acquired by New York University (NYU) in 2008 and, as of 2014, is now known as the New York University Tandon School of Engineering.[1]

After its initial separation from the collegiate division, the Polytechnic Preparatory Institute remained an all-boys collegiate preparatory program at 99 Livingston Street and, by the mid-1890s, had already become one of the largest prep schools in the country, with over 600 students.

Move to Dyker Heights

The school acquired its Dyker Heights location in 1916 after a 25-acre parcel of land, formerly the Dyker Meadow Golf Course, was offered to the trustees. Classes began during the fall of 1917 at the new campus, amid continued construction that helped shape much of the school's current appearance.

Going co-educational

During the tenure of headmaster William M. Williams, the school began the transition to co-education in 1977 when it first admitted girls, graduating its first co-ed class in 1979.

Creating primary school

Poly Prep's most recent and dramatic expansion occurred in 1995, with its acquisition of the historic Hulbert Mansion from the Brooklyn Ethical Culture Society, a site formerly rented by the now defunct Woodward Park School. The new property was converted into Poly's Lower School, offering classes for students from nursery through 4th grade.

Major primary school expansion

In the 2006–2007 school year, a modern expansion was added onto the Park Slope building. As part of its "Blue and Gray Goes Green!" initiative, Poly chose to reduce the new Lower School's ecological "footprint". Poly's renovated Lower School became the first LEED-certified school building in New York City, and the first such primary school building in the state.

In April 2009, Poly Prep's Lower School won the Lucy B. Moses Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy as an outstanding example of historic preservation and renovation.

Child abuse claims

The school was the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn in 2009 centering on the sexual assault of students by Philip Foglietta, the head football coach from 1966 to 1991.

The allegations surfaced during Foglietta's first year at the school, during the tenure of Headmaster J. Folwell Scull, who was the head of Poly Prep from 1949 to 1970. They persisted during the tenure of William M. Williams, who was the headmaster from 1970 to 2000. Despite ongoing accusations of rape and molestation, no action was taken for 25 years, until Foglietta's contract was not renewed in 1991. However, even then, the school announced that Foglietta had decided to retire and made no mention of the abuse.

Alumni continued to press the matter, and eventually Williams's successor, David Harman, wrote to alumni in 2002 that the school had "recently [emphasis added] received credible allegations" of abuse -- 36 years after the first report of molestation. [2]

Two years later 12 victims filed suit in state court, but the suit was dismissed due to statute of limitations. However, U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block subsequently ruled that portions of the suit could proceed in federal court because administrators may have lied about when they learned of the abuse. Plaintiffs' attorney Kevin Mulhearn cited the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in alleging that past and current administrators had engaged in a coverup of the abuse.[3] Published reports compared the abuse and alleged coverup to a similar scandal at Pennsylvania State University in 2011.[4] In March 2012 the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman joined the plaintiffs on a pro bono basis.[5] On September 19, 2012, new allegations connecting Foglietta and Jerry Sandusky surfaced.[6]

The suit was settled for $10 million in December 2012. On February 21, 2014, the school issued what the Wall Street Journal called "a sweeping apology" for the abuse and the school's failure over the decades to respond appropriately when victims revealed their abuse.[7] Headmaster Harman and the chairman of the board of trustees, Scott Smith, subsequently resigned.

Institution

Divisions

Poly Prep consists of three divisions, beginning with the Lower School located at 50 Prospect Park West in Brooklyn.[8] Lower School education commences with the nursery school program, which consists of early childhood learning up until the pre-kindergarten level, and continues on through fourth grade. The middle school program begins at grade 5, at which point Poly students enroll at Poly Prep's Middle and Upper School campus located at 9216 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn,[8] where they continue their education through 8th grade and then into high school.

Athletics
The tennis courts at Poly

Interscholastic Leagues

Poly Prep is part of the Ivy Preparatory School League, a division of the greater New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), which comprises all the private schools in the state. The school has a number of award-winning programs, most notably football, basketball, and baseball. Hockey was introduced in 2010.

Athletic teams
Fall teams Winter teams Spring teams
Boys' soccer Girls' basketball Softball
Girls' soccer Boys' basketball Baseball
Cross country Girls' swimming Girls' lacrosse
Girls' tennis Boys' swimming Boys' lacrosse
Girls' volleyball Boys' squash Golf
Football Girls' squash Ultimate frisbee
Collegiate wrestling Outdoor track and field
Hockey Boys' tennis
Indoor track and field Crew

Headmasters of the Country Day School

In the 106 years since the opening of the Dyker Heights campus in 1917, Poly has had five headmasters: Joseph Dana Allen (1917–1949), J. Folwell Scull (1949–1970), William M. Williams (1970–2000), David Harman (2000–2016), and Audrius Barzdukas (2016–present).

Notable alumni and attendees

Notable faculty
  • William Cary Duncan (1874–1945), American playwright who taught English and public speaking at Poly Prep (then known as Brooklyn Polytechnic Preparatory School) from 1897 through 1917.[22]

References
  1. "Rich History - About the School of Engineering". NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. Lewis, John (Nov. 17, 2016) "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil", Esquire magazine. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a50346/poly-prep-philip-foglietta/
  3. "At Elite Prep School, Abuse Case Won't Go Away," by Ginia Bellafante, New York Times December 12, 2011
  4. Bauer, B.; Hellenbrand, H.; Stern, K. (November 18, 2011). "A prep school scandal eerily similar to Penn State". Washington Post. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  5. O'Keefe, Michael (March 26, 2012). "Powerhouse law firm joins N.Y. attorney in sex-abuse lawsuit against Poly Prep Country Day School". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  6. Red, Christian (September 19, 2012). "Self-described 'child prostitute' connects Jerry Sandusky to Poly Prep sex abuse scandal and coach Phil Foglietta". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  7. Hollander, Sophia (February 21, 2014). "Brooklyn's Poly Prep Apologizes in Sexual Abuse Case Acknowledges Abuse by Former Football Coach and Missteps in School's Handling of Allegations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 22, 2014. Poly Prep Country Day School issued a sweeping apology in a schoolwide email on Friday, acknowledging decades of sexual abuse by the former football coach and missteps in the school's subsequent handling of the allegations.
  8. "Poly Prep Country Day School - Directions to Poly Prep's Lower School, Middle School, Upper School". www.polyprep.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  9. "Dr. Louis Aronne '73 Receives Poly's Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award at Special Reunion 2013". May 20, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  10. "Since 1854, A Track Record of Success". Poly Prep Country Day School. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  11. Hoffman, Jan (April 7, 1993). "AT THE OFFICE WITH: Bruce Cutler; Even Mob Lawyers Get the Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  12. "New England Patriots: Brian Flores". Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  13. Bierman, Fred. "High School Football; Low-Key Leadership Gives Poly Prep a Lift", The New York Times, October 27, 2001. Accessed November 18, 2019. "Poly Prep's other captain is receiver Jahkeen Gilmore, who is not quite as reserved as Combs."
  14. "Brit Hadden and the Founding of Time", H-Net. Accessed November 18, 2019. "The scion of a wealthy family of some prominence in Brooklyn Heights, New York, Hadden attended Brooklyn Poly Prep, the same prep school his father and grandfather had attended, then moved on to Hotchkiss, one of the wealthiest boarding schools of the time."
  15. "Poly Prep grad P.J. Hill prepares for the NFL Draft", New York Daily News, April 21, 2009.
  16. Kussoy, Howie. "You can’t understand Joakim Noah until you know where he came from", New York Post, October 28, 2016 .Accessed November 18, 2019. "In the summer of 2001, Cox, the upper school head at Poly Prep Country Day, was scheduled to meet with a student interested in transferring to the Brooklyn school. Yannick entered first, followed by his son, whose one-on-one interview doubled as a lengthy, casual chat."
  17. Conn, Megan (February 23, 2021). "Jabari Brisport Eyes Leadership Role on Families in New York Senate". The Imprint. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  18. "Who was Alfred P. Sloan Jr.?". Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  19. Eligon, John. "A Case That Will Test a Lawyer’s Bond With the Police", The New York Times, January 11, 2009. Accessed November 18, 2019. "Joseph Tacopina, a former prosecutor from Brooklyn, was the legal voice in the courtroom; the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association was the ever-present voice of unconditional support for its officers.... He attended Poly Prep High School in Brooklyn and went on to Skidmore College."
  20. "Brooklyn Newspaper" (PDF).
  21. "DDr. Tehrany welcomes Poly's Pre-Med Students to shadow his work through the Poly Prep Internship Program". February 27, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  22. "WILLIAM C. DUNCAN, WRITER OF MUSICALS". The New York Times. November 22, 1945. p. 33.
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